Real gone kids?

IT'S 22 years since blue-eyed, mad-maned teenager Lorraine McIntosh took the train from Ayrshire to Glasgow and caught the attention of English teacher Ricky Ross.

IT'S 22 years since blue-eyed, mad-maned teenager Lorraine McIntosh took the train from Ayrshire to Glasgow and caught the attention of English teacher Ricky Ross.

It was 1985 and the musical pair, with James Prime, Dougie Vipond, Graeme Kelling and Ewen Vernal, went on to form what was to become one of Scotland's most successful bands - Deacon Blue.

Five studio albums, six million album sales, and 18 top 40 singles later, the band are about to kick off their UK tour - the one which could bring the curtain down on a dramatic career.

There have been many break-ups and reformations, critical acclaim and stinging criticism, and the dreadful low of the untimely death of guitarist Graeme, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2004.

In his final days Graeme was supported by Marie Curie Cancer Care, and his family and the rest of the band have become big supporters of the charity - getting behind the Evening Times Big Build campaign to create a state-of-the-art hospice in the city.

Deacon Blue are tuning up for what could be the iconic Glasgow band's final tour
A moody Deacon Blue at Charing Cross in the 80s	Ricky strums with music students Joe Markie, Geraldine Regan and David McDonald on a visit to North Glasgow College in 1992	They always were a political bunch and in 1993 the band got behind the Scottish Referendum Fund. Ricky is pictured alongside Gordon McDougall, Bill Speirs and John McAllion MP	Lorraine at a gig in Edinburgh in 1992 for Scotland United, a group demanding constitutional change	Ricky, Dougie and Lorraine snapped in 1999 outside King Tut's Wah Wah Hut after announcing they were getting back together

Ricky Ross in South America in 1998 with Christian Aid, helping the agency to find land and food for the poorest regions of the continent

Ricky, a former teacher, and Lorraine visit fifth year pupils at St Patrick's High School in Coatbridge in 1988

Crowds flock to the Virgin Megastore on Union Street for tickets to shows at the SECC in 1989

Ricky heads to the College of Building and Printing to open a new design suite in 1994

Two lucky fans get to meet the band backstage before they take to the stage in front of 250,000 at the Big Day - a free concert at Glasgow Green to mark Glasgow's year as the City of Culture in 1990

Now, with most of the band involved with interests outside of Deacon Blue, Lorraine thinks the shows at the Carling Academy on Friday and Saturday could be the last time they play together in Glasgow.

"We did our anniversary tour last year but this may be the last time we ever tour," she says. "We're all involved with other things."

These days Ricky is busy with his own solo career and writing songs for acts including James Blunt and Ronan Keating.

Dougie, who decided to quit the band back in 1994 to pursue a career in TV, is busier than ever, working with BBC Scotland's sports department.

James is still with the band - however Ewen is now pursuing his own musical interests.

And Lorraine has made a name for herself as an actress, appearing in River City. She is now preparing for a role in the new series of Taggart.

So before the city echoes to tunes such as Wages Day, Real Gone Kid, Chocolate Girl and Dignity for perhaps one last time, we have gone through our archives and dug out some classic Deacon Blue moments.

From taking an English class at a Lanarkshire school, to causing gridlock in the city centre as thousands of fans clamoured for tickets, to the ultimate high of playing to quarter of a million people on Glasgow Green, we take a look at the band's life through a lens.