Town And Country Club London
Record Mirror 4th April 1988

Last year Glasgow's Deacon Blue arrived amid a host of contemporaries in the most almighty trumpeting of the smooth Scottish designer soul.The problem was that their album 'Raintown' had just too much designer in it and not nearly enough penetrating soul.Having been earmarked for major success so soon they still have a strange quality of only just being on the verge of still remaining a paler shade of  'Simply Red'.

Despite that Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh on main vocals now have a sort of double act that could wow 'em  in a variety spot on 'Friday Night Live'. Ricky does the quips and Ben Voletrouser moon-walking and Lorraine - a just William spit in her little shorts and boots - marches  and stamps and bounces round the band like a trouper.Great committed voices both, but it's still all too easy to come out of the end of a Deacon Blue song quite unscathed by any memory of the previous three minutes.

Their encore is a lot livelier , with 'Just Like Boys',' Twist And Turn', Costello's 'Pump It Up' and Prince's 'Girls And Boys' carrying the oomph the main set badly lacks.But what the hell, if Red Wedge soul soundtracks are your bag, Deacon Blue have enough energy reserves enough to keep on keepin' on for  a while yet. Pete Paisley