Perth Voice Interactive

SOME artists don’t know when to call it a day – Tom Jones, Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney are in their 80s and still touring.

Loyal fans don’t seem to care their childhood idol has lost their voice and become a wrinkly charicature of their former self (or in some cases an ode to botox).

The communal, almost religious experience of seeing their favourite artist perform in front of thousands of people, combined with a powerful nostalgia, appears to be enough.

Scottish band Deacon Blue are a couple of decades off the Tom Jones of this world – lead singer Ricky Ross is 65 – but are part of an 80s revival sweeping the globe with artists like Cyndi Lauper, Rick Astley and T’Pau enjoying an Indian summer.

With a back catalogue of hits including Dignity, Real Gone Kid, Fergus Sings the Blues, Wages Day and Chocolate Girl, Deacon Blue are still hugely popular with British ex-pats and are playing three consecutive nights in Perth as part of their All the old 45s: Greatest Hits Tour.

But Deacon Blue are more than just a nostalgia act and have released a slew of new material over the past decade, including the critically acclaimed album City of Love in 2020, which went to number one in Scotland and number four in the UK.

Ross says they have managed to strike a balance between satisfying old fans and keeping things fresh with new music.

“It’s a balance we’ve managed successfully over the last few years,” he says.

“We have released four new studio albums in the last 10 years and that new material has kept us being creative. Audiences seem to like that.”

At the heart of the band is the interplay between Ross and co-singer/tambourine basher Lorraine McIntosh.

Hailing from Glasgow, the little-pocket rocket is a ball of energy on stage and has a beautiful voice that contrasts with Ross’s more raspy delivery.

She seems to embody the gallus attitude of a wee lassie from Glasgow, while taking it somewhere else.

Ross and McIntosh’s vocals will be showcased during an acoustic set, breathing new life into older tracks.

“We’ve decided to play a Greatest Hits show with a difference,” Ross says.

“Yes, we intend to play all (or nearly all) the old 45s, but we also want to play some songs acoustically too.”

Deacon Blue were part of a movement of up-and-coming Glasgow bands in the 1980s including Wet Wet Wet, The Bluebells and Hue and Cry.

While they knew how to write a catchy pop song, there was more depth to Deacon Blue’s lyrics and music than most of their peers, perhaps because Ross was 30 when the band released their debut album and already had some life experience.

This maturity is reflected in their inspiring and rousing Scottish anthem Dignity, a song about a middle-aged council worker who has been saving his money for years to buy a dinghy he’ll call ‘Dignity’ and sail it around Scotland.

A pitch-perfect character study of life in Glasgow, the song explores the theme of escaping your mundane, everyday job to do something more care free and life-affirming.

Deacon Blue have split up and reformed over the past three decades with Ross enjoying a solo career, McIntosh becoming a successful actress (Shetland) and drummer Dougie Vipond branching out into TV presenting.

Tragedy struck in 2004 when the band’s original guitarist Graeme Kelling died from pancreatic cancer.

Despite all the ups and downs and career diversions, Ross says there is still a special chemistry when they go on tour.

“It’s different, but honestly, better. I think we all enjoy it even more,” he says.

“We’re enjoying the freedom of our kids being grown up!”

But more importantly, in fine Scottish tradition, does the band still enjoy a good old bevvy on tour?

“Are you buying?” quips Ross.

Deacon Blue are playing the Regal Theatre in Subiaco on Friday November 24 and the Astor Theatre in Mt Lawley on Saturday November 25 and Sunday November 26.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK