Deacon duo still in harmony

DEACON Blue couple Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh mark two huge anniversaries this year. It’s 35 years since they formed their band and 30 since they got married.

The Glasgow outfit have had 14 hit singles and sold seven million albums, two of them chart toppers.

Parents to three children, over the years Ricky, 62, and Lorraine, 55, have diversified – he as a radio presenter on BBC Radio Scotland, she as an actress on River City.

But new album City Of Love, their third since their 2012 comeback The Hipsters, confirms Deacon Blue’s concerted creative renaissance.

Few pop marriages manage to survive so successfully as creative partnerships, so what’s the secret to their longevity? “If I could answer that I’d probably be worth quite a lot of money,”chuckled Ricky.

Having your wife in the band must have advantages, so how does it affect the music?

“When we are working on demos, she’ll drift in – and if she stays and joins in, we know we are getting somewhere. She’s always had a good ear,” he revealed.

While Ricky and Lorraine’s relationship and family life bolster and inspire Deacon Blue songs, their fans sometimes ask for Lorraine to be given more lead vocals.

Ricky added: “I tell them, ‘You don’t understand, she loves singing harmony’. We really have to persuade Lorraine some nights to sing Cover From The Sky where she takes the lead. The crowd love it but harmony is what she really likes.”

Ricky’s role as a radio presenter has helped him with his day job.

“My interest as an interviewer is always gauged toward the song,” he said. “I’ve sat with Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton and it’s always really enlightening. “You get an insight into what people are thinking and doing. At some point that must feed back into what you do.”

Later in the year, Deacon Blue will embark on a long tour, and loyal audiences that span the generations have ensured that Ricky has never had to return to his first job as a school teacher. He said: “The greatest thing for me is still getting up on a Monday when you see other people walking to work, especially the first Monday of January.

“I was thinking, ‘You know, we’re not working’. Still getting away with it. That was what I wanted to do when I was working. I love being able to make music.”

● City Of Love is out next Friday.