Legendary Deacon Blue front-man has revealed he was struggling with a bad case of flu during his previous solo performance in Aberdeen.
The illness was so severe the 64-year old had to visit a doctor on the afternoon of the Granite City performance.
However Scottish singing great Ricky is a believer that “the show must go on”.
Determined not to let down his fans he took to the stage at The Lemon Tree and although a struggle “managed to get through it”.
Now the chart-topping star is hoping for a far smoother evening when returning to the Granite City.
Ricky will headline The Tivoli on Tuesday September 20 to promote new album Short Stories Vol. 2.
He said: “The last time I played solo in Aberdeen I had flu and it was quite difficult.
“I had to see a doctor in the afternoon. I managed to get through it but it was a struggle. It was a really cold time of year as well.”
Quick fire return to the Granite City
The much-anticipated show at the Tivoli marks a welcome solo return to the Granite City for the singer.
However he has played in Aberdeen this year when headlining P&J Live with Deacon Blue in May.
Ricky said: “I have so many happy memories of playing Aberdeen both solo and with Deacon Blue.
“We played many nights at The Music Hall which is a fantastic venue I love.
“However it got to the point it was getting crammed and we had to move to a bigger place.
“I remember there was a wild night in Aberdeen after a tour when we played The Venue in the city. There were some great nights in Aberdeen.”
Autobiography Walking Back Home
Recent album Short Stories Vol.2 was recorded at home with contributions from Deacon Blue band-mates Lorraine McIntosh and Gregor Philp.
It is Ricky’s eighth solo album.
In a hectic summer, the singer-songwriter also released a book.
Autobiography Walking Back Home focuses on his early life in Dundee and the rise, demise and resurrection of multi-million selling chart toppers Deacon Blue.
The book was written during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ricky spent five days of isolation in a cottage in Fife with only his dog for company honing the text.
Intimate performance with piano
The Tivoli show will be an intimate night with Ricky singing and playing piano.
Ricky will play songs from the new album and across his entire career.
He will also share stories from Walking Back Home.
Aberdeen is the first night of the tour so he is very much leaping into the unknown with the format.
RRHQ – Short Stories Vol.2 – A Track By Track // Track 11: Bethlehem’s Gate.
Short Stories Vol.2 is out now! Get your copy here: https://t.co/D2vywpk3hq
Bethlehem’s Gate is the final track on the album and this is the last video in our track by track series. pic.twitter.com/gxUThwyYmm
— Ricky Ross (@rickyaross) August 12, 2022
Ricky said: “I will do a lot of storytelling with songs and setting up songs. That is what will happen in Aberdeen on the first night of the tour.
“However,” he laughed, “it might be that it never happens again. If it goes okay I’ll do it for the rest of the nights.
“The plan is to do things that are associated with the book. Some of the chapters in the book have song titles.
“If you get hold of the book you will see there are connections to the songs in some of the chapters.”
Ricky’s love of performing live
Deacon Blue formed in 1985 and enjoyed almost a decade of sustained chart success.
Timeless hits such as Dignity, Wages Day and Real Gone Kid have become part of the fabric of Scottish musical culture.
Ricky began a successful solo career in 1996 with album What You Are and has now released eight long players.
Success also continues with Deacon Blue. Album City Of Love, released in 2020, was the band’s most successful release in almost 25 years.
However, the Covid outbreak in March 2020 effectively shut down live music for a year, initially depriving the band the opportunity to take City Of Love on tour.
To combat that isolation Deacon Blue got creative, doing online shows including a Hogmanay performance in 2020.
Ricky also took to social media and connected with fans by publishing an A to Z of his favourite albums.
He invited fans to find solace in revisiting music from previous, better, times in the midst of the covid lockdown.
Nothing, however replaces the buzz of a live concert in front of fans.
Ricky said: “You couldn’t be together during Covid so we did a couple of lock in sessions on Youtube and Spotify.
“We also did a Hogmanay show. We tried to keep as much social media activity going.
“Early on in the pandemic I started putting out an A to Z of favourite albums. Just so people could go back into their record collections and listen to them again.
“Now it is just great to be playing live again.”
For more information and tickets for Ricky Ross at The Tivoli, go to thetivolitheatre.com
Conversation