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".
Take Me To The Place
Deacon Blue Lyrics
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Take me to the place where your heart hurts most
Lead me through the dark world gates down there
Where all the ghosts of sorrow and pain
And fear and despair stay hiding
And we'll walk right through to our own way, our own place
There's a beach that I walk so long and so broad
Oceans away miles longer than pain
In my glad dreams, I take you there, and it's easy
Because the work and the hours
And the pay are far behind our sure steps
My heart longs to be next to you
My heart want's to be there, be there with you
Where it's warm and tender and mercy flows like a river
And there you stand with your wide open hands
And say abide with me
The song "Take Me To The Place" by Deacon Blue opens with a dedication to Oscar Marzaroli, who was a talented Scottish photographer, director, and writer. The lyrics are an ode to the healing power of love, the willingness to overcome all obstacles on the path to finding peace and redemption. The singer is asking to be taken to a place where the heartache and pain are the most intense, where the ghosts of sorrow, fear, and despair are hiding. It is in this dark and scary place that the singer believes they will find their own path, their own place. The lyrics are poetic and symbolic, evoking powerful images of the journey towards the light, with the final destination being a place where mercy flows like a river and the heart can finally find rest.
The second stanza of the song describes a broad, endless beach that is miles away from the pain and suffering of everyday life. The singer dreams of taking their loved one there, away from the work and the struggles of daily life. The desire to be close to the beloved person is palpable, with the heart longing to be next to them in a place where warmth and tenderness reign supreme. In the final lines of the song, the singer reaches out to the object of their affection and asks them to abide with them, thus creating an image of two people united in their quest for love and healing.
Line by Line Meaning
Take me to the place where your heart hurts most
Guide me to the location where your innermost pain exists
Lead me through the dark world gates down there
Direct me towards a path of emotional darkness and turmoil
Where all the ghosts of sorrow and pain
A place full of memories of grief and anguish
And fear and despair stay hiding
A location where fear and hopelessness is omnipresent
And we'll walk right through to our own way, our own place
Together we will emerge from the darkness and find a new path, our own place
There's a beach that I walk so long and so broad
I have a place of solace, a calming beach that I walk along
Oceans away miles longer than pain
This place is so far removed from pain, it seems like an ocean away
In my glad dreams, I take you there, and it's easy
In my happiest dreams, it's easy to share this place with you
Because the work and the hours
The challenges and responsibilities in our daily lives
And the pay are far behind our sure steps
Are left behind as we confidently move towards this place
My heart longs to be next to you
My deepest desire is to be close to you
My heart want's to be there, be there with you
To be in this place with you is all I truly want
Where it's warm and tender and mercy flows like a river
This place is filled with warmth, tenderness, and kindness
And there you stand with your wide open hands
You're there with your arms wide open, ready to embrace me
And say abide with me
And invite me to stay with you in this comforting place
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nigel Smith
on Long Window To Love
This whole explanation is completely wrong. The song is about the Labour Party not winning a general election