Latest news with #TheGreatWesternRoad
Metro
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Deacon Blue legend James Prime dies age 64 after 'short struggle'
James Prime, a founding member of pop-rock group Deacon Blue, has died age 64 after being rushed to hospital last week. His bandmates previously revealed he was 'seriously ill' and asked for well wishes but did not reveal any further details at the time. Deacon Blue has now confirmed that Prime died on Thursday morning, after being diagnosed with cancer. They wrote on social media: 'We announce with great sadness that our brother, James Prime, passed away this morning after a short struggle with cancer. 'Thank you so much for the messages of support that you shared over the last two weeks, they meant so much to Jim, his family and us.' Formed in Glasgow in 1985, the Scottish pop rock band's line-up also includes vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Lewis Gordon. Before he died, Prime is said to have given his bandmates his 'full blessing' to continue performing and touring without him. Deacon Blue released The Great Western Road just months ago, adding to their extensive legacy, which includes 12 UK top 40 singles and over seven million copies of their albums sold. The band's initial statement continued: 'We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue's plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead, even if it means replacing the irreplaceable James Miller Prime for the time being. 'Together with Jim's family, we want to thank all the nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and compassion.' Prime was born in Kilmarnock and worked as a university lecturer, alongside being with Deacon Blue since its inception in the 1980s. The band is known for their chart-topping hits such as Dignity, Chocolate Girl and Real Gone Kid. More Trending They have undergone several line-up changes over the years, with past members including Graeme Kelling, Ewen Vernal, Mick Slaven, Scott Fraser, Taj Wyzgowski, Ged Grimes and Chris Henderson. Deacon Blue's 1987 debut album Raintown reached number 14 in the UK Albums Chart. Their 1989 follow-up When the World Knows Your Name hit number one, with its lead single Real Gone Kid nominated for British Single of the Year at the Brit Awards, ultimately losing to Perfect by Fairground Attraction. After a hiatus in 1994, the band reunited in 1999 and have remained active ever since. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Bay City Rollers icon reveals he suffered 'horrific' abuse at hands of predator manager MORE: Martin Kemp reveals he might not actually be married Shirlie Holliman MORE: Raye praises 'amazing' Lola Young after technical glitch left her in tears
Metro
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
80s Scottish pop rock musician 'seriously ill' in intensive care
Deacon Blue keyboard player James Prime is 'seriously' ill after being rushed to hospital. Formed in Glasgow in 1985, the Scottish pop rock band's line-up also includes vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Lewis Gordon. Since releasing their debut album Raintown in 1987, the band have achieved 12 UK top 40 singles and have sold over seven million copies of their 12 albums. However just a few months after the release of their album The Great Western Road, the band have revealed James, 64, is currently seriously unwell. 'Dear friends, we wanted to share some news with you about our brother, Jim,' they began. 'Unfortunately, he is seriously ill and undergoing care in hospital. We would like you to join us in wishing him well and to share our love with him. The band, who are currently on tour across the UK went on to say James had 'encouraged us to continue' 'We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue's plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead, even if it means replacing the irreplaceable James Miller Prime for the time being,' they continued. 'Together with Jim's family, we want to thank all the nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and compassion.' It is not clear what James has been hospitalised with. Fans of the band rushed to support the musician, sending messages of support. 'Wishing Jim all the positive vibes for recovery,' Alison commented on Instagram. 'Sending much love. Get well soon!' Steph shared. 'All love, prayers, and harmonic thoughts to the mighty Jim Prime,' Eve added. More Trending Born in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, James began his career as a session musician on an Altered Images tour of the US in 1980. It was after the band split up that he helped form Deacon Blue, who grew to become one of Scotland's best-known acts. After splitting in 1994, they re-formed five years later and have since released seven more albums. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'Best vampire movie in history' added to Netflix to celebrate 40th anniversary MORE: East 17 icon feels 'absolutely amazing' as he's baptised by The Krays' henchman MORE: Robert De Niro tricks Hollywood legend into taking part in TikTok trend
Glasgow Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Deacon Blue has shared news ahead of Glasgow Hydro gig
Deacon Blue announced on social media that keyboardist Jim Prime has been hospitalised after falling unwell. The 64-year-old musician helped form the band in 1985 alongside Ricky Ross, Lorraine McIntosh, Dougie Vipond, Ewen Vernal, and the late Graeme Kelling. READ MORE: Ricky Ross shared adorable picture of wife in touching post Details about Prime's condition have not been released, but the band confirmed he has given them his blessing to continue with their scheduled tour, which concludes with two nights at Glasgow's OVO Hydro this October. In a heartfelt statement, the band wrote: "Dear friends, "We want to share some news with you about our brother Jim. "Unfortunately, he is seriously ill and undergoing care in hospital. We would like you to join us in wishing him well and to share your love with him. "We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue's plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead even if it means replacing the irreplacable Jame Miller Prime for the time being. "Together with Jim's family, we want to thank all nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and comapssion. "With love, Ricky, Lorraine, Dougie, Gregor, Lewis and Tom." Fans flooded the comment section following the sad update sharing their well wishes for Jim. One fan wrote: "Wishing Jim a speedy recovery and you all safe travels on your musical journeys." Another commented: "Oh Jim! Guys, I'm praying for him and for you all during this horribly uncertain time. Jim = legend." A third added: "Sending prayers and healing wishes to you, Jim. "Stay positive and do as the medical staff tells you! We look forward to seeing you tinkling the ivories when you're ready." The Glasgow-based band will perform two major shows at the OVO Hydro on Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11, 2025, as part of their Deacon Blue: The Great Western Road Trip tour. Tickets are available now, ranging from £45 to £75. READ MORE: Deacon Blue reveal tribute to Glasgow's Great Western Road Last year, the Glasgow Times reported that the band's latest album will pay tribute to the city's iconic Great Western Road. Founding members Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh discussed the project during an appearance on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. Ricky, 66, said: "We are in the middle of making a record. We will be bringing it out on March 21, 2025 (and it) is called The Great Western Road. "Great Western Road leads from the city centre through the West End of Glasgow, which is a really cool and trendy part - and I always thought that for a certain time we owned that. It was the place we wanted to be and we seemed part of it for about two months in 1987. "The band would meet at a bar called Chimmy Chungas, and it was the gang headquarters of Deacon Blue - that's what Great Western Road was for me." At the time, the duo also shared that Deacon Blue will perform a mix of intimate theatre shows and larger arena dates across the UK. When Zoe Ball asked about the difference between theatres and big venues, Lorraine joked: 'Yes, they are terrifying.' Tickets for the Glasgow shows will go on general sale at 10am on November 29, 2024. To book tickets, visit:
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iconic Glasgow band share heartbreaking news just months before Hydro shows
An iconic Glasgow band has shared heartbreaking news with fans, revealing that one of their founding members is "seriously ill" just months before their scheduled hometown shows. Deacon Blue announced on social media that keyboardist Jim Prime has been hospitalised after falling unwell. The 64-year-old musician helped form the band in 1985 alongside Ricky Ross, Lorraine McIntosh, Dougie Vipond, Ewen Vernal, and the late Graeme Kelling. READ MORE: Ricky Ross shared adorable picture of wife in touching post Details about Prime's condition have not been released, but the band confirmed he has given them his blessing to continue with their scheduled tour, which concludes with two nights at Glasgow's OVO Hydro this October. In a heartfelt statement, the band wrote: "Dear friends, "We want to share some news with you about our brother Jim. "Unfortunately, he is seriously ill and undergoing care in hospital. We would like you to join us in wishing him well and to share your love with him. "We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue's plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead even if it means replacing the irreplacable Jame Miller Prime for the time being. "Together with Jim's family, we want to thank all nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and comapssion. "With love, Ricky, Lorraine, Dougie, Gregor, Lewis and Tom." Fans flooded the comment section following the sad update sharing their well wishes for Jim. One fan wrote: "Wishing Jim a speedy recovery and you all safe travels on your musical journeys." Another commented: "Oh Jim! Guys, I'm praying for him and for you all during this horribly uncertain time. Jim = legend." A third added: "Sending prayers and healing wishes to you, Jim. "Stay positive and do as the medical staff tells you! We look forward to seeing you tinkling the ivories when you're ready." The Glasgow-based band will perform two major shows at the OVO Hydro on Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11, 2025, as part of their Deacon Blue: The Great Western Road Trip tour. Tickets are available now, ranging from £45 to £75. READ MORE: Last year, the Glasgow Times reported that the band's latest album will pay tribute to the city's iconic Great Western Road. Founding members Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh discussed the project during an appearance on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. Ricky, 66, said: "We are in the middle of making a record. We will be bringing it out on March 21, 2025 (and it) is called The Great Western Road. "Great Western Road leads from the city centre through the West End of Glasgow, which is a really cool and trendy part - and I always thought that for a certain time we owned that. It was the place we wanted to be and we seemed part of it for about two months in 1987. "The band would meet at a bar called Chimmy Chungas, and it was the gang headquarters of Deacon Blue - that's what Great Western Road was for me." At the time, the duo also shared that Deacon Blue will perform a mix of intimate theatre shows and larger arena dates across the UK. When Zoe Ball asked about the difference between theatres and big venues, Lorraine joked: 'Yes, they are terrifying.' Tickets for the Glasgow shows will go on general sale at 10am on November 29, 2024. To book tickets, visit:
Scotsman
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Album reviews: Tide Lines Màiri Morrison & Alasdair Roberts
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Tide Lines: Glasgow Love Story (Tide Lines Music) ★★ Willie Nelson: Oh What A Beautiful World (Legacy Recordings) ★★★★ Màiri Morrison & Alasdair Roberts: Remembered In Exile: Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia (Drag City) ★★★★ Tide Lines Locked Hands: Safety Is Our Focus (Errant Media) ★★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Glasgow is getting a lot of love from its musical denizens in its 850th year. First, Deacon Blue embraced the Raintown once again on latest album, The Great Western Road, and now Tide Lines celebrate the dear green place where the band first formed in 2016. Glasgow Love Story was actually recorded on their native Mull but with eyes directed towards their adopted home. The landscape may contrast with their previous Mull-inspired album An Ocean Full of Islands, with the sound inching ever closer to mainstream pop, but lyrically the territory remains the same – wistful/rousing odes by youngish men who seem perpetually nostalgic. The hopeful Better Days communicates the sense of the city's folk sessions with some added bassline swagger while the synthesizer on The Hardest Miles sounds like it has been switched to bagpipe setting. They add a brass fanfare to Scotpop number Brother and an unexpected saxophone solo on Lonely and the Free, but that is it for curveballs. Willie Nelson The rest of the album is pipe-and-slippers stuff, from cosy Clydeside romance on By the Quayside via the folk pop whimsy of the title track to the banal nostalgia of If I Had My Time. Homeward Bound is a standard spin on the homesick blues and they go river shallow, mountain mid-range on Mountains That We Climb. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cherry Blossom Sunset's evocation of city park life just about gets by on natural catchiness but simply name-checking locations, as they do on Ashton Lane ('we were younger when we walked down Ashton Lane') doesn't really get to the heart of the city. Like his peers Van Morrison and Neil Young, Willie Nelson is releasing albums at a rate of knots. His latest, Oh What A Beautiful World, arrives on the eve of his 92nd birthday and celebrates the songs of the great country writer (and Emmylou Harris associate) Rodney Crowell. Nelson has already showcased his affinity for Crowell's music, with his heartfelt cover of The Border a highlight of his recent output; here again he chimes with the simple integrity of the storytelling. Forty Miles From Nowhere captures the melancholic pleasures of a quiet, remote existence ('friends don't call like they used to, for reasons not unkind') with sighing steel guitar embellishment. The tone varies with the bluesy strut of She's Back in Town and the California dreaming of Still Learning How to Fly, while a lovely loping arrangement tempers the sentimental Shame on the Moon and Crowell himself joins Nelson on the title track. Màiri Morrison & Alasdair Roberts follow up their 2012 collaboration Urstan with another collection of traditional songs in English and Gaelic, this time collated by folklorist Helen Creighton and recorded by Nova Scotian bassist Pete Johnston who invited Morrison and Roberts to work with him on his home turf. Locked Hands The results are a bridge between old and new Scotland on perennial themes – migration, marriage, love and longing. Roberts leads in seasoned storytelling style on the slow march of Hind Horn and the spindly lovesick Peggy Gordon, while Morrison aces Hi horò, 's na horo h-eile, a Gaelic waulking song to a tune more familiar from Ae Fond Kiss. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Locked Hands is the latest outlet for Edinburgh-based DIY musician Sean Ormsby who also records as retro electro outfit Night Noise Team. Safety Is Our Focus is a more lo-fi and austere affair, featuring reedy cut-and-paste dispatches on grief and mental health. Ormsby intones like Alan Vega of Suicide over terse, tinny beats, bass judder and throbbing synth on Echo Hotel, while S'il Vous Plait is a death dub disco of sorts. CLASSICAL Errollyn Wallen: Orchestral Works Resonus ★★★★ Appointed Master of the King's Music last year, Errollyn Wallen – who lives in an isolated Scots lighthouse – had already gained international recognition as one of the topmost performed living classical composers. In an album of works written over two decades, the BBC Concert Orchestra under conductor John Andrews illustrate the instinctive eclecticism that gives Wallen's music its instant accessibility and charm. Dances for Orchestra, premiered in 2023 by co-commissioners the SCO, is a perfect and substantial example. Within a framework of skilled craftsmanship, mercurial energy and imaginative colourings, vivid influences come and go – shades of Latin, hard-edged rock, parodic wit, even an ultimate undisguised nod to Scots dance. And that's just the start of an adventurous track list that includes the intensely theatrical Shakespearean setting By His and by St Charity (soprano Ruby Hughes), and – launched with a hair-raising quote of Amazing Grace – the powerful Mighty River Ken Walton FOLK TRIP: In Terra's Keep (TRIP Music Records) ★★★★
