This predominantly Glaswegian act became one of the top-selling UK bands of the late 1980s/early 1990s. The group's members were Ricky Ross, Lorraine McIntosh, James Prime, Dougie Vipond, Ewan Vernal and Graeme Kelling.
Ross, a former school teacher originally from Dundee, was the group's frontman, penning the vast majority of Deacon Blue's songs. He married female vocalist Lorraine McIntosh in the later years of the band's career. McIntosh, born May 1964 in Glasgow joined the band in 1987 as a vocalist.
The band's first album, Raintown, produced by Jon Kelly and released in 1987, is regarded by many as the band's finest effort, spawning the singles "Dignity", "Chocolate Girl" and "Loaded". Many consider Raintown to be a concept album, since nearly all the songs contribute to the overall theme of being stuck in a dead-end life in a deprived city longing for something better. The city that the album's title refers to is Glasgow, and the memorable cover art of the album is a shot of the River Clyde's docks taken on a miserable day from Kelvingrove Park.
The second album, 1988's When The World Knows Your Name, was the band's most commercially successful, with the mega-selling singles "Real Gone Kid", "Wages Day" and "Fergus Sings The Blues". However, music critics began deriding the band at this stage for pursuing commercial success over artistic quality, citing the earlier achievements of Raintown.
Jon Kelly returned to the producer's chair in 1991 for Fellow Hoodlums, and the album was met with more critical success, but by now the group's honeymoon period was over and their success started to wane. This album was followed up with Whatever You Say, Say Nothing in 1993, a much more experimental album which gained praise from the critics, but was a commercial failure.
The band released a Greatest Hits compilation the following year.
With Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour for a career in television, Deacon Blue split up in 1994.
Five years later, the band held an unexpected reunion gig in 1999, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis.
The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001.
Though Graeme Kelling died from cancer in 2004, the band has vowed to continue in his absence.
The year 2006 saw Deacon Blue returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album - including the track "Bigger than Dynamite".
The band performed at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, as the pre-match entertainment for the Rugby League Super League Grand Final on the 14 October, and continued on to a full UK tour in November.
The album The Hipsters was released in 2012.
http://www.deaconblue.com/, followed by A New House, Believers, City of Love and Riding On The Tide Of Love.
In 2023 the band released a greatest hits set titled "All The Old 45's" along with a box set of all their albums titled "You Can Have It All".
Orphans
Deacon Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As if to strangers
This train is full of songs
Of local winners
And the wind surrounds the towers
And the flags they are blowing
And the bunting and the distance
And when he teases the children
He calls them orphans
And he cries for all the flowers
Of the forest
In his head there is no reason
To be sad about the garden
But his heart bleeds very often
For things forgotten like little orphans
The lyrics to Deacon Blue's "Orphans" are a reflection of nostalgia and loss, filled with vivid images of the Scottish countryside. The opening line "I now describe my country as if to strangers" suggests a sense of displacement, as if the singer has been away for some time and is trying to reacquaint himself with his homeland. The train he's traveling on is "full of songs of local winners," which could refer to traditional Scottish music or perhaps the voices of everyday people who have made a difference in their community.
The second verse describes the scenery outside the train window, with the wind blowing and flags waving in the breeze. The "distance stretches over our sound" could suggest a feeling of isolation or loneliness, as if the landscape is overwhelming the people within it.
The final verse is the most enigmatic, with the singer describing someone who "teases the children" and "cries for all the flowers of the forest." The word "orphans" takes on a symbolic meaning, representing those who are lost or forgotten. The person's heart "bleeds very often" for these things that are no longer present.
Line by Line Meaning
I now describe my country
I talk about my homeland as if it's a stranger to me.
As if to strangers
I speak about it in a way that suggests I'm not intimately familiar with it.
This train is full of songs
On this journey, I'm surrounded by music.
Of local winners
Songs about people who've made it in their communities.
And the wind surrounds the towers
The breeze circles the tall buildings.
And the flags they are blowing
The flags atop the buildings are fluttering in the wind.
And the bunting and the distance
The flags and the space around them stretch out in the distance.
Stretches over our sound
The sight carries on even as we continue to hear the music on the train.
And when he teases the children
And when he playfully jokes with the kids
He calls them orphans
He uses the term 'orphans' affectionately
And he cries for all the flowers
He weeps for all the beauty
Of the forest
In nature
In his head there is no reason
He doesn't understand why he feels sad.
To be sad about the garden
There's nothing particularly sad about the gardens around us.
But his heart bleeds very often
But his emotions are frequently overwhelming.
For things forgotten like little orphans
He's sad about things he's lost, like the small things which he's left behind or forgotten over time.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROSS, VERNAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bernadette Foster
One of the most beautiful songs ever, always pulls at my heartstrings.😢👏 Childhood memories🏴 love you DB💙
TheWorldsWorstMan
This song is simply wonderful, all the better than the album version for being that little bit slower. Lorraine's voice in this is simply stunning; haunting and passionate.
Tony T
PEOPLE DONT LISTEN....
Bernadette Foster
Agreed 100%
Wayne Sewell
I've seen DB Live 6 times they are Awesome, best band from Scotland, period,
mick walsh
From London saw them at Wembley the Bollox
Barbara Balaam
Their voices are just stunning! I love these guys! <3
Lambonights
It's 2020 and this song still speaks so much truth.
Siro Carraro
Love you Deacon Blue. Amazing music
Vlaardingen24
One of my favourites since a long time. Moves me every time i hear this...