If Big Country were at all concerned about the reception for their sophomore album, they needn’t have been. ‘Steeltown’ bolted to #1 on the British charts first week in during October of ‘84, though surprisingly sales were poor beyond British shores (US#70/OZ#68). Rave reviews initially accompanied the set, aided by the success of singles ‘East Of Eden’ (UK#17/OZ#93), ‘Where The Rose Is Sown’ (UK#29), and ‘Just A Shadow’ (UK#26), though a top ten hit remained beyond the borders of Big Country on this venture. Musically, ‘Steeltown’, once again produced by Steve Lillywhite, shared much of the same territory as its predecessor, bursting with verve and pulsating energy in places, but lyrically Adamson was taking Big Country in a different direction. A working-class socialist manifesto began permeating a lot of the tracks, with issues such as the decaying state of Scotland’s industrial and economicprofile getting a workout. Regardless, stirringly uplifting tracks such as ‘Flame Of The West’ offered up signs of hope. Big Country continued to undertake regular trade missions across the world throughout the next couple of years, and during ‘85 recorded the musical score to the independent Scottish film ‘Restless Natives’ (though it didn’t see commercial release until 1998).
By the time Big Country’s next official single surfaced, it had been nearly eighteen months since ‘Steeltown’ had shut down major operations on the charts. Initially, the extended hiatus didn’t appear to be an issue for the band, as ‘Look Away’ made a strong impact on the British charts following its April ‘86 debut. The driving rock track adhered to like formula of earlier Big Country fare, but was a stand out power packed effort nonetheless, and moved quickly to a peak of #7 in the U.K., and #24 in Australia. It was the lead out track from Big Country’s third album, ‘The Seer’, released in July ‘86 (produced by Robin Millar). Once more the album forged strongly into the British charts (#2), and this time around managed to rack up more promising sales elsewhere (OZ#26/US#59). A couple of years later, an old friend of mine gave me a dubbed copy of ‘The Seer’ on cassette, and the quality of the album is reflected by the fact that my cassette copy eventually broke from relentless playing. Some critics levelled the accusation of ‘sameness’ about Big Country’s formula, and yes I suppose the same anthemic choruses, and ‘bagpipe’ style guitar effects still course through the musical veins of ‘The Seer’, but tracks like ‘Eiledon’ proved the old adage that if it ain’t broke, why fix it - and to me, at least at this stage, the Big Country model was in perfect working order. ‘The Seer’’ realised three more hit singles; ‘The Teacher’ (UK#28), ‘One Great Thing’ (UK#19), and ‘Hold The Heart’ (UK#55), and also featured guest vocals from Kate Bush on the title track, which was one of several to explore themes of Scottish nationalism (Sean Connery would have been proud).
After a two year absence, Big Country unveiled the album ‘Peace In Our Time’ in late ‘88, enlisting the services of producer Peter Wolf for the project. The ex-Zappa keyboardist, turned producer, had come fresh from working on albums with Wang Chung (see previous post), Starship, and Kenny Loggins, so might not immediately spring to mind as being ideally fitted to the Big Country style. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, and some critics quickly levelled the charge that Big Country were making a blatant attempt to rekindle their flagging U.S. fortunes. Stylistically, the Big Country formula did appear to undergo some compromises, with the volume turned down on the ‘bagpipe’ guitars, and the political rhetoric wound back a notch. In critical terms ‘Peace In Our Time’ received some backlash as a consequence. The album still managed to crack the British top 10 (#9/US#160), and spawned three top fifty singles; ‘King Of Emotion’ (UK#16/OZ#69), ‘Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)’ (UK#47) - which Adamson later cited as his favourite Big Country track, and ‘Peace In Our Time’ (UK#39). Big Country also performed a series of shows in Moscow shortly after the album’s release.
In February 1990 ex-Dave Howard Singers’ drummer Pat Ahern crossed the border into Big Country, taking the place of Mark Brzezicki, who went on to a stint with the Pretenders. The single ‘Save Me’ (UK#41) was released by way of entrée for the band’s first ‘best of package’, ‘Through A Big Country - Greatest Hits’, which rocketed to #2 on the British charts, reaffirming the loyalty of Big Country’s fan base at home. The stand alone single ‘Heart Of The World’ (UK#50) followed shortly after, but Big Country were about to enter some uncomfortable territory. Their 1991 album ‘No Place Like Home’ (UK#28), was about as far away from the Big Country home as the band had dared venture thus far. Produced by Pat Moran, it was a more back-to-basics, bare bones approach to things, with a few oddly styled exceptions, and overall came across as an unconvincing mix. It was the first Big Country album not to receive a release in the U.S., and would be the band’s final outing prior to being dumped by long time label Phonogram. The singles ‘Republican Party Reptile’ (UK#37), and ‘Beautiful People’ (UK#72) laboured to make any impact on the charts. From a personnel viewpoint, Big Country came perilously close to splitting, with tensions running high, perhaps in part due to drummer Mark Brzezicki returning to the mix, but relegated to the status of session player (he’s wasn’t included in any of the promo photos during that period). To all but the most fervent, partisan fans, the glory days of Big Country seemed to be a long distant memory.
After signing with the independent Compulsion label, Big Country resurfaced with 1993’s ‘The Buffalo Skinners’ (UK#25), which did receive a U.S. release. The album was warmly received by critics as a relative return to form by Big Country, and fans welcomed back with open arms, the band’s rousing guitar rock sound, and insightful, emotive lyrics. ‘The Buffalo Skinners’ yielded two British top 30 hits, ‘Alone’ (#24), and ‘Ships (Where Were You)’ (#29), both indicative of what would prove to be a last hoorah return to form for Big Country. When Big Country released the live album ‘Without The Aid Of A Safety Net’ (UK#35) in mid ‘94, drummer Mark Brzezicki had once more been officially included in Big Country census figures. Big Country continued to provide tactical support for rock giants such as the Rolling Stones, and The Who, with whom they had an ongoing association. They had provided instrumental backing on Roger Daltrey’s 1985 album ‘Under The Raging Moon’, whilst bassist Tony Butler had known, and played with on occasion, for years with Pete Townshend (Butler had played in a trio with Townshend’s brother Simon).
1995’s album ‘Why The Long Face’ (UK#48) became the first Big Country set to stall short of the top 25 in Britain. It yielded two minor hits in ‘I’m Not Ashamed’ (UK#69) and ‘You Dreamer’ (UK#68), with the performance of both being symptomatic of a larger decline in the band’s fortunes. In late ‘95 they released the EP ‘Non!’, which was a formal protest in song against France’s nuclear testing programme, on behalf of Greenpeace, and featuring guest backing vocals from Steve Harley and Kym Mazelle. Big Country once more hit the road (several in fact) in support of the album, and also performed a series of acoustic shows, captured on the 1996 album ‘Eclectic’ (UK#41).
Stuart Adamson then relocated to Nashville in the U.S., but aside from a side project called The Raphaels (with artist Marcus Hummon), largely withdrew from the music scene for a time, with issues of alcoholism later revealed as a factor. Big Country reconvened in 1999 for the album ‘Driving To Damascus’, their first to miss the U.K. charts completely, though the single ‘Fragile Thing’ (featuring Eddi Reader) did crawl to #69, and the album also featured the track ‘Somebody Else’, co-written by Adamson and Kinks’ legend Ray Davies. The poor reception offered the album, proved to be a major blow to Adamson in particular, leading to a brief disappearance in late ‘99, prior to an announcement that he needed some time off. The limited release ‘Nashville Album’ arrived in 2000, and during the first half of the year Big Country embarked on their ‘Final Fling’ farewell tour, which ended in Glasgow. The band declared they would continue to record and make further live appearances, but Adamson’s emotional state, and ongoing battle with alcoholism proved to be insurmountable issues. In November 2001, Adamson disappeared once more, prompting band and family to make a public appeal, via the band’s website, for him to contact someone. Tragically, Adamson committed suicide in December 2001. The remaining members of both Big Country and Skids attended a memorial in January 2002.
In 2007 the surviving core trio of Bruce Watson, Mark Brzezicki, and Tony Butler (who assumed vocal duties), embarked on a Big Country 25th anniversary tour of the U.K., with an accompanying live set released. As of September ‘08, the trio stated that Big Country was once more on indefinite hiatus, but an eight track CD titled ‘In Our Name’ was released in October ‘08, under the banner Brzezicki, Butler & Watson.
For a first rate collection of Big Country related videos, check out the YouTube channel bc1000stars - put together by Andy - well worth a visit for all Big Country fans.
During early 1983 I purchased the first of, what would eventually become, around a thousand vinyl 45 singles, over the course of the next eight or nine years. If memory serves me correctly, Spandau Ballet’s single ‘Communication’ (see future post) may well have been the first, though ‘Wham Rap’ by Wham! and Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ would be likely candidates as well. I was living in Tasmania at that time, and had previously ‘inherited’ a few old 45’s from my older siblings, but mostly I satisfied my growing appetite for popular music by way of the various artists compilations, which were regularly released throughout the year. The compilations certainly offered more ‘bang for your buck’, usually containing up to 18 or 20 tracks on cassette format. They also offered access to songs that may have been a hit in one part of the country, but not in another. At that time of course there was no such thing as nationally syndicate radio networks, and even the major television networks only covered the big cities. It was really only the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission - later Corporation) that covered all of Australia - which emphasises just how influential the ABC’s ‘Countdown’ program was. What the lack of national coverage meant was, that it could be months between when a song became a hit in one part of the country, by comparison to another. It was largely determined by when the regional radio stations picked up on a song’s appeal.
In mid ‘83 the first ‘Countdown’ national charts began appearing in record bars (they would eventually evolve into the A.R.I.A. chart). Each week the top fifty singles (and albums) were listed, and at the bottom of each chart the top ten singles by individual State/Territory. On the back of each chart was a feature artist or song (the scanned example features, not coincidentally, Big Country). It meant that for the first time, you could easily compare a tracks performance in one part of the country with another (at least if it was in the top ten). Around the same time I relocated to New South Wales (another State of Australia), and soon after experienced a change in my music buying habits, as I was gifted my first turntable. But I recall continuing the practice of sitting for hours listening to the radio, waiting for my favourite tracks to be played, and recording them to cassette - we are talking decades before the convenience of instant access via online downloading - after all a teenagers finances will only stretch so far. Where possible I’d pick out one or two of my favourite current tracks, and trek on down to the local record bar to purchase them on vinyl 45. In late 1983 one of those ‘standout’ tracks was the surging guitar rock track ‘In A Big Country’ by Scottish band Big Country - I think I may have bought it on the same day as Jon English’s ‘Waterloo’ (see earlier post). I played the song incessantly, as I did with all of the 45’s I purchased during that period. Thankfully, though long since supplanted by CD versions, I’ve kept all of those vinyl 45’s, and from time to time crank up the turntable to relive the unique sound only a vinyl record can offer. Being one of the first 15 or 20 singles I ever purchased, ‘In A Big Country’ holds a special place in the evolution of my love affair with popular music. Just over 25 years later, the pounding drum track, and searing, anthemic ‘bagpipe’ style guitars, sound as vibrant and fresh as ever, and capture perfectly the pure rock dynamism that Big Country produced throughout their career.
The seeds of a Big Country were sown in the prototypal Scottish post-punk outfit Skids. Formed in Dunfermline, Scotland during 1977, the quartet of Richard Jobson (vocals), Stuart Adamson (guitar), Bill Simpson (bass), and Tom Kellichan (drums), quickly took up the mantel of cutting edge, guitar driven rock, positioning themselves neatly between punk and new wave movements. In early ‘78 Skids financed their first single ‘Charles/Reasons’, and released it on their own No-Bad label - a not uncommon occurrence for independent post-punk artists. They came to the attention of Virgin Records, who promptly signed them to a whopping eight album deal (an overly ambitious move). Two more singles surfaced, ‘Sweet Suburbia’ (UK#70), and ‘The Saints Are Coming’ (UK#48) during 1978, prior to the release of Skids’ debut album. Adamson (music) and Jobson (lyrics) combined to pen an impressive collection of songs on ‘Scared To Dance’ (UK#19), featuring the rousing UK#10 ‘Into The Valley’. There were already hints to the future Big Country sound, courtesy of searing, anthemic-like guitar riffs, and soaring chorus chants. Be-Bop Deluxe producer Bill Nelson oversaw Skids’ sophomore album, released just eight months later in late ‘79. ‘Days In Europa’ (UK#32) featured the British top 20 singles ‘Masquerade’ (#14), and the corporate militants call to arms ‘Working For The Yankee Dollar’ (#20). Adamson’s musical heroism, a virtual battle cry in song, helped balance out the pretentiousness offered up in some of Jobson’s lyrics.
Jobson wanted to pull Skids in a different direction to Simpson and Kellichan, both of whom left during an increasingly prevalent atmosphere of turbulence, to be replaced in time by Russell Webb and Mike Baillie respectively. 1980’s ‘The Absolute Game’ album (UK#9), criss-crossed between a further divergence into more ornate pop-rock territory and recapturing some of Adamson’s earlier raw guitar energy, but Jobson’s portentous lyrics continued to challenge listeners. The album spawned two more top fifty singles in ‘Circus Games’ (UK#32) and ‘Woman In Winter’ (UK#49), but soon after an increasingly disillusioned Stuart Adamson decided to part ways with the band. Jobson led a revamped Skids line-up for one more album, ‘Joy’, in 1981, but the album’s slightly traditional folk bent didn’t sit well with fans, and soon after Skids were on the skids. Jobson went on to try his hand as a solo artist, before forming the short-lived band (read train wreck) Armoury Show. In subsequent years he turned to careers in modelling and television journalism.
Following his departure from Skids, Stuart Adamson set about creating his own music vehicle to enable him to pursue a different stylistic path. In the Autumn of ‘81 he joined with Canadian born ex-Delinx guitarist Bruce Watson, brothers Peter (keyboards) and Alan Wishart (bass), and ex-Spizz drummer Clive Parker, to establish Big Country. Within a year both Wishart brothers and Parker had been deported…er left Big Country, and immigration welcomed a new rhythm section to Big Country. Tony Butler (bass), and Mark Brzezicki (drums), both ex-On The Air, formed the cornerstone rhythm combo upon which Big Country would build a surging musical empire.
In early ‘82 Big Country turned down a trade agreement with the Ensign label, but soon after signed a recording contract with Mercury-Phonogram, after which they relocated to London to begin work on their debut album. In late ‘82 Big Country issued their debut single ‘Harvest Home’ which slipped under the radar, but shortly after the band found themselves supporting post-punk heavyweights the Jam, on their sell out farewell tour. Naturally enough, Big Country’s profile was boosted immeasurably, and their strident, high energy brand of Celtic infused rock went down a treat with packed stadium and arena audiences. In February ‘83 the single ‘Fields Of Fire (400Miles)’ was released, and encapsulated perfectly Big Country’s hallmark sound of anthemic choruses and stirring guitar crescendos. ‘Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)’ swept into the British top 10 (#10/US#52 in 1984) soon after, and announced the arrival of a fresh new sound - heroic guitar rock (in the vein of contemporaries, the Alarm and U2), the polar opposite of many of the moodier synth-driven new wave groups that dominated at the time. In May, Big Country’s signature song ‘In A Big Country’ was released in Britain, and further consolidated the band’s success there (#17). It also further exemplified their inspiringly soaring sound, that celebrated all things Celtic, sweeping in scale, yet managing to avoid sounding bloated and pompous. The ‘bagpipe’ style twin guitar sound, and surging rhythm section accompaniment, made you feel like you were standing tall on the windswept Scottish highlands - very Highlander like. The accompanying promo video also highlighted the band’s early trademark attire of check shirts, and featured the band careering around the Scottish countryside in mini dune buggies (or something of that ilk). Big Country’s signature ‘bagpipe’ style guitar sound, was achieved through a combination of guitar effect technology, and a device called an e-bow, which lends a synthesizer type quality to an electric guitar sound (I’m not a music technician, so please don’t ask me to expand any more on this) - whatever the technical wizardry, it had the desired effect.
Both singles were lifted from Big Country’s debut album ‘The Crossing’, produced by Steve Lillywhite (Golden Earring, XTC, Ultravox, U2), and released in Britain during June ‘83. The album was a richly diverse effort, full of passion and inspiration, that soon had critics hailing Big Country as standard bearers for a new rock movement dubbed ‘positive punk’. The Celtic inspired arrangements flowed throughout, and like U2, Big Country had a strong, but not overpowering, social conscience infused within their lyrics. They also had a softer side, musically, as captured on the single ‘Chance’ (UK#9/OZ#85), a heartfelt Springsteen-esque ballad, every bit as emotive and stirring as ‘Fields Of Fire’ and the like. Before 1983 had closed, Big Country had started playing major rock festivals like Reading (alongside the Alarm), and had also broken into both U.S. and Australian markets, with the singles ‘In A Big Country’ (US#17/OZ#7) and ‘Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)’ (US#52), whilst their album ‘The Crossing’ went on to achieve platinum status in Britain (#3), and gold in both the U.S. (#18) and Australia (#21).
In early ‘84 Big Country released the single, and accompanying EP, ‘Wonderland’ (UK#8/OZ#43/US#86), which astonishingly would be Big Country’s last foray into the U.S. singles charts. The band spent the next few months on an extensive world tour, which included a stint as Queen’s opening act, before settling back into the studio to begin chart a course for the next chapter in the Big Country journey.
My intent with this blog is not to infringe on the copyrighted work of the artists whose work I have discussed, merely to highlight the brilliance of such work and share publically available information that is hopefully of interest to the reader. Should you be a copyright owner of any of the songs and/or images discussed on this blog, and you wish me to remove any of that said material, please contact me with relevant details and I will gladly act on your request. In keeping with the legalities of such things, please consider the following though: N.B. In accordance with Title 17 USC Section 107, any copyrighted work on this site is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for non-profit research and educational or criticism purposes only, and is NOT an infringement of copyright (http://www.law.cornell.edu /uscode/17/107shtml). Any songs available via link are for evaluation purposes only, please delete them from your computer system after 24 hours. And if you like the song and/or artist do them a favour as well as yourseld and purchase their CD's (if they're still available).
If Big Country were at all concerned about the reception for their sophomore album, they needn’t have been. ‘Steeltown’ bolted to #1 on the British charts first week in during October of ‘84, though surprisingly sales were poor beyond British shores (US#70/OZ#68). Rave reviews initially accompanied the set, aided by the success of singles ‘East Of Eden’ (UK#17/OZ#93), ‘Where The Rose Is Sown’ (UK#29), and ‘Just A Shadow’ (UK#26), though a top ten hit remained beyond the borders of Big Country on this venture. Musically, ‘Steeltown’, once again produced by Steve Lillywhite, shared much of the same territory as its predecessor, bursting with verve and pulsating energy in places, but lyrically Adamson was taking Big Country in a different direction. A working-class socialist manifesto began permeating a lot of the tracks, with issues such as the decaying state of Scotland’s industrial and economic profile getting a workout. Regardless, stirringly 
uplifting tracks such as ‘Flame Of The West’ offered up signs of hope. Big Country continued to undertake regular trade missions across the world throughout the next couple of years, and during ‘85 recorded the musical score to the independent Scottish film ‘Restless Natives’ (though it didn’t see commercial release until 1998).
of #7 in the U.K., and #24 in Australia. It was the lead out track from Big Country’s third album, ‘The Seer’, released in July ‘86 (produced by Robin Millar). Once more the album forged strongly into the British charts (#2), and this time around managed to rack up more promising sales elsewhere (OZ#26/US#59). A couple of years later, an old friend of mine gave me a dubbed copy of ‘The Seer’ on cassette, and the quality of the album is reflected by the fact that my cassette copy eventually broke from relentless playing. Some critics levelled the accusation of ‘sameness’ about Big Country’s formula, and yes I suppose the same anthemic choruses, and ‘bagpipe’ style guitar effects still course through the musical veins of ‘The Seer’, but tracks like ‘Eiledon’ proved the old adage that if it ain’t broke, why fix it - and to me, at least at this stage, the Big Country model was in perfect working order. ‘The Seer’’ realised three more hit singles; ‘The Teacher’ (UK#28), ‘One Great Thing’ (UK#19), and ‘Hold The Heart’ (UK#55), and also 
featured guest vocals from Kate Bush on the title track, which was one of several to explore themes of Scottish nationalism (Sean Connery would have been proud).
managed to crack the British top 10 (#9/US#160), and spawned three top fifty singles; ‘King Of Emotion’ (UK#16/OZ#69), ‘Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)’ (UK#47) - which Adamson later cited as his favourite Big Country track, and ‘Peace In Our Time’ (UK#39). Big Country also performed a series of shows in Moscow shortly after the album’s release.
territory. Their 1991 album ‘No Place Like Home’ (UK#28), was about as far away from the Big Country home as the band had dared venture thus far. Produced by Pat Moran, it was a more back-to-basics, bare bones approach to things, with a few oddly styled exceptions, and overall came across as an unconvincing mix. It was the first Big Country album not to receive a release in the U.S., and would be the band’s final outing prior to being dumped by long time label Phonogram. The singles ‘Republican Party Reptile’ (UK#37), and ‘Beautiful People’ (UK#72) laboured to make any impact on the charts. From a personnel viewpoint, Big Country came perilously close to splitting, with tensions running high, perhaps in part due to drummer Mark Brzezicki returning to the mix, but relegated to the status of session player (he’s wasn’t included in any of the promo photos during that period). To all but the most fervent, partisan fans, the glory days of Big Country seemed to be a long distant memory.
After signing with the independent Compulsion label, Big Country resurfaced with 1993’s ‘The Buffalo Skinners’ (UK#25), which did receive a U.S. release. The album was warmly received by critics as a relative return to form by Big Country, and fans welcomed back with open arms, the band’s rousing guitar rock sound, and insightful, emotive lyrics. ‘The Buffalo Skinners’ yielded two British top 30 hits, ‘Alone’ (#24), and ‘Ships (Where Were You)’ (#29), both indicative of what would prove to be a last hoorah return to form for Big Country. When Big Country released the live album ‘Without The Aid Of A Safety Net’ (UK#35) in mid ‘94, drummer Mark Brzezicki had once more been officially included in Big Country census figures. Big Country continued to provide tactical support for rock giants such as the Rolling Stones, and The Who, with whom they had an ongoing association. They had provided 
instrumental backing on Roger Daltrey’s 1985 album ‘Under The Raging Moon’, whilst bassist Tony Butler had known, and played with on occasion, for years with Pete Townshend (Butler had played in a trio with Townshend’s brother Simon).
support of the album, and also performed a series of acoustic shows, captured on the 1996 album ‘Eclectic’ (UK#41).
legend Ray Davies. The poor reception offered the album, proved to be a major blow to Adamson in particular, leading to a brief disappearance in late ‘99, prior to an announcement that he needed some time off. The limited release ‘Nashville Album’ arrived in 2000, and during the first half of the year Big Country embarked on their ‘Final Fling’ farewell tour, which ended in Glasgow. The band declared they would continue to record and make further live appearances, but Adamson’s emotional state, and ongoing battle with alcoholism proved to be insurmountable issues. In November 2001, Adamson disappeared once more, prompting band and family to make a public appeal, via the band’s website, for him to contact someone. Tragically, Adamson committed suicide in December 2001. The remaining members of both Big Country and Skids attended a memorial in January 2002.
In 2007 the surviving core trio of Bruce Watson, Mark Brzezicki, and Tony Butler (who assumed vocal duties), embarked on a Big Country 25th anniversary tour of the U.K., with an accompanying live set released. As of September ‘08, the trio stated that Big Country was once more on indefinite hiatus, but an eight track CD titled ‘In Our Name’ was released in October ‘08, under the banner Brzezicki, Butler & Watson.
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