16/02/2026

Deacon Blue – Bruce Mason Centre: February 15, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Deacon Blue closed out their current tour at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre. The 13th Floor’s Jo Barry reviews and Chris Zwaagdyk photographs…

Full disclosure: there aren’t many acts I’d cross the harbour bridge for on a Sunday night — particularly when the wind is in full Wuthering Heights mode and curling up on the sofa feels like a very persuasive alternative.

But with last March’s acclaimed album The Great Western Road reaffirming their enduring appeal, Deacon Blue have taken to the road once more — and I wasn’t about to let a bit of dreich weather stand in the way.

A minor ticketing snafu on arrival led to my mate and me ending up in GA which, usually, I would have been delighted about as I hate sitting at gigs (we are not geriatric YET, my friends), but it was a Sunday night and I had been looking forward to sinking into a comfy(ish) seat.

Luckily, my mate scoped out a spot against a bank of folded-up chairs next to the mixing desk so not only did we benefit from standing in what is, IMHO, the best spot at any gig, we also had something to lean against – win-win.

Steffany Beck

The mostly older and chilled-out crowd (some of them VERY chilled out – huzzah for middle-aged pre-loading) gave the opening act, Kiwi country music sensation Steffany Beck, a warm welcome.

They were ultimately there to see their heroes but were more than happy to embrace Beck’s brand of solid country rock, and she delivered a strong set that fully engaged the audience.

Starting off with I Have A Dream, Beck and guitarist Nick Burson came out strong and had the crowd enthusiastically clapping and singing along — no mean feat to move an audience to participation from the first song out of the gate.

Next up was a cracking cover of “Jolene” followed (logically) by the original “What Would Dolly Do”.

Carpenter’s Daughter, a touching tribute to her late father, followed, featuring the rather gorgeous lyric: There ain’t a nail without your fingerprint on it that’s holding my frame together.

Another original, Wild One, was up next and then a foot-stomping cover of “Austin”.

Beck closed out her set with Country Strong, the first single from her upcoming EP. Throughout the set she maintained a steady flow of endearing commentary and genuine connection with the audience.

Catch Steff at the upcoming BOE Country Rock Music Festival (9–11 May) and at the Christchurch Go Live Festival at Christchurch Town Hall in August. Country music is having a moment in NZ right now and, while I have never traditionally been a country music gal, I think I am becoming a convert — I would definitely go and see Beck perform a full headline gig anytime.

Deacon Blue

The audience had about thirty minutes to settle before the main act came out to rapturous applause. Deacon Blue are a Scottish institution and it was always going to be a big singalong night. I asked my Scottish mate how many times she had seen them live and she said, “I think seven.”

The current line-up consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp, and bassist Lewis Gordon.

After the death of co-founder and original keyboard player James Prime in June 2025, the band were joined on this tour by Brian McAlpine, who performed Dignity with them at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.

Speaking of opening things, the band came out strong with Turn Up Your Radio, one that had me humming from the first time I heard it. It’s a keeper.

A personal standout from the latest album was Late ’88, the first single from The Great Western Road, released in late 2024. It’s a sweet homage to the band’s late-80s heyday and, as the second song of the night, it set the perfect tone of nostalgia mingled with fresh material.

Queen of the New Year followed, then a rousing rendition of Fergus Sings The Blues that had the audience eating (and dancing) out of the palm of their hands. The energy on stage is undiminished by time. Trying to get a photograph of McIntosh was nigh on impossible because she doesn’t stay still for a second. She must walk/dance the equivalent of 500 Miles on stage every night and it is pure joy to witness.

During Fergus, Ross told the audience that this was their last night of the tour and they wanted to take us on a journey — and that is exactly what they did.

“Raintown” got our collective arms up in the air and Mid Century Modern’s unmistakable opening notes segued into a sweet rendition, followed by That’s What We Can Do, which kept them up there with a rousing, evangelical call to arms from Ross. In a world where it feels as though the “lunatics are in charge of the asylum”, he reminded us that we can bring back some “compassion, love, forgiveness, redemption and salvation… and sister Lorraine is going to lead the choir.”

And we all got goosebumps and sang our little hearts out along with her.

Up next was Cover From The Sky — not a personal favourite of mine, but it’s hard to deny the ethereal quality of McIntosh’s vocals.

Prime is clearly never far from their thoughts, as attested by a deeply moving mid-set dedication of How We Remember It from The Great Western Road that managed to honour both the man himself and the man who has stepped into his very big shoes.

Crowd favourites came thick and fast in the next stretch with Chocolate Girl, complete with a hilarious monologue from Ross that had the crowd in the palm of his hand and led to a perfect segue into a cover of “Stone in Love With You” and back into Chocolate Girl for the final verse – just… sublime.

Your Swaying Arms had me sniffling (it always does), next up Wages Day, and then the lyrically captivating Ashore from the latest album: “One day you’ll return home, and walk up that shore. Everyone needs to come home.”

Your Town followed and Loaded completed the set.

A surprising but rather lovely mash-up of When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring?) and “If Not For You” followed, and then a dedication of The Great Western Road — a song about “that last adventure that we all know is coming at some point” — to former Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, who died last week and whom Ross praised for her strong leadership during the pandemic and for being a wonderful human spirit.

The crowd could sense that the big guns were about to come out but first they teased us with The Hipsters before diving full throttle into a joyful, foot-stomping, all-hands-clapping “Real Gone Kid”. Speaking of clapping, I do not believe that I have ever seen so much well-coordinated hand-clapping at a gig. Is it a Scottish thing? Because, honestly, impressive.

Rounding out the night was The Curve of the Line and the one we were all waiting for, “Dignity”, which was exactly what we all wanted and needed it to be.

The closing song was, fittingly, “Keep Me In Your Heart”.

They are sounding tighter than ever and delivered the perfect mix of tried-and-true crowd-pleasers and fresh material that shows they still have their fingers firmly on the pulse of their fanbase.

The only downside of the night for me was the omission of my beloved “Love and Regret”, the song that started my love affair with Deacon Blue back in ’89.

Leaving it out was a bit like having your crush walk you all the way home but not kiss you goodnight.

But it would be churlish to hold that against them — maybe they just felt like kissing some other people last night.

As the lyrics of “Late ’88” so perfectly put it: Didn’t we do it all? Didn’t we make it so? — hell yeah, they did.

And it’s wonderful to see them still smashing it nearly four decades later.

Jo Barry

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk

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