DEACON Blue are heading to Bradford to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Next year sees the release of the Scottish band's new album, The Great Western Road, and they will be showcasing it at St George's Hall on March 31.

In 2025 it will be 40 years since Ricky Ross met Dougie Vipond and they formed Deacon Blue. The songs on The Great Western Road reflect the band's journey. The new album sees Ricky Ross and Deacon Blue guitarist and longterm collaborator Gregor Philp return to production duties, having last produced the band’s 2020 album City Of Love.

The Bradford gig is one of a limited run of five theatre shows in March and April to herald the album, followed by 15 arena shows across the UK and Ireland.

Says Ricky: “I love the idea that a circus coming to town is a temporary existence, a little bit of magic suddenly appears in the middle of a town or a village and then it goes away. It’s very similar to what you do live. The live experience is so ephemeral, at the end of a show people lose all their inhibitions, and then it’s over. You have to be there. That’s what’s magical about it.

“There will be two different shows, we’re curating a show that changes and evolves, pulling out little surprises every now and again. The theatres are more intimate and give us a chance to bring out one or two things that we wouldn’t do in the arenas. They give us a chance to play songs from the new album and songs from other albums that we have never played before. And we have some amazing nights at the big shows in the arenas, we suit the show to the place we’re playing and our mantra is ‘we want people to have the best night of their lives’. Every night has got to be brilliant.”

* Call (01274) 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk