Who Was Deacon Blue Keyboardist and 'Killie Boy' James Prime?
The Herald 19th June 2025

A son of East Ayrshire, Jim Prime rose to prominence as a member of award-winning rock band Deacon Blue.The Kilmarnock-born keyboardist cut his teeth as a session musician with punk group Altered Images, joining them on tour of the United States in 1980. Prime, who died today at 64, co-founded Deacon Blue in 1985 with Ricky Ross, Lorraine MacInosh, Ewen Vernal and Dougie Vipond.The band rose up the UK charts in the 1980s, with top hits including ‘Real Gone Kid’ (no.8), ‘I’ll Never Fall in Love Again’ (no.2), and ‘Twist and Shout’ (no.10).

Deacon Blue, which broke up in 1994 before returning to the stage a decade later, also has two UK number one albums. In an interview with Aussie music podcast The Keyboard Chronicles last year, Prime talked about his upbringing and musical inspiration. He said: “I come from like a long line of piano players in my house, three sisters, and so they all played the flute and the guitar and the piano. But I had something else that was going on. “My mum told me that I started playing piano when I was 4. So it was before even preschool, you know, or kindergarten. “Off the back of Altered Images, I was working at a little theatre, getting a chance to work with techies and lighting guys. I made my money playing in the theatre and I loved that.“It was like an old fashioned piano player playing with film, you know. And I think that the theatre experience really taught me how to put shows together and what the audience expects.”

Prime went on to explain how he briefly left the music industry after “getting the fear” and went to work at a computer centre for Clydesdale. It was then when his life began to change.He told The Keyboard Chronicles: “This local DJ said we have this guy Ricky Ross and, so in between doing a lot of little gigs and things like that, I met up with Ricky and we just hit it off. “We played some pretty horrible places. But there was just something about being in a band and that camaraderie that kind of develops you, warts and all. “I guess that's why I learned most was to trust other people that the world's full of good people rather than bad people, which I had experience of.” “My modus operandi is that it doesn't matter whether it's a 20,000 capacity stadium, the next day you're in a supermarket or you're taking your dog for a walk. That's real."The Hydro isn't real. It's just a show. That's what you do, but your life is turned upside down.”

Prime’s legacy extends beyond his association with Deacon Blue, as the keyboardist became a longtime music lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS).He spoke about his time teaching at UWS, quipping: “You can imagine a class with me doesn't come from any book. “I try as much as I can now to tell people about the power that their music has for other people, not just writing songs in bedrooms and being on the stage. “I do a lot of work with Alzheimer's Scotland, and I've done stuff with special needs and I try to encourage kids to get out there and talk to all people and help them with their memory.”  Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco