Deacon Blue – Live Review –The Piece Hall, Halifax
By Steve Crabtree, July 2026
Wednesday night brought sweltering temperatures and a hot, sunny day. They were perfect conditions for an open-air gig.
When I was younger and Deacon Blue were top 40 regulars, and I liked their tunes. I remember ‘Real Gone Kid’ being on The Hits Album 9. It was on tape one, side two, about halfway through, sharing space with A-ha, Fairground Attraction, and Prince. Deacon Blue were in good company, back then!
As I got older, I began to appreciate them more. They always felt like a band for people a bit older than me (I was 9, 10, 11 etc) and the fact they’re all about well-written lyrics, well-composed music, and great harmonies kind of explains why they’re still here. They build songs to never date, and I should have been to see this band years ago.
I finally did it when they came to Halifax for the first night of two. And I have to say…what a gig.
“Sense of hope and happiness”
Lightning Seeds were the opening act, and that’s quite a decent support act. I’ve seen them as support a couple of times before, and I’ve always preferred them as a recording band. They’re a good band with plenty to singalong to, but this time they brought more power, and gave us a bit more oomph.
All the hits like ‘Marvellous’, ‘Lucky You’, and ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’ were great, and went down well. My favourite Seeds tune ‘Sense’ was amazing as well (I’m not sure I’ve heard them play that before).
Of course…we have a World Cup going on, so ‘Three Lions’ was a very welcome inclusion in their set. England, at the time of writing, are in the quarter-finals and the Halifax crowd was in fine voice. Extra massive footballs bounced around the courtyard, and the sense of hope and happiness was plain to see as we all chanted “It’s coming home.”
“Sensational”
As 9pm came around, it was time for Deacon Blue. Without any fuss, they entered the stage, smiled a lot, and seemed genuinely happy to be in Halifax – and our feelings were mutual.
‘Late ’88’, with that summery, upbeat, chill sound was a perfect starter, and that kicked off an 18-song set featuring the ones you know and the ones you didn’t know you knew.
The country feel of ‘Queen of the New Year’ upped the tempo a tad, and Deacon Blue were making more than their mark. The first thing I noticed was how good they sounded. A tight band and a rich sound all night, and that meant they didn’t need any fancy graphics going on behind them to enhance the show. That, and the lighting merely just supported what was going on.
Deacon Blue were sensational, and the multi-platinum group gave us ‘Wages Day’, ‘City of Love’, and ‘Your Town’. Fans were also treated to tracks from The Great Western Road, their most successful studio album in three decades. The title track and ‘People Come First’ showed a band at the top of its game.
“Pure happiness”
I was surprised that ‘Real Gone Kid’ arrived as early as it did, a good six songs before the end. I turned to my father-in-law, who came with me to enjoy this one and we agreed that it’s good when a band has enough quality material that they don’t have to end with the obvious tracks.
They also took the time to pay a lovely tribute to James Prime, founding member and keyboard player of Deacon Blue who sadly passed away last year. The chemistry between Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh is obvious too. Their vocals are superb, their harmonies perfect. And guitarist Gregor Philp shows pure happiness all night when he’s leading the music into our ears.
“Best gig of the summer”
Rolling towards the end of the night, the time was moving quickly and more tunes landed. ‘Dignity’ brought out all the singers in Halifax with everyone joining in with the “Wooo-woooh’s”. Then came ‘Fergus Sings The Blues’, perhaps my favourite tune of the night. That one was big on sound and energy, and it was a great one to leave until dark. It got The Piece Hall dancing more than it was already.
Ending on their cover of Burt Bacharach’s ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’, Deacon Blue had given us a top-quality concert and even with my bias towards Shed Seven, I think this was my best gig of the summer so far.
Deacon Blue’s longevity makes sense on the back of tonight, and they’re far from a throwback to the 80s. They’re a strong, current band who’ve got loads more left in the tank. They have two sell-out Halifax shows and delivered an absolute stellar performance.
Brilliant, Deacon Blue. I’ll be seeing you again soon.
Images: Cuffe & Taylor
Give Steve music, give him food, give him theatre, tech or travel… and he’s a happy man. He’s been writing professionally since 2003, turning to journalism in 2017 when it offered him the chance to enjoy a lot of his existing passions, and learn some new ones at the same time. Steve can be found spending many of his summer nights watching bands at The Piece Hall in his hometown of Halifax, or enjoying a bite to eat and a drink with his wife anywhere in Yorkshire at any time of year. Random fact: He does the best impression of Zippy and George from Rainbow that anyone has ever heard.
