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Back when I was in college in the late eighties, I would make a weekly trek to Tower Records and buy every new 45 that came out that week. I thought that by doing that, I would hear some great music that mainstream radio was not playing. 45s, or "singles", were my drug of choice. I was addicted, exhibiting all of the classic symptoms, including going into massive debt to finance my "habit".
In a way, however, it was worth it. I did discover 2 bands that I have remained a fan of to this day: One is a band called Aztec Camera - (who achieved a little bit of success here, and Mark Knofler produced their second disc); the other band never made it here, despite a HUGE following in England. They were a Glasgow outfit named Deacon Blue, and their lead singer/songwriter is a man named Ricky Ross.
Deacon Blue, despite their name, had very little to do with Steely Dan; they were roughly equivalent to British bands like Simple Minds and Prefab Sprout. Ricky was a prolific songwriter, and he had a voice as smooth as melted gravel. When I bought their first single, a track called "Dignity", in 1987, I was instantly hooked. It was a song about a gutter-sweep who dreams of one day retiring with his own boat, a "ship called Dignity". It was sweet, yet cynical, tough, yet compassionate. I was hooked.
"Dignity" was a smash in England. In fact, over the years it has charted there three times. But it never made a dent on the US charts. Deacon Blue released 4 albums here, but none of them charted in the US. The shame of it was, I could tell from his lyrics that Ricky Ross saw America as a kind of "holy grail": He was obsessed with making it here. Only on his first solo album in '95 did he finally say "Good Evening Philadelphia", officially giving up on that dream.
Finally, nearly 20 years later, Ricky has his first single on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. A few years ago he met a young British singer named James Blunt (Ok, Ok, stop the groaning. He's overplayed but actually quite good) and the two wrote a song together called "High". It debuted this week at #100.
I know this all seems weird to write on a political forum, and I'm expecting zero responses, but there is something that resonates with me when someone talented achieves a dream of theirs, long after they had given it up. It gives me hope in my sappy, sentimental soul.
Congratulations, Ricky. Your music has meant a lot to me, even if no one else here heard it.
Note to the lurking Sarah: I'm going to bed now. I promise. All things are possible. I love you. :loveya:
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