Deacon Blue is a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow in 1985. Their name ca… Read Full Bio ↴Deacon Blue is a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow in 1985. Their name came from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". Success came for the band in 1989 when their second studio album, When The World Knows Your Name, topped the UK Album Charts. The album included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first UK top ten single. After releasing further albums in 1991 and 1993, they split up in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, the band held a reunion gig and this led to the album, Walking Back Home. Since then they have released Homesick (2001) , The Hipsters (2012), A New House (2014), Believers (2016), City Of Love (2020) and Riding On The Tide Of Love (2021)

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".

Your Town
Deacon Blue Lyrics

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I wouldn't want to be you
Mostly not even near you
When you're gone they will curse you
And raise the tide against you
I no longer care now
For what you said was fair now
I just don't go there now
I just don't go

Maybe there's a way not to make it hurt
To cover up the words like you covered up the dirt
Ever since you left
It just gets worse
Living out in your town

Now let's say it like it is
I just don't know where to begin
It's a different way of living
It's so strange to what we've been
First we speak for ourselves now
And people know who we are now
And they wake up and they live now
Yes they wake up and they live

Maybe there's a way not to let it hurt
Tell it out in pictures
And songs and words
Do what we should not
To make it worse
Living out in your town

Maybe there's a way not to let it hurt
Tell it out in pictures
And songs and words
Do what we should not
To make it worse
Living out in your town
Living out in your town

Living out in your town
Living out in your town

Overall Meaning

Deacon Blue's song "Your Town" speaks to the frustration and discomfort of living in a place where you no longer feel welcome or at home. The lyrics are pointed and somewhat harsh, directed at an unnamed person who has caused pain and difficulty for the singer. The opening lines, "I wouldn't want to be you / Mostly not even near you / When you're gone they will curse you / And raise the tide against you" suggest that the relationship between the singer and the person in question is contentious and fraught with tension.

As the song progresses, the singer begins to address the challenges of living in this particular town. They note that things have only gotten worse since their acquaintance left, and that the way of life there is "so strange to what we've been." However, they also express a newfound sense of agency and a willingness to speak up for themselves and others. They conclude by suggesting that there might be a way to express their frustrations through art, "out in pictures / And songs and words."

Overall, "Your Town" is a powerful commentary on the complexities of community and relationships. It acknowledges the difficulties inherent in trying to coexist with people who are not always easy to get along with, but offers a glimmer of hope in the possibility of finding creative solutions to those difficulties.

Line by Line Meaning

I wouldn't want to be you
I don't envy you

Mostly not even near you
I don't want to be close to you

When you're gone they will curse you
People will speak ill of you when you're not around

And raise the tide against you
They will turn against you

I no longer care now
I am indifferent now

For what you said was fair now
I don't agree with what you said

I just don't go there now
I avoid that situation

Maybe there's a way not to make it hurt
Perhaps there is a way to avoid the pain

To cover up the words like you covered up the dirt
To conceal the words like hiding the dirt

Ever since you left
Since you departed

It just gets worse
The situation becomes more difficult