"Dignity" is a song by
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album ...
, which was the band's first official release. It is one of their most popular songs and it is usually played as the final song at concerts.
It received the most public votes for the 1980s songs in the Scotland's Greatest Album contest run by STV in 2011, and was featured on the 12 track compilation. It was also sung at the closing ceremony at the
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
held in Glasgow.
In an interview given to the ''
Daily Record'' in 2012, songwriter
Ricky Ross stated, "I have no idea why I started writing a song like that in Greece, but that's why there's a reference to
raki in it, the local firewater. I was sitting messing around with lyrics, bored on holiday, in a far away scene. There were men from the Glasgow cleansing department depot who walked up and down the street with brushes outside my flat in
Pollokshields
Pollokshields ( gd, Buthan Phollaig, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok C ...
."
Multiple releases
"Dignity" has been officially released as a single three times. It was first released as the lead single of the band's first album ''
Raintown''. The single failed to chart in the UK, although it did reach the lower region of the charts in the Netherlands, and sales on the album were slow to start. The 12" version of the first release featured a different vocal and alternate lyrics. After the release of two subsequent singles, "Dignity" was re-recorded in November 1987 by
Bob Clearmountain
Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...
and re-released in January 1988 as the fourth single (and second release of "Dignity"). The second release charted on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and its success helped increase sales of ''Raintown''.
"Dignity" was released for a third time as the second single from Deacon Blue's first greatest hits compilation ''
Our Town - The Greatest Hits
Our or OUR may refer to:
* The possessive form of " we"
* Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
* Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium
* Our, Jura, a commune in France
* Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regulato ...
''. During the third release, two companion CD singles were released—one with the original version of "Dignity" and one with the Bob Clearmountain re-recording.
Track listings
All songs written by
Ricky Ross, except where noted:
Dignity (1st release) (March 1987)
7" single
(Deac 1)
# "Dignity" - 4:00
# "Riches" - 2:39
Cassette single
(XPC 4011) (packaged with 7" single)
# "Dignity" - 4:00
# "Riches" - 2:39
# Edited excerpts of songs from ''
Raintown''
12" single
(Deac t1)
# "Dignity (12" Version)"
# "Riches" (12" Version)"
# "Ribbons and Bows" - 4:18
Dignity (2nd release) (January 1988)
7" single
(Deac 4)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording - 4:13
# "Suffering" - 2:44
7" extended play single
(Deac ep4)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording - 4:13
# "Suffering" - 2:44
# "Raintown (Piano Version)" - 3:40
# "Ronnie Spector" (Ross,
Kelling
Kelling (also known as ''Low Kelling'' and as ''Lower Kelling'') is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is west of Cromer, north of Norwich, and northeast of London. The village straddles the A149 Coast ...
,
Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
) - 3:29
10" single
(Deac q4)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording - 4:13
# "Suffering" - 2:44
# "Shifting Sand" (Ross, Prime) - 3:18
12" single
(Deac t4)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording(Extended Version)"
# "Just Like Boys" (Ross, Prime) - 3:13
# "Shifting Sand" (Ross, Prime) - 3:18
# "Ronnie Spector" (Ross, Kelling, Prime) - 3:29
CD single
(CDDeac 4)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording
# "Suffering" - 2:44
# "Just Like Boys" (Ross, Prime) - 3:13
# "Shifting Sand" (Ross, Prime) - 3:18
Dignity (3rd release) (May 1994)
Cassette single
(660448 4)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording - 4:16
# "Beautiful Stranger" (Ross, Prime) - 3:54
CD single A
(660448 2)
# "Dignity
ob Clearmountain recording - 4:16
# "Beautiful Stranger" (Ross, Prime) - 3:54
# "Waves of Sorrow (Piano and Vocal Version)" - 3:25
# "Bethlehem's Gate (Piano and Vocal Version)" - 3:33
CD single B
(660448 5)
# "Dignity" - 4:03
# "Fergus Sings the Blues (Live from the Hammersmith Odeon, 22.04.93)" (Ross, Prime) - 4:10
# "Loaded (Live from the Hammersmith Odeon, 22.04.93)" - 3:51
# "Chocolate Girl (Live from the Hammersmith Odeon, 22.04.93)
ith "My Girl" melody - 6:22
Charts
Certifications
References
{{authority control
Deacon Blue songs
1987 debut singles
1988 singles
1994 singles
Songs written by Ricky Ross (musician)
Song recordings produced by Bob Clearmountain
1986 songs
Columbia Records singles