The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Ross back in town with tunes and storytelling
Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross has revealed he was struggling with a bad case of flu during his previous solo performance in Aberdeen.
The illness was so severe the 64-year-old had to visit a doctor on the day of the Granite City performance.
However, the Scottish veteran believes “the show must go on”.
Determined not to let his fans down he took to the stage at the Lemon Tree and “managed to get through it”.
Now the chart-topping star is hoping for a smoother evening on his return.
Ricky will headline The Tivoli on Tuesday September 20 to promote his new album Short Stories Vol. 2.
He said: “The last time I played solo in Aberdeen I had flu and it was quite difficult. I had to see a doctor in the afternoon.
“I managed to get through it but it was a struggle.”
Ross has already played in Aberdeen this year, headlining P&J Live with Deacon Blue in May.
He said: “I have so many happy memories of playing in Aberdeen both solo and with Deacon Blue. We played many nights at The Music Hall, which is a fantastic venue.
“However, it got to the point it was getting crammed and we had to move to a bigger place.
“I remember there was a wild night in Aberdeen after a tour when we played The Venue in the city.
“There were some great nights in Aberdeen.”
Short Stories Vol. 2, Ricky’s eighth solo album, was recorded at home with contributions from Deacon Blue band-mates Lorraine McIntosh and Gregor Philp.
In a hectic summer, the singer-songwriter also released an autobiography written during the pandemic while isolated in a cottage in Fife.
Walking Back Home focuses on his early life in Dundee and the rise, demise and resurrection of multi-million-selling charttoppers Deacon Blue.
The Tivoli show will be an intimate night with Ricky singing and playing piano.
Ricky will play songs from the new album and from across his career.
He will also share stories from Walking Back Home.
Aberdeen is the first night of the tour and he says it will be a leap into the unknown with the new format.
Ricky said: “I will do a lot of story telling with songs and setting up songs.
“However,” he laughed, “it might never happen again. If it goes OK I’ll do it for the rest of the nights.
“The plan is to do things that are associated with the book.
“If you get hold of the book, you will see there are connections to the songs in some of the chapters.”
Deacon Blue formed in 1985 and enjoyed almost a decade of sustained chart success.
Timeless hits such as Dignity, Wages Day and Real Gone Kid have become part of Scottish musical culture.
Ricky began a successful solo career in 1996 with the album What You Are and success also continues with Deacon Blue.
City of Love, released in 2020, was the band’s most successful release in almost 25 years.
However, the Covid outbreak in March 2020 effectively shut down live music for a year, initially depriving the band the opportunity to take City of Love on tour.
To combat the isolation, Deacon Blue got creative, doing online shows including a Hogmanay performance in 2020.
Ricky also took to social media and connected with fans by publishing an A to Z of his favourite albums.
He invited fans to find solace in revisiting music from previous, better, times in the midst of the covid lockdown.
Nothing, however, replaces the buzz of a live concert in front of fans.
Ricky said: “You couldn’t be together during Covid so we did a couple of lock-in sessions on YouTube and Spotify.
“We also did a Hogmanay show.
“We tried to keep as much social media activity going.
“Early on in the pandemic I started putting out an A to Z of favourite albums.
“Just so people could go back into their record collections and listen to them again.
“Now, it is just great to be playing live again.”
Ricky Ross visits The Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen, on Tuesday September 20. Visit thetivolitheatre.com for more information.