Deacon Blue

Gregor Philp stows his virtuosity and simply asks, "What does the song want?"

- BY BILL DeMAIN

LIKE THE WEATHER in Scotland, the country’s pop music often feels overcast with a chance of showers. “There's a slight doom and gloom element to Scottish music,” guitarist Gregor Philp says with a smile. “It’s plaintive and yearning, but I think that's what gives it its emotional power.”

For the past 17 years, Philp has played with venerable Glasgow band Deacon Blue, whose now-classic 1987 debut was called — appropriately — Raintown. Nearly 40 years on, their 10th album, 2025's