Now Playing: ‘Raintown’ by Deacon Blue…
I'm lucky enough to have tickets to see Deacon Blue live at the Pier Head, Liverpool, on Sunday, so I thought it was rude not to do some homework this week. And where better to start than where it all began?
I loved Deacon Blue from the moment I heard them on a sampler tape in 1987, and I flip-flop between this album and 'When The World Knows Your Name' as to which is my favourite record. Today, this is number 1; I guarantee I'll have changed my mind tomorrow!
The record is heavily influenced/inspired by Glasgow, from the iconic album cover featuring a rainy day over the city's West End to songs about its industrial decline leading to high unemployment and urban decay to the hope its people had of finding love and a better life.
Nothing defines this hope more than 'Dignity', a song about a guy on the bottom rung of the employment ladder, saving his pennies, dreaming of the day when he can buy a small boat and sail around the Scottish Highlands; it is gloriously uplifting.
This record features one of my all-time favourite Side Bs. It starts with 'Chocolate Girl', a tale of love with the wrong sort of man, and then there is 'Dignity' followed by 'The Very Thing', another song full of optimism. Next is 'Loves Great Fears', a track singer Ricky Ross has often cited as his all-time favourite, I’m with him.
The record finishes with the brilliant 'Town To Be Blamed'. It is a tale of people trying to cope with feeling trapped and resigned to their lot. It always felt heavy and oppressive, full of anger and hopelessness - it summed me up as a stroppy teenager pretty well!
Listening to the record almost 40 years on, it still thrills me, it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and transports me back to when I saw them play this album live at the Royal Court in Liverpool at only my second ever gig. I adore this record.
Fancy a copy? This 2020 rerelease on blue vinyl is available all over the place for about £25.
Tracks To Try: Any of them.
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