CHANCE - BIG COUNTRY - (1983)

BIG COUNTRY are a rock band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, popular in the early to mid-1980s but still releasing material for a cult following until 2005. The band were notable for music heavily accented with traditional Scottish folk and martial music styles, as well as for playing and engineering their guitar sound to resemble the bagpipes, fiddles and other traditional folk instruments.

Career

Composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, Vocals/guitar/keyboards) Bruce Watson(guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals) Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals) though a variety of other drummers have been in the band throughout their long career, including Simon Phillips. Prior to the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki, an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band and it featured Peter Wishart, later of Runrig and now an SNP MP, on keyboards. Although the band's music drew from Scottish traditional music, none of its members was born in Scotland. Adamson grew up in Dunfermline though, and as such, his Scottish accent was genuine. Formed initially as a five piece band in 1981, their first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields of Fire", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States, powered by "In a Big Country", their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their early virtuoso use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the U.S. The band also performed on both the Grammys and Saturday Night Live. The band released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, was a Top Ten hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the U.S., reaching only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make a U.S. chart appearance. Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album featured three UK top 30 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like Wonderland (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the U.S, peaking at #70 on the Billboard album charts. Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., both as headliners themselves and in support of such artists as Queen and Roger Daltrey. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the musical score to a Scottish independent film, 'Restless Natives' (1985), which was not released on CD until years later on the band's Restless Natives and Rarities (1998) collection. 1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2. It produced three further top 30 singles, including the Irish number one hit "Look Away", which would also prove to be the band's biggest hit in the U.K., peaking at #7. Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the album's title track, and as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., The Seer sold a little bit better than Steeltown, reaching #59 on the Billboard charts. In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, Big Country used producer Peter Wolf [6] for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The result was very different from the previous singles and albums, and, in "Broken Heart (13 Valleys)" contained the song which Stuart Adamson claimed to be his favourite of all time.[citation needed] Despite this it was not well received by most critics and fans. One reviewer noted that it was the group's "least representative and least interesting album. It sold poorly. During the "Peace In Our Time" Tour, the band were supported by Diesel Park West and Cry Before Dawn.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• CHANCE
• BIG
• COUNTRY
• Alternative
• rock
• New
• Wave
• Folk
• Celtic
• Post-punk

[twistedskinfx]

still not got used to the fact stuart has gone............... what a waste of a life !!!! r.i.p i guess you had your reasons mate.... miss you.

[MrLarson40]

@twistedskinfx Me too i agree with you. Thanks for your comments, hugs.

[themachman19691]

R.I.P Stuart,suicide is the biggest killer of young men in the U.K.Don't suffer in silence.

[MrLarson40]

@themachman19691 Thanks for your comments, cheers.

[themachman19691]

@MrLarson40 your very wlcome mrlarson,great images you've edited to this fantastic song

[MrLarson40]

@themachman19691 This song marked my life, was unfortunate premature death of this exceptional singer (Stuart Adamson), thanks for your kind words for my video, cheers.

[Coppertunes]

Stuart Adamson, 9 years gone and still sorely missed. RIP

[TheAmericanbornscot]

one of the best of big country songs no doubt!!!!!!!!!!!!

miss u 10 yrs gone still miss yae stu REST IN PEACE STUART

[MrLarson40]

@numberwangs Cool, hugs.

[numberwangs]

I'm fare dunfermline and saw big country at hmv in edinburgh

[MrLarson40]

@TheAmericanbornscot Thank you for your comments, hugs.