As Deacon Blue prepares for their biggest tour in almost 25 years, the band insist there’s plenty still to look forward to!
The latest greatest hits trek coincides with the release of ‘All The Old 45s’ and ‘You Can Have It All’; a best-of and albums box set, respectively, that celebrates over 35 years of hits from the Scottish group, fronted by Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh.
Speaking in RETROPOP’s September issue, the pair reflect on their latest milestone, with Lorraine admitting she still gets nervous when faced with a run of huge venues.
“I look at the venues and the amount of tickets they’re hoping to sell and all that, I think, ‘God, is that going to happen?!’,” laughs the vocalist who, along with husband Ricky, has been a mainstay of the line-up since its inception.
Giving the collective the opportunity to revisit a lifetime of work, piecing together their latest collection has brought back memories of multiple successes, but putting together the setlist for the shows isn’t quite so simple.
“I always felt that we put out the albums that I was happy with,” smiles Ricky. “I think when you make a final selection for an album there’s plenty of time to think about those 12 songs or whatever. Early on, I thought it’d be nice when you make a few records, line them all up and have a look at them – but now there’s almost too many to do that!”
Included in the release is a CD of new material which features acoustic reworkings of old classics and a stunning cover version of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark. ‘Peace Will Come’ is title of the new album and Lorraine explains: “When this idea came out about the box set Ricky said, ‘It’s just always nice to do something fresh’. There’s just nothing like being able to play a song on a couple of acoustic guitars and a piano and sing.”
But with the group looking to the past and touring so extensively at this stage in their career, it’s set alarm bells ringing with some fans, who have been setting social media ablaze with questions as to whether this could actually be Deacon Blue’s swansong?
However, both Ricky and Lorraine are quick to reassure fans and quash the rumours once and for all. Shaking her head, Lorraine says: “We are loving it more than ever! I think the crucial thing is, the gigs are as good as they ever were, if not even better. So no, we have no plans at the moment to stop.”
Ricky agrees: “Honestly, this is the biggest tour that we’ve done for 30 years. There’s certainly more people that we are reaching and then we’re going back to Australia and South Africa, so it’s a big… We honestly wouldn’t be doing it if we were wanting to stop.”
Read the full interview in the September 2023 edition of RETROPOP, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store, use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist, or get Digital Copies delivered direct to your devices.
