Big Country

[Yawn]

Since I'm a Scottish forum regular, I thought I should mention them here. They come from Dunfermline, which isn't too far away from Edinburgh.

The band consisted of various musicians and they were lead by the singer and guitarist Stuart Adamson, who commited suicide in 2001 following a long battle against depression.

Formed initially as a 5-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. Much of the impetus for its success in the U.S. came from airplay it got on MTV, which at the time was more open to post-punk and new wave acts. Big Country were also well known for their imaginative promotional videos.

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 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 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. This would be an early indicator of the different commercial reception the band got in the U.S., where their music failed to get airplay on hard rock stations.

Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit out of the gate, entering the UK album charts at Number 1. 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 huge commercial disappointment in the U.S.

Throughout the 90's, 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.')

Here's a list of the albums Big Country have released over the years. I usually just assosiate them with "In a Big Country" which usually appears on 80's hit compilations. They're a great rock band that should never be forgotten. Hopefully you've heard of Big Country though....



Albums


The Crossing (1983)
Steeltown (1984)
Wonderland (EP) (1984)
The Seer (1986)
Peace in Our Time (1988)
No Place Like Home (1991)
The Buffalo Skinners (1993)
Without the Aid of a Safety Net (live) (1994)
Radio 1 Sessions (live) (1994)
Why the Long Face? (1995)
BBC Live in Concert (1995)
Eclectic (live) (1996)
King Biscuit Flower Hour (live) (1997)
Brighton Rock (live) (1997)
Restless Natives & Rarities (1998)
Bon Apetit (EP) (1999)
In The Scud (EP) (1999)
Driving To Damascus (1999)
Come Up Screaming (live) (2000)
Big Country: The Nashville Album (2000)
Das Fest - Live In Germany '95 (live) (2001)
Undercover (covers album) (2001)
Rarities II (2001)
One In A Million (acoustic) (2001)
Greatest 12" Hits (80's remixes) (2001)
Live in Cologne (2002)
John Wayne's Dream (US Remaster of 'Driving To Damascus') (2002)
Rarities III (2002)
Rarities IV (The Crossing Sessions) (2003)
Rarities V (No Place Like Home Sessions) (2003)
Rarities VI (2003)
Rarities VII (The Damascus Sessions) (2004)
The Buffalo Skinners - The US Remaster (2005)
Without the Aid of a Safety Net - The Complete Concert(live) (2005)
Rarities VIII(2005)

[Zeromus_X]

Gee, with all that information, you could write a Wikipedia article or something on them. But yeah, nice info.