Deacon Blue have released a new acoustic version of their classic hit ‘Chocolate Girl’. This version of the much-loved track is taken from the brand new acoustic album “Peace Will Come” that is included within the forthcoming “You Can Have It All ” A 14CD Box Set.
Thirty-six years since their debut single, ‘Dignity’ – and their debut album, “Raintown” Deacon Blue have announced their most comprehensive greatest hits anthology to date, along with a career-spanning box set. “All The Old 45s – The Very Best of Deacon Blue” (2CD / double vinyl), and the 14CD Box Set “You Can Have It All – The Complete Albums Collection”, which includes a brand-new unplugged CD, will be released by Cooking Vinyl on September 1st, 2023.
Along with that new song, ‘Peace Will Come’ – a unifying hymn for the ages, which echoes Deacon Blue’s earliest single – the unplugged CD revels in fresh takes on harmonic career-highs like ‘Chocolate Girl’ (from Raintown), ‘Delivery Man’ (from 2016’s Believers), and ‘In Our Room’ (from City of Love) – and that’s not to mention gorgeous renditions of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’, and their long-standing live encore of Bob Dylan’s ‘Forever Young’. Recording the “Peace Will Come” CD has been a galvanising experience for the band, says Ross. “It ended up being a vital artistic exercise for us. After we’d finished, I did think – ‘Why have we never done this before?’”
“All The Old 45s – The Very Best of Deacon Blue” coincides with the band’s UK and Ireland tour of the same name, and charts their multi-million selling history – from bringing ‘Chocolate Girl’ and ‘Dignity’ to life in the corner of a Glasgow basement, to skyscraping, stadium-filling hits like ‘Wages Day’ and ‘Real Gone Kid’, via their swoon-inducing tribute to Bacharach and David (‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’), their collective favourite single ‘Your Swaying Arms’, and one of the most significant songs in the Deacon Blue canon, which followed a split in 1994 and the loss of two original members: 2012’s comeback single ‘The Hipsters’ heralded a new lease of life for the group, and jump-started a second act that’s seen them more fired up, and prolific, than ever.
“We’ve added so many songs, albums and EPs which have become a strong part of Deacon Blue and our live repertoire since ‘The Hipsters’ in 2012,” says songwriter and vocalist Ricky Ross. “It feels like the right time to celebrate that; to release something that’s a true compilation of our music so far.”
Ricky Ross said of the song, “‘Chocolate Girl’ was the best ‘flop’ single we ever had. It never made the Top 40 but seemed to be played on the radio as much as anything else we’d released. It meant that people kept checking out our debut album, “Raintown” and we’ve always been grateful”.
The Fat Angel Sings 