Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue: ‘Playing live in a band of friends is a great privilege’

Scottish pop icons Deacon Blue, known for classic hits such as Real Gone Kid, Wages Day, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again and Your Town, are to perform at Newmarket’s July Course on Friday, 16 August, as part of the Newmarket Nights series of concerts.

Formed in Glasgow in the mid-80s, the current line-up of Deacon Blue consists of singers Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, Dougie Vipond on drums, Jim Prime on keyboards, guitarist Gregor Philp, and Lewis Gordon on bass.

A new compilation album, All the Old 45s – The Very Best of Deacon Blue, was released in September 2023.

Jenny Entwistle put some questions to the band’s lead singer, Ricky Ross.

You’re no stranger to a Jockey Club Live show, Ricky, having played a huge sold-out date at Aintree Racecourse in 2016 – what is it about summer open air shows that you enjoy?

There was a magical atmosphere the last time we played at Aintree and it’s often the case that something special happens on summer evenings.

When you have the moon and stars as added lighting effects, anything can happen!

All the Old 45s is celebrating the best of Deacon Blue – what was it like going through your back catalogue to create the anthology? Are there any tracks you’ve particularly enjoyed revisiting?

After we released the album, we recorded a bonus CD of acoustic versions of songs from almost every album.

Chocolate Girl and Cover from the Sky were two of the singles we reinvented and we’ve kept doing these versions live over the last year.

Newmarket Racecourse is in Suffolk, close to Cambridge – do you have any memories or anecdotes of touring the region previously?

We’ve played in Cambridge many times. In the early days we played college summer balls to kids in penguin suits and frocks.

More recently, we love playing the Corn Exchange there. It’s a venue made for great sound and atmosphere. I hope we get to come back too.

For those who haven't seen Deacon Blue live before, what can we expect from your Newmarket Nights headline show?

We try to make every night unique. I often say that we want to give people the best night of their lives, and honestly, that’s what we want to do.

Playing live in a band of friends is a great privilege and we enjoy being able to share that joy with audiences every night we get a chance to play.

Deacon Blue will be performing at Newmarket’s July Course on Friday, 16 August. Tickets, priced from £35.84 for adults, are available from thejockeyclub.co.uk. For more on the band, go to deaconblue.com.