Deacon Blue are revisiting a lifetime of hits with their brand new best-of collection and huge albums box set due later this year.
Thirty-six years since their debut single, Dignity, and its parent album, ‘Raintown’, they offer the most comprehensive anthology of the band’s work to date, with the double-disc set bringing together classics like Wages Day and Real Gone Kid, and more recent cuts such as City of Love and Wonderful.
“We’ve added so many songs, albums and EPs which have become a strong part of Deacon Blue and our live repertoire since ‘The Hipsters’ in 2012,” says songwriter and vocalist Ricky Ross of the releases, out September 1. “It feels like the right time to celebrate that; to release something that’s a true compilation of our music so far.”
Meanwhile, the box set features all of their studio long-players, along with two well-loved B-sides and rarities compilations and a brand-new, stripped-back compendium of hits, live favourites and cover versions, titled ‘Peace Will Come’.
“We really enjoyed playing our campfire sets on the last tour, when we deconstructed and rearranged songs to fit an acoustic format,” adds Ricky. “Essentially, ‘Peace Will Come’ is an extension of that concept. It’s rough around the edges, but it captures the core of what we do.”
Of the acoustic collection, which includes the brand new title song, plus takes on Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark and their long-standing live encore of Bob Dylan’s Forever Young, he smiles: “It ended up being a vital artistic exercise for us. After we’d finished, I did think – ‘Why have we never done this before?’”
‘All The Old 45s – The Very Best of Deacon Blue’ and ‘You Can Have It All – The Complete Albums Collection’ are available to pre-order now.
The release coincides with Deacon Blue’s return to the live stage across the UK and Ireland later this year in celebration of their greatest hits.
Due to launch in September, the group are digging out all their old 45s – the Top 10s, the favourites, and the sing-a-long rarities – for a concert like no other. The first half will be an intimate acoustic show, and then they’ll go electric for a raucous trip across their hits.
“We’ve decided to play a Greatest Hits show with a difference,” says Ricky. “Yes, we intend to play all (or nearly all) the old 45s, but we also want the first half of the evening to be an intimate acoustic performance, the band gathered round the piano with acoustic guitars and whatever Dougie decides to hit.
“We’ll play some album tracks and reinterpret a few favourites from the back catalogue. We’ll take a short break then come back and make a lot of noise. We hope you can be part of that noise.”
Tickets for the tour are on sale now.
The full list of tour dates is below.
SEPTEMBER 2023
15 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
17 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
18 – City Hall, Sheffield
20 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
21 – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
23 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
24 – Pavilions, Plymouth
25 – Guildhall, Portsmouth
27 – Royal Albert Hall, London
28 – BIC, Bournemouth
30 – Brighton Centre, Brighton
OCTOBER 2023
02 – Olympia, Dublin
03 – Olympia, Dublin
04 – SSE Arena, Belfast
06 – AO Arena, Manchester
07 – Bonus Arena, Hull
08 – Arena, Leeds
10 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
11 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
13 – P&J Live, Aberdeen
14 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
