Deacon Blue

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Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The original Deacon Blue band also included Ewen Vernal as bass guitarist. The original guitarist in Deacon Blue was the late Graeme Kelling; the current Deacon Blue guitarist is Gregor Philp and the current bass guitarist is Lewis Gordon. Although Kelling and Philp are the only two official Deacon Blue guitarists, a few others have played guitar for Deacon Blue albums; for their 2001 studio album Homesick (which was recorded when Kelling was ill), the guitarist was swapped around for different tracks, with Mick Slaven or Davy Scott playing when Graeme Kelling found it too difficult.

The band released their debut album, Raintown, on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the United States on February 1988. The album has the overtones of a concept album relating to the struggles of getting by in life in the inner city of urban life - the city being unmistakably Glasgow, referenced by the roots of the band and by the images on the cover of the album, the view of a rainy day over Glasgow's West End (with the Finnieston Crane featuring prominently) and, on the rear, a long-exposure capture of the Kingston Bridge blasting through the city centre at night. Their second album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989) topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first UK top ten single.