Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross has announced a new album, his autobiography and a solo tour – which will kick off in Aberdeen’s Tivoli Theatre.
Following the release of Deacon Blue’s City Of Love album – the band’s most successful album in 25 years – Ricky Ross unveiled his eighth solo album, titled Short Stories Vol. 2, to be released on August 19.
Having recorded the album at home, it was then augmented with sumptuous strings and brass, alongside contributions from his fellow Deacon Blue cohorts Lorraine McIntosh and Gregor Philp.
Walking Back Home: Deacon Blue singer Ricky Ross to release a memoir and perform in Aberdeen
Together with his album, Ricky will also release his autobiography Walking Back Home.
In his memoir, Ricky 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.
The singer writes 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.
The album and book will be supported by a tour with Ricky at the piano, playing beautiful venues around the country, presenting songs from across his entire career and sharing stories from his autobiography.
The tour will start on September 20 at the Tivoli, before going on to Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Some stories were too long to become songs
The singer said: “I’ve always been interested in telling stories. Most of the stories have become songs but some stories take a little longer.
“A couple of years ago I started to write down some longer memories which didn’t fit as snugly into verses or choruses. I hope people might enjoy the stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them down.”
A limited-edition 12” coloured vinyl version of the album will soon be available to order alongside tickets for the tour.
There will be an exclusive fan pre-sale for 24 hours before the general sale starts at 9am on Friday February 4.
Ricky Ross will play Aberdeen’s The Tivoli Theatre on Tuesday September 20.
In other news, Deacon Blue were supposed to play Aberdeen’s P&J Live on December 18, however, the band decided to postpone their show due to the worsening Covid-19 situation before official restrictions were introduced. The band will now perform their biggest hits at P&J Live on May 6. Tickets can be booked here.