About this concert
In Conversation with Ralph McLean
Ricky Ross has had a 35-year career in music, as a songwriter and lead singer for Deacon Blue one of Scotland’s best loved and most successful bands. In his memoir Walking Back Home Ross revisits his formative years growing up in Dundee, his early forays into music and the beginning, extraordinary success, fall out, and re-emergence of Deacon Blue. Ross writes movingly and with great wit about the people and places that have meant the most to him, as well as his relationship with faith, politics, and the ever changing challenges of being a musician.
Ricky Ross formed Deacon Blue over 30 years ago, and 2017 saw the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album, Raintown. A string of bestsellers followed it. Ricky presents a number of radio shows including BBC Radio Scotland's Americana music show Another Country (for which he has won two Sony awards and a CMA International Trophy in 2015) and Sunday Morning With.
Deacon Blue will embark on a Greatest Hits stadium tour this Autumn, and we are delighted to welcome Ricky to The Helicon to chat with Ralph McLean about his life and career.
Show More
Find a place to stay
Upcoming concerts from similar artists
What fans are saying
Jayne
October 13th 2022
Ricky Ross, in superb form, returned to Billericay Emmanuel Church’s beautiful setting to present songs from his new solo album plus a few favourites from his previous solo album and some Deacon Blue classics from Raintown.
Most were played at the piano and a couple on acoustic guitar but each one delivered reflectively, particularly with regards to his experience of lockdown. He read passages from his book and added memories of his family and life growing up in his often humourous observations. We had seen him in the same venue at his previous solo tour and loved that so there was no chance that we were going to miss out on this gig. Absolutely gorgeous, with a warm receptive audience who would welcome him back anytime.
Billericay, United Kingdom@Emmanuel Church
Easily follow all your favorite artists by syncing your music
Sync Music
Share Event
Ricky Ross Biography
Deacon Blue singer-songwriter Ricky Ross will release his sixth solo album, Trouble Came Looking, via Edsel, on April 8th, 2013. Set against a backdrop of global economic recession, the record’s raw, acoustic tales of poverty, displacement and desperation herald Ross’s starkest and most urgent work to date. To mark its release, Ross has announced a UK tour of intimate venues in April / May, at which he’ll perform Deacon Blue and solo songs as they were originally written, backed by Deacon Blue guitarist Gregor Philp.
While last year saw Scottish pop favourites Deacon Blue celebrate their 25th Anniversary with a Top 20 LP (The Hipsters) and a large-scale sold-out UK tour, 2013 sees Ross focus on untold stories and unheard voices. He says of Trouble Came Looking: “I wanted to tell these people’s stories, to lay them down, without anything getting in the way. The songs are rough round the edges, they’re barely written. I’ve never done that before.”
Trouble Came Looking’s lyrics and music reinforce its social climate of scarcity, necessity and lack of choice – from its first-person narratives to its stirring, pared-back arrangements, as cannily augmented by Philp (guitar, banjo, mandolin) and Lewis Gordon (double bass). “There’s no backing vocals, no extra instrumentation. And I wrote most of the songs on guitar, on the only two chords I know,” laughs Ross.
Ross, who also presents BBC Radio Scotland’s Another Country and Sunday Morning With… says of his forthcoming UK tour: “This is a great opportunity for me – it’s going to be an adventure for one thing. Gregor and I will drive ourselves around the country. The idea was to stop pretty much anywhere that had a piano, so that we could set up with minimal fuss. I’m looking forward to playing places we couldn’t get to with Deacon Blue, and sharing the untold stories behind my songs in churches and village halls.”
Trouble Came Looking is available to download here: http://bit.ly/10MWEh8
And on CD here: http://amzn.to/XB1Mtt
Read MoreWhile last year saw Scottish pop favourites Deacon Blue celebrate their 25th Anniversary with a Top 20 LP (The Hipsters) and a large-scale sold-out UK tour, 2013 sees Ross focus on untold stories and unheard voices. He says of Trouble Came Looking: “I wanted to tell these people’s stories, to lay them down, without anything getting in the way. The songs are rough round the edges, they’re barely written. I’ve never done that before.”
Trouble Came Looking’s lyrics and music reinforce its social climate of scarcity, necessity and lack of choice – from its first-person narratives to its stirring, pared-back arrangements, as cannily augmented by Philp (guitar, banjo, mandolin) and Lewis Gordon (double bass). “There’s no backing vocals, no extra instrumentation. And I wrote most of the songs on guitar, on the only two chords I know,” laughs Ross.
Ross, who also presents BBC Radio Scotland’s Another Country and Sunday Morning With… says of his forthcoming UK tour: “This is a great opportunity for me – it’s going to be an adventure for one thing. Gregor and I will drive ourselves around the country. The idea was to stop pretty much anywhere that had a piano, so that we could set up with minimal fuss. I’m looking forward to playing places we couldn’t get to with Deacon Blue, and sharing the untold stories behind my songs in churches and village halls.”
Trouble Came Looking is available to download here: http://bit.ly/10MWEh8
And on CD here: http://amzn.to/XB1Mtt
Follow artist