This is an archived post from our old website. Please excuse us if it looks a bit off, we are working through old posts and making sure they look tip top!
Sunglasses, fold-up camping chairs, picnics and precautionary wellies were de rigueur for the Deacon Blue gig held in Dalby Forest near Pickering on Saturday night.
A happy, chilled out crowd welcomed the first supporting act – Galia Arad, a lovely, chatty American singer/songwriter, and her backing boys The Lollipops. Her folky/acoustic songs were well received, and as well as Galia’s own material (which included the fantastically named ‘Whoops I Forgot To Say I Had A Boyfriend’), they also performed a funked up cover version of Cee Lo Green’s ‘Forget You’.
The band will have needed some stamina though, as after performing so well at the Dalby Forest gig, they were zooming off to perform at Glastonbury the next day!
Next up were Scottish band Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire.
Emotive and rocky with hints of Biffy Clyro and The Killers but with their own powerful and atmospheric slant, they performed a strong tight set and their songs had what I call ‘some welly’ to them! They performed tracks from their eponymous album which were a mix of harmonious and heartfelt with a good bit of Celtic rock thrown in. From what I could hear from my neighbouring gig goers, the audience certainly loved them – I think they gathered some new fans that night.
Picnic paraphernalia now packed away, the crowd gave Deacon Blue a very warm welcome.
It’s hard to believe they have been performing as long as they have, as they sounded as fresh as ever. It’s good to see a band enjoying themselves which they certainly seemed to be. As always, Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh blended their voices brilliantly.
They performed a catalogue of songs from their best selling albums, and it’s amazing how many have stayed in the old memory banks. They showcased their eclectic collection of definitive songs including ‘When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)?’, ‘Wages Day’, ‘Fergus Sings The Blues’, ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Your Town’ and ‘Chocolate Girl’.
‘Queen of The New Year’ got the knees bending and everyone bopping around in a ‘barn dancey’ fashion and ‘Real Gone Kid’ also had the crowd jumping up and down.
‘Dignity’ was part of their encore and finished off what was brilliant night with all singing along; Deacon Blue were warm and charming and didn’t disappoint. The audience loved them.
The forest setting was beautiful and the whole event was really well organised with well signed traffic flow, easy parking, plenty of facilities and pleasant, helpful site staff.
Midges aside (!) it was a perfect way to spend a summer’s evening.
