The Southampton Summer Sessions came to a fantastic finale on Saturday night after three great weeks of live music.
The event has offered so many highlights, from the nostalgia of Billy Ocean and Marti Pellow bringing love all around to Skunk Anansie and Garbage demonstrating that female fronted bands are the best in the business.
But Saturday finished just as the event began – with a truly great Scottish band closing proceedings.
Before Deacon Blue entertained the crowd on the Guildhall Square stage one last time, the Lightning Seeds certainly had the crowd singing along.
Ian Broudie and his Scouse bandmates were in good form. The singer repeatedly states ‘It’s great to be here on Friday night‘ before being corrected by multiple laughing audience members stating that it was in fact Saturday.
It was incredible how many catchy songs they have in their catalogue.
From the dreamy pop of ‘Change‘ to the saccharin ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’, the band could have easily headlined the event themselves.
The timing of the event could not have been better either. On the evening England were playing in the World Cup, the band play their anthemic ‘Three Lions‘ to cheers of ‘It’s Coming Home‘
Due to the song being written originally for Euro 96, the lyrics have now been updated to reflect that it has no longer been merely ‘30 years of hurt‘ since the men’s team have won a tournament – it’s now ‘60 years of hurt’.
It’s lucky the Women’s football team continue to outperform their male counterparts by winning multiple tournaments themselves in the intervening years.
Most bands would finish with such an anthemic singalong, but they still had even more hits to come – playing their first single ‘Pure‘ before finishing with huge song ‘The Life of Riley‘, named after his son (who also now acts as their manager and fellow guitarist.)
It’s now time for the final band of this year’s Southampton Summer Sessions.
Fans of Deacon Blue had clearly come from far and wide to see their favourite Scottish band.
Sometimes such bands who were huge in the 80’s and 90’s can feel a little stale to watch and photograph long after their hey-day.
But Deacon Blue still have their signature sound and offered such charisma and personality – they really were a delight to watch.
Ricky Ross and his fellow band mate and wife Lorraine McIntosh are still clearly so much in love and their warmth comes across.
From their classic hit ‘Wages Day‘ to ‘Chocolate Girl‘, all of their biggest hits were given time to shine in the sun. Even new song ‘The Great Western Road’ from their 11th studio album was well-received by their passionate fans, particularly when it is dedicated to a former band-mate who is sadly no longer with us.
A lively cover of ‘Twist and Shout‘ got every body dancing, before the band launch into their biggest and best hit ‘Real Gone Kid‘ – it still sounds as fresh as when it was released over 35 years ago.
Saving the best for last, timeless classics ‘Dignity‘ and ‘Fergus SingsThe Blues‘ play just as the sun sets over the stage for one last time.
Before leaving the crowd around 10pm, the band finish with a beautiful rendition of ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again‘ by Burt Bacharach.
We cannot wait to find out what music the Southampton Summer Sessions book for 2027.
After the incredible success of this year’s line-up, we’re sure it’s going to be one NOT to miss.