Big Country
Big Country | |
|---|---|
| File:Bigcountry-collection.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1981–2000 |
| Members | Stuart Adamson Bruce Watson Tony Butler Mark Brzezicki |
Big Country were a rock band from Dunfermline, Scotland, popular in the early to mid 1980s, but still releasing material for a cult following as recently as 2004.
Career
Canonically composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, vocals, guitar, piano), Mark Brzezicki (drums), Tony Butler (bass guitar), and Bruce Watson (guitar), though a variety of other musicians have been in the band during their long career, including Pete Wishart who joined Runrig and became prominent in the SNP.
Albums
The Crossing
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 crossover hit in the United States, powered by "In a Big Country", their only stateside 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.
Wonderland
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The band released the non-LP extended play single Wonderland in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, generally considered 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 a disappointingly low #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would prove to be the last single by the band to make a U.S. chart appearance.
Steeltown
Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit out of the gate, entering the UK album charts at Number One. The album featured three UK Top 40 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 huge commercial disappointment in the U.S.
Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured relentlessly in 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 would not be released on CD until years later on the band's Restless Natives and Rarities (1998) collection.
The Seer
1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2, and producing three additional Top 40 UK singles. These included "Look Away" which reached Number 7 (the band's highest charting UK single). Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the title cut, and, as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. Despite managing modestly better sales stateside than Steeltown had, it was still considered a commercial failure there.
Peace in Our Time
In an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, Big Country hooked up with then-hot producer Peter Wolf for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The result was bland generic stadium rock that stripped away the band's unique sound and disappointed fans and critics alike. It sold poorly.
The Buffalo Skinners
In 1991, the band was dropped by Phonogram, the label that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe every now and then, while churning out mild-selling album after album. Only one of these albums, 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, would receive a major label release (via Chrysalis Records); it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, and obtained a surprisingly enthusiastic critical response. But its sales were meagre and, in retrospect, it can be seen as Big Country's lost, last chance to regain a mass audience. Regardless, the band's cult following remained intensely devoted to them, as evidenced by their deceptively huge post-1990 discography, which consists mostly of live concert recordings and singles/rarities collections.
Why the Long Face?
Throughout the 1990s, Big Country became a popular 'opening act', supporting such bands as Rolling Stones and The Who; Roger Daltrey reportedly uttered on numerous occasions that he'd 'love to steal their rhythm section!'. (In fact, Big Country had backed Daltrey on his 1985 solo album Under The Raging Moon, and Tony Butler played bass and backing vocals on Pete Townshend's 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open The Door". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album White City: A Novel.
Of growing concern, however, was the mental and emotional health of lead singer Adamson, who reportedly had struggled with alcoholism for several years. Adamson split with his first wife, who later spoke to Scottish and English tabloids about his heavy drinking. He moved to Nashville in the mid 1990s, where he took up residence and married a hairdresser. While in Nashville, he met noted artist Marcus Hummon and released an acclaimed studio album with him, under the moniker The Raphaels.
In 1995 Big Country released another album Why the Long Face?.
Driving to Damascus
1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, Driving to Damascus (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release John Wayne's Dream). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had just needed some time off.
The Final Days
Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at their spiritual home, Glasgow Barrowlands on 29 May 2000. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again. They played what turned out to be their last gig in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October that year.
In November of 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer in a mis-guided attempt to be his (drinking) friend to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Brzezicki and Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamsons' spiral. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 16, 2001. The official autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself.[1] [2] [3]
A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and The Skids; Stuart's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and, giving his first performance in years, Bill Nelson.
Interesting Facts
The band's "In A Big Country" was covered by Dashboard Confessional on their album Dusk and Summer, and by "moe." on their 2001 album Dither.
Discography
For more details about the discography, see Big Country discography.
Band Personnel Details
- Stuart Adamson was born William Stuart Adamson in Manchester, England, on April 11, 1958. Adamson had previously been guitarist for seminal Scottish punk band The Skids. He committed suicide in Hawaii on December 16, 2001.
- Mark Brzezicki was born Mark Michael Brzezicki in Slough, Buckinghamshire, on June 21, 1957, the son of a Polish Air Force pilot who'd flown with the Royal Air Force in World War II. Brzezicki had had a long career as a studio musician before joining Big Country, having played on albums by Pete Townshend and Simon Townshend, Ultravox, Procol Harum, Roger Daltrey and many others. Brzezicki continues to work as a session drummer today.
- Tony Butler was born Anthony Earle Peter Butler in Shepherd's Bush, London, on February 13, 1957. Butler was also a highly-experienced session musician, having played with Pete Townshend, The Pretenders and many other artists.
- Bruce Watson was born Bruce William Watson in Timmins, Ontario, on March 11, 1961.
The odd detail that emerges that, as one of Scotland's finest ever rock bands, none of its number were actually born in that country.