Anniversary show a treat for fans old and new

Deacon Blue, St David’s Hall Cardiff

THE resurgence of interest in Deacon Blue is quite staggering of late.

Of course, celebrating their 30th anniversary will bring out fans and former fans in droves, yet the fact that they are still making new and refreshing music – with the 2016 Believers album receiving great critical acclaim and no doubt attracting new fans – certainly played a massive part in igniting a whole new, totally unexpected career boost rather than just resting on their laurels.

As always, singer Ricky Ross takes the limelight, being front and centre, bursting with energy that belies the fact he’s the recent recipient of a bus pass, such was his prowling and cajoling through nearly two hours of fast-paced Celtic rock. Opening their set with the driving I Was Right You Were Wrong, it proved a slow build that suddenly burst into life following the first instantly recognisable bars of Raintown, a masterpiece of epic proportions with a reaction that set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Not that it was all power and pace. Deacon Blue’s quiet moments are always wistful and full of nostalgia and longing, most evident in a moving When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring), which including a refrain into the Chi-lites classic Have You Seen Her.

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catch your breath with a touching moment when Ross, with bandmate and wife Lorraine McIntosh celebrated their son Seamus’ 18th birthday with a song and birthday cake leaving a very embarrassed, yet no doubt proud, son.

Back to business. In a varied set, their big hitters obviously received the biggest response from a very vocal crowd, with Real Gone Kid, Loaded and Chocolate Girl getting the Beatlemania treatment, while a sing-a-long Dignity provided a fittng encore before ending the evening with a band rendition of Willie Nelson’s Always On My Mind and beaming smiles for all those who attended.

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by Tony Woolway and

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