Deacon Blue ‘appalled’ by Reform UK’s Scottish leader quoting their song lyrics | Reform UK
Deacon Blue, one of Scotland’s most famous rock bands, say they are “horrified” that one of their biggest hits has been used by Reformation England’s new Scottish leader to promote his party’s “toxic rhetoric”.
Malcolm Offord quoted the band’s song Dignity at length on Monday in his first major speech since being announced as Reformation UK’s first Scottish leader, three months before the crucial Holyrood election in which the party is expected to win up to 18 seats.
Describing the song as “one of my favourites”, the multimillionaire financier said the lyrics outlined his own journey from growing up in modest circumstances on the Clyde and admiring yachts he “couldn’t afford to sail”, to making money in the City of London and now being able to afford to buy his own yachts.
Dignity, the first single from Deacon Blue’s critically acclaimed debut album Raintown, tells the story of a municipal worker who sweeps garbage and dreams of saving enough money to buy a boat.
Responding overnight from Perth, Australia, where the band are on a two-week tour of songs from their new album The Great Western Road, Deacon Blue told the Guardian: “Once a song is released to the world it can be sung, listened to, loved or hated by anyone, that is the nature of releasing a song.
“However, we are appalled to see the lyrics of any of our songs used to support a campaign and ideology that is completely at odds with what the song and what we as a band believe in.”
The former Conservative colleague told an audience of Reform supporters gathered at a golf club near Glasgow on Monday that he loved the song “not just for its lyrics and music, but also for its message of working hard and saving money to achieve your dreams”.
According to the latest reports, Offord owns at least two yachts, one an 11-metre (37 ft) racer and the other named Braveheart.
“I think these lyrics encapsulate the essence of Scotland,” Offord said. “Everyone in Scotland should work, save and
their dreams. To have dignity at home, in faith and in work.”
Deacon Blue, led by Ricky Ross, who was a strong supporter of Scottish independence during the 2014 referendum campaign, added: “It was deeply depressing to see the poisonous rhetoric of Reformation take root in Scotland.”
Addressing Offord’s comments on Monday, referencing Good Samaritan’s analogy that “we should prioritize our own people over foreigners”, the band said: “To be told that Scotland is a place for ‘our’ people and not for foreigners, to see desperate people demonized with anti-immigration policies, goes against everything we believe in. Perhaps Malcolm Offord overlooked a song on our first album.” Uploaded At our concerts, the audience also says: ‘You only laugh because you are so full. And things are different from there’.
The group added: “It goes without saying that we hope Malcolm Offord and his party will be decisively defeated by people all over the UK.”
Offord has been approached for comment.
