Deacon Blue, Emily Barker @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide 1/2/2026
When Ricky Ross, lead vocalist of Deacon Blue, thanked Emily Barker for her support set, he couldn’t resist gently scolding those who had lingered in the foyer rather than coming into the hall. They had missed the chance to see a fine talent — and he was absolutely right.
Emily Barker may not be a household name here, but she has had incredible success in the U.K. since leaving Western Australia with an acoustic guitar and a backpack in 2000. She has written for films, had albums in the charts and co-written songs with Yungblud and Frank Turner, amongst others.
Taking the stage early, Barker greeted the audience with a warm, “Thank you. Good of you to come early for me,” before launching into her latest single, White Geraniums. Her song writing is tender and precise, and her voice effortlessly shifts between gentle intimacy and quiet power within the same song.
Emily may be best known for writing and singing the theme song to the TV show Wallander, which stars Kenneth Branagh, Nostalgia. When asked to record it, she laughingly admitted she didn’t know who Kenneth Branagh was. Sad Songs from her latest album, Fragile as Humans, was a pure delight. Something I don’t think I have seen before, she read a poem from the book Ode to British Pubs, which was entertaining. Emily closed out a very delightful set with the song Machine, with just her vocal and some kind of “stomp box”. I am very glad I arrived early, and those who stayed at the bar did indeed miss a very delightful performance.
The tour may have been called The Very Best of…..Live, but Deacon Blue was also here to showcase their latest album, The Great Western Road. Last here in November 2023, they returned to Adelaide to play Thebarton Theatre, a venue perfectly suited to their sound and spirit.
The band hit the stage, plugged in, and opened with the song Turn Up Your Radio from the latest album then straight into Queen of the New Year, with some sparkling guitar sounds during the song. “Adelaide, what a beautiful city, a beautiful theatre, beautiful everything,” Ricky Ross told us before an organ introduction to Fergus Sings the Blues, with the crowd clapping all through. Fresh from a sold-out arena tour of the U.K. and Scotland, the band lost none of their energy or commitment in the more intimate theatre setting.
Despite having new material to promote, Deacon Blue paid generous respect to their back catalogue. Raintown, from their 1987 debut album of the same name, followed soon after. “The lunatics of the world may have taken over the world, but we are going to have some salvation tonight,” Ricky told us. Lorraine McIntosh took over lead vocals on an acoustic Cover From the Sky. A dynamic presence throughout the night, McIntosh rarely stood still — dancing across the stage, adding harmonies, and keeping time with a tambourine.
In 2025, founding member and keyboard player James Prime succumbed to a short struggle with cancer. The band now have a friend of John’s on keyboards, Brian McAlpine. The song How We Remember It from the new album was dedicated to James. A tender version of Chocolate Girl was played out before it was time for “some Highland dancing. Get up, everyone,” with Twist and Shout. No, not the Beatles song — their own song from 1991, but it got people dancing in the aisles.
Ricky moved to keyboards for the new song Wait on Me, laughingly telling everyone after he “clearly forgot some of the words, but you can find the correct ones on the new record”. When Will You was beautifully delivered and included a bit of the George Harrison song If Not for You, before The Great Western Road elevated the evening further — a song reflecting on the band’s early touring days and rendered with warmth and grace.
Real Gone Kid had the whole theatre standing again, and they remained standing for the classic Dignity. The band surprisingly closed out the set with a new song, People Come First from the latest album and had the audience singing the chorus to the end.
With a “Thank you,” the band started to leave the stage, but Ricky held up a finger. “One more?” A resounding yes led to the band staying on stage. They were not going to play the whole encore bit. With every member coming to the front of the stage, except Brian on keyboards, they played Warren Zevon’s Keep Me in Your Heart. Ricky took the first verse, then he asked drummer Dougie Vipond to sing a verse.
Maybe he is a better drummer than singer, but it was fun to see. Gregor Philp (guitarist) took a verse before Lorraine took the last verse. The audience finished the song with the chorus, “Keep me in your heart, for a while,” until the music finished.
The crowd left the Thebarton Theatre smiling. Deacon Blue continues to deliver live, blending timeless classics with new material that stands proudly alongside their finest work. Hopefully, it won’t be another two years before they return.
Live Review By Geoff Jenke