Cannabis Sativa

Lorraine McIntosh
Born (1964-05-13) 13 May 1964 (age 51)
Cumnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland
Genres Alternative rock, pop
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active 1980–present
Labels Sony Music

Lorraine McIntosh (born 13 May 1964) is a Scottish singer best known as a vocalist with Scottish band Deacon Blue. She has also achieved success as an actress, starring in River City and appearing in Taggart among her most notable roles in television.

Life and career[edit]

Deacon Blue and achieving fame[edit]

Main article: Deacon Blue

Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues".[1] The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond.

The band released their debut album Raintown on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom. It was released in the United States in February 1988. The album, widely praised as Deacon Blue's finest work, has the overtones of a concept album relating to the struggles of getting by in life in the inner city of urban life - the city being unmistakably Glasgow, referenced by the roots of the band and by the famous images on the cover of the album, the view of a rainy day over Glasgow's West End (with the Finnieston Crane featuring prominently) and, on the rear, a long-exposure capture of the Kingston Bridge blasting through the city centre at night. Their second studio album, When The World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Album Charts for two weeks,[2][3] and included Real Gone Kid, which became their first UK top ten single.[2][4]

Deacon Blue released their fourth album, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, in 1993. Following Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour of a career in television, the band split up in 1994. Five years later, they held a reunion gig, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001. Graeme Kelling died of pancreatic cancer in 2004; the band has continued to record and perform, and 2006 saw them returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album - including the track Bigger than Dynamite. Deacon Blue are confirmed to be recording new material for a 2011 or 2012 release.[5]

Break from music and River City[edit]

McIntosh took a break from music to play the character Alice Henderson in the popular Scottish soap opera River City, which is set in a fictitious suburb of Glasgow. Her character first appeared in 2002 and was written out during May 2010.

McIntosh has also appeared in a few Scottish films, including Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe and Lone Scherfig's Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, as well as in three episodes of the popular TV police-drama series Taggart. She also starred in BBC One's comedy-drama Hope Springs.

Personal life[edit]

McIntosh is married to Deacon Blue lead singer Ricky Ross and they have three children. McIntosh is of maternal Irish Catholic descent.[6][7]

Discography[edit]

Further information: Deacon Blue discography

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Harris, Craig, "Deacon Blue > Biography", Allmusic (Rovi Corporation), retrieved 13 March 2011 
  2. ^ a b "Deacon Blue". Chart Stats. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2011. 
  3. ^ "Deacon Blue - When The World Knows Your Name". Chart Stats. Retrieved 16 September 2011. 
  4. ^ "Deacon Blue - Real Gone Kid". Chart Stats. 15 October 1988. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2011. 
  5. ^ "The official site of Deacon Blue & Ricky Ross". Rickyross.com. Retrieved 16 September 2011. 
  6. ^ "True blue". The Herald. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2015. 
  7. ^ "Interview: Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross on the city behind the songs". The Scotsman. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2015. 

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