Audio

Deacon Blue announce new album and UK tour, including massive Manchester gig

They're back with their first lot of new material in a few years.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 26th November 2024

UK pop-rock legends Deacon Blue have just announced a new album and UK tour, including a massive date here in Manchester.

The Scottish superstars and long-standing British band are back with their 11th studio album and have confirmed a slew of domestic tour dates along with the announcement.

Having been going since 1985, they are well and truly some of the most revered recording veterans to ever come out of the country, known for hit tracks like ‘Real Gone Kid’, ‘Dignity’, ‘Loaded’ and more.

Revealing a total of 20 dates across various arenas and theatres, Deacon Blue will be kicking things off their tour in their home country before sweeping across the rest of the nation.

In addition to the new LP, The Great Western Road, Deacon Blue have plenty to celebrate next year as 2025 also marks the band’s 40th anniversary.

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Speaking on the new album, founding members Ricky Ross and Dougie Vipond say it reflects on their journey as a group, as well as their lengthy career in the industry in this new album, as well the band’s shared age and experience after four decades making music on taking it on the road.

Commenting on the announcement, lead singer Ricky Ross said: “It’s just the next part of the adventure and it’s as exciting now as it was back then.”

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“I love the idea that a circus coming to town is a temporary existence, a little bit of magic suddenly appears in the middle of a town or a village and then it goes away. It’s very similar to what you do live.

Perhaps most excitingly besides the upcoming album itself, one of the coolest things about this new tour is that it’s not going to be your average old headline gig: they’ve promised two different shows.

Explaining that they’ll be “curating a show that changes and evolves, pulling out little surprises every now and again”, the theatre shows will also be distinct from the bigger arena shows, allowing them to flick between the new music and the hits.

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They’ve said they want to give fans “the best night of their lives” and make each show just as brilliant as the last – big words indeed.

“The live experience is so ephemeral, at the end of a show people lose all their inhibitions, and then it’s over. You have to be there. That’s what’s magical about it”, says Ross.

As for The Great Western Road – a tribute to Glasgow’s legendary street of the same name located between the city centre and its West End – the album drops on 21 March 2025, with Deacon Blue arriving in Manchester a few months later.

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Deacon Blue will be coming to the AO Arena in Manchester city centre on 1 October 2025 and general admission goes live at 9am this Friday, 29 November.

Three mobile customers can also get exclusive presale access on Wednesday, 27 November from 10am.

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You can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.

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Featured Images — Supplied