Firstly, I want to say thanks if you are one of the 80,000 or so people with whom I’ve shared a live venue over the last month. I’ve not had a chance to meet very many of you but I’ve been gratified by your warmth and the time you’ve taken to thank Deacon Blue via the many social media channels. It has been a blast and though I’m home for a few weeks I look forward to seeing many more of you all in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa over the next few months.
However, for a few weeks I will be back in my favourite old spot at Pacific Quay to present Tuesday night’s Another Country and I’m excited to be back in the saddle again.
One of the odd things about the road is it doesn’t allow much time for listening to or inventing new music. I have the benefit of years of experience with this. The prospect of the next show and thinking through what comes next is an all consuming beast. The other thing people probably don’t figure out is we spend a normal working day locked into the venue we are playing and it allows very little time for other pursuits. When there is time on the bus or at the airport it feels better to do anything other than fill your head with more music. It’s true of writing songs. I’ve tried everything: guitars on the bus, a keyboard in my bedroom but, to be honest, the fruits of this labour have proved to be very thin pickings.
So on this bright autumn morning it feels comforting just to be thinking about what we play on Tuesday and not to be over worrying about anything else.
On this coming Tuesday and subsequent days we will have a lot to play and much to discuss. Next year’s Country to Country is now on sale with the line up announced and there have been some significant visits by some of our regular guests to these shores, some tours to come and of course some great new releases from artists whose careers we’ve been following closely. I’ve been driving around with a pile of CDs from Ashley McBryde, Morgan Wade and Tim McGraw stuffed into the glove compartment. I’ve also been filing away the new releases that have caught my attention despite my best efforts to keep my focus on my own songs.
Floyd Cramer
Sit yourself down and enjoy tracks from Hannah White, Jaime Wyatt, Charlie Worsham and many more plus our special tribute to the late great Floyd Cramer 90 years on from his birth. It’s country music, our way and we think you’ll love it.
We’ll make our way through some fabulous tracks over these next few weeks and I know you won’t be disappointed. So, in case you need reminding, we’re broadcasting live from five past eight from BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Sounds every Tuesday. You can listen live or catch up any time. Do join me if you can.
