Walking Back Home

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They were strong characters in my life and I felt I spent a lot of time with them. A really enjoyable time. Physically, emotionally and spiritually, you’re moving. There’s a little place on Mull where I used to take kids when I was a youth worker, and we used to do a wee sing-song. Christmas and Glasgow' was recorded at CaVa — Robin Rankine must have been involved — and I'm sure Rachel Smillie played that whistle. It was only available before on the Oscar Marzaroli tribute record — you can see his work on this sleeve and a few others from our early days." Making records, should be a “fun thing”, he said, noting that Dundee-based Deacon Blue bandmate Gregor Philp was in the audience. My mum in a lovely kind of gesture said my sister was really keen to see Mary Poppins and we were taken to see Mary Poppins but we didn’t get to speak about it.

For all these years I’ve told stories. Sometimes these days I also tell them on the radio. I’ve met some amazing people and their stories need told too. The first time Deacon Blue ever played Wembley Arena I started to introduce a song only to hear, “Get on with it” shouted from Row Z. We proceeded with the song, but I often thought I’d quite like to finish that story.’ There’s lots of stuff about the band, but also lots that’s very personal – material that would really be of no consequence to anyone else, but meant a lot to me. So walking through these beautiful glens, absorbing and taking in the magnificent landscape, you’re walking through a landscape stained with blood.” Lorraine was upstairs, self-isolating with Covid – I’d recently got over my bout – and it just started to take shape in this little studio here. It wasn’t really intentional, I just got this creative spur, and ended up writing and recording it at the same time, which is quite unusual for me.”For all these years I’ve told stories. Sometimes these days I also tell them on the radio. I’ve met some amazing people and their stories need told too.

With festivals like Winter Words, you get out, you meet people. And you get to see lovely places as well.” ‘A job for angry loners’ I think you get used to sort of creating a public persona after being in the public eye for 30-odd years,” admits Ross. It’s just my perennial thing: it doesn’t matter what phase of life you’re at, you’re travelling through it. You’re trying to get somewhere, and possibly you’ll never arrive.” But you can have too much of a good thing, and if you spent too much time on your own, you’d go mad,” she admits.I had no sense that was something that I fought against hugely because there was a real sense of love and community in my family. That probably comes out in the book.” Memories of Mary Poppins For all these years, I've told stories These days, I sometimes tell them on the radio. I've met some amazing people, and their stories need to be told too. The first time Deacon Blue ever played Wembley Arena, I started to introduce a song, only to hear, 'Get on with it!' shouted from row Z. We proceeded with the song, but I often thought I'd quite like to finish that story. Here it is." For a memoir writer, a book festival may feel like a vulnerable event – after all, you can safely assume everyone in the room knows your life story.

His long second marriage to his bandmate Lorraine McIntosh has clearly been a thing of joy for them both. And through it all there has been the music: “The only thing I have ever been fascinated by was the power of a song, and what a song could do to me when it really connected.” If we’ve learned anything about the life-cycle of pop groups, though, it’s that the years of boom and bust can often give way to a critical and commercial rehabilitation. Instead, fans will be treated to a conversation about her latest novel Confidence, a thriller which dives into faith and religion, art smuggling and the world of digital detectives – as well as, she promises, some fun anecdotes. Denise Mina: ‘Reading used to be private’ As of 2012, Deacon Blue's total album sales stood at six million, [5] with twelve UK top 40 singles, along with two UK number one albums. [5] Solo work (1984–present) [ edit ] It doesn’t really matter if you’re meeting the Pope or the Dalai Lama or the bloke three doors down,” says Ross. “What the reader really wants to know about is you and your emotions.”The band's tenth studio album City of Love was released on 6 March 2020. In February 2021, they released their eleventh studio album entitled Riding on the Tide of Love to commercial success in both the UK and their native Scotland. I listened to this on Audible and he reads this very well, hearing it in his voice was a definite plus. Less a blow by blow account of the band's up and downs, more a series of meditations on his childhood, family, youth work, travel, faith and doubt, as well as song writing and, of course, music. That suited me well because although I loved the first album I was never a great fan of the band, so I appreciated the wider perspectives of this book. Starting from early memories of family in Dundee and taking us through to the present day, this is a well told and constructed book. Shining through strongly is RR’s passion for music and songwriting, which has been with him from an early age. Various people have said to me could they write something about me?” he says, “and I thought ‘no I don’t fancy that because then I won’t really be in charge’. Paul Murton discovered just how brutal the Scottish Highlands could be when researching his latest book. Image: Supplied by Paul Murton.