Deacon Blue -

Deacon Blue are a Scottish sophisti-pop band that released the 1987–89 CBS albums Raintown and When the World Knows Your Name. They scored a 1988 international hit with “Real Gone Kid” and a 1990 UK No. 2 with the Dionne Warwick cover “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” Their subsequent albums Fellow Hoodlums and Whatever You Say, Say Nothing spawned further hits with “Twist and Shout” (not the Isleys/Beatles song) and “Your Town.”

Members: Ricky Ross (vocals), James Prime (keyboards), Graeme Kelling (guitar), Ewan Vernal (bass), Douglas Vipond (drums, percussion), Lorraine McIntosh (vocals)

Background

Deacon Blue formed in 1985 in Glasgow when singer-songwriter Ricky Ross teamed with drummer Dougie Vipond and launched a musicians search. Ross chose the name from the 1977 Steely Dan song “Deacon Blues.” They passed through several early lineups, with Carol Moore among the singers.

Ross was born Richard Alexander Ross on Dec. 22, 1957, in Dundee and attended High School of Dundee. He worked as a youth-club leader and teacher, then joined Glasgow group Woza in 1982 on keyboards and vocals. Woza played regional support dates with Friends Again and The Waterboys, while Ross taught children with behavioural difficulties in Maryhill.

In 1984, Ross made a cassette album, So Long Ago, recorded with Moore and bassist Ewen Vernal for Sticky Music. Ross sent copies to London publishers and sought work as a house songwriter, but one publisher urged him to form a group to present his songs. A publishing deal gave Ross the basis for the first Deacon Blue lineup in Glasgow.

Vipond grew up in Inchinnan and attended Park Mains High School in Erskine for its music department. He entered the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama for orchestral percussion and remained a student through the early Deacon Blue lineup.

In April 1986, Deacon Blue added James Prime, a Kilmarnock-born pianist who served as an auxiliary player for Altered Images on their 1983 US tour. By May, the group added Graeme Kelling, a Paisley-born guitarist who grew up in Mount Vernon and attended High School of Glasgow. Kelling worked as a local sessionist and played in multiple bands (Tune Cookies, On a Clear Day, Precious, Painted Word).

In July, Deacon Blue welcomed Lorraine McIntosh, a Glaswegian singer who grew up in Cumnock, Ayrshire, and knew Ross through mutual friends. She first saw the band at Queen Margaret Union after missing an earlier invitation to sing on a demo session. Ross subsequently invited McIntosh to further demos and a performance, which earned her permanent place in Deacon Blue.

Among the demos circulating that year was a three-song tape of “Just Like Boys,” “The Very Thing,” and “Dignity.” In August, CBS representative Gordon Charlton heard the tape while visiting Glasgow and responded particularly to “Dignity.” Charlton brought CBS A&R head Muff Winwood to a Glasgow showcase, and CBS signed Deacon Blue that month.

In September, Vernal formally joined Deacon Blue and completed the sextet. By autumn, the group supported Sandie Shaw and Lone Justice on university dates in northern England and Scotland. On the 1986 indie comp Honey at the Core (titled after an earlier Friends Again track), the Deacon Blue track “Take the Saints Away” appears among tracks by Scottish contemporaries Hue & Cry, The Big Dish, Kevin McDermott, and The Painted Word.

Deacon Blue played the Marquee in London on Nov. 20, 1986, with a set that included “Raintown,” “Dignity,” “Chocolate Girl,” “Love’s Great Fears,” and “He Looks Like Spencer Tracy Now.”

Discography: