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".
The Wildness
Deacon Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the night has been trying
To drive us and chase us away
But we're lovely and drunk now
And our laugh dosen't
Rattle or fray
And the Friday folk
Are coming roundLet the wildness
Have its way
Oh sweet autumn
With your dark surprise
And your short days all smudged with gold
You covered up
Worn paths for us
So no story could be told
And sent the dark
Come tumbling down
So the wildness
Can't grow cold
So the morning
Would never know
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Driving me on again
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Shaking me
Letting me know
There were two of us driving
We were six miles out
And a
Hundred miles to go
Still the morning lies waitingAnd the light falls
On your travel map
I'm still here hoping
For the wildness
To relax
For the wildness
To go back
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Driving me on again
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Shaking me
Letting me know
I said yeah
Can you
Feel it
I went up to your house one night
I took 59 in the rain
And I saw your tiny face shine
So calm and so bright
And so gay
I called in
I called out
I couldn't see any other name
I woke
One morning
With the wildness
Once again
With the wildness
Shining in
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Driving me on again
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Shaking me
Letting me know
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Driving me on again
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Shaking me
Letting me know
Of the wildness
Of the wildness baby
Driving me on again
Of the wildness
Of the wildness
Shaking me
Letting me know
The song "The Wildness" by Deacon Blue tells a story of two individuals who are out and about during the night, even though the night is trying to chase them away. They are drunk, and their laughs are not affected by the darkness outside. The Friday folk are coming round, and they let the wildness have its way. The singer then talks about the sweet autumn with its dark surprise, short days smudged with gold. The worn paths are covered, and no story can be told, and the dark tumbles down, so the wildness can't grow cold.
In the morning light, the singer speaks of still hoping for the wildness to relax, for the wildness to go back. The wildness has driven the singer on again, shaking and letting them know. We are then introduced to a memory of the singer going up to someone's house one night. They took "59 in the rain" and saw the person's tiny face shine. They called in and out but couldn't see any other name. They woke up one morning with the wildness once again shining in.
The song can be interpreted in several ways, but what stands out is that it's a call to embrace the wildness in oneself, to not let anything hold oneself back. The sweet autumn with its dark surprises could represent the challenges that come our way, and we cover up worn paths, so no story can be told. But the singer still hopes for the wildness to relax and go back, showing that it's not always easy to embrace the wildness.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh the rush hour is over
The busy period of the day has ended
And the night has been trying
The darkness is attempting to force us to leave
To drive us and chase us away
To force us to leave the area
But we're lovely and drunk now
We are intoxicated, but in a pleasant way
And our laugh doesn't rattle or fray
Our laughter is happy and carefree
And the Friday folk are coming round
People are gathering for the start of the weekend
Let the wildness have its way
Allow the energetic and uninhibited behavior to occur
Oh sweet autumn with your dark surprise
Autumn is bittersweet, with unexpected changes
And your short days all smudged with gold
The shorter days of autumn are tinted with a golden hue
You covered up worn paths for us
Autumn has masked the paths we've taken before
So no story could be told
There are no recollections or tales to tell about our past journeys
And sent the dark come tumbling down
The darkness of night has arrived rapidly
So the wildness can't grow cold
The exuberant behavior must continue
So the morning would never know
The early morning hours will not be aware of the events that transpired
Of the wildness, of the wildness
The reckless and unrestrained behavior
Driving me on again
Encouraging me to continue
Shaking me letting me know
Energizing me and making me aware
There were two of us driving
Two of us are pushing forward
We were six miles out and a hundred miles to go
We are a long way away from our destination
Still the morning lies waiting
The dawn is waiting for us
And the light falls on your travel map
The dawn illuminates the map of our journey
I'm still here hoping for the wildness to relax
I'm hoping for the energetic behavior to subside
For the wildness to go back
To return to a more restrained state
I said yeah can you feel it
I asked if the other person could sense the energy and excitement
I went up to your house one night
I visited the other person at their home
I took 59 in the rain
I traveled on highway 59 during a storm
And I saw your tiny face shine
I noticed the other person's face was bright and happy
So calm and so bright and so gay
The other person's demeanor was pleasant and cheerful
I called in I called out
I attempted to contact the other person
I couldn't see any other name
I only had the other person's name to go by
I woke one morning with the wildness once again
The energetic behavior returned the following day
With the wildness shining in
Feeling the excitement and energy once again
Of the wildness, of the wildness
The recklessness and uninhibited behavior
Driving me on again
Encouraging me to continue
Shaking me letting me know
Energizing me and making me aware
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PRIME, 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