Y'know, back in the eighties, Friday Night Videos played the hell out Big Country.
As I sat there on the couch in my underwear eating crackers and cheese, I don't recall thinking how the band were forcing Scottish folk motifs into the pop lexicon or that Stuart Adamson was deftly re-defining the role of the guitar in the Synth Age. Nope, what took me in was the hugeness of the sounds in songs like "In a Big Country and "Fields of Fire". That guitar didn't ring like a bell but roared like the war pipes and those choruses weren't chirpy jingles but echoed like a choir in a canyon. Like many of you, I too bear a grudge against the rampant soullessness of the eighties but I stand by those who fought against this deadness and Stuart Adamson & co, did that. So Rest in Peace, Mr. Adamson, Rest In Peace.
What you have here is a damn fierce performance in the men's hometown of Glasgow on NewYear's Eve 1983, which includes a visit from a genuine Scottish pipe band in the middle of the show and a near-inevitable performance version of Robbie Burns' "Auld Lang Syne".
King Biscuit Flower Hour (1983) link is in the comments
Speaking of comments, our Skids post generated a paltry four comments, can Big Country fans take up the slack????
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http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?7hwr4ce7x8ay4sl
i always liked that 'in a big country' song, and wished they weren't the one-hit wonders they seemed to be here. that being said, i never got around to buying much of anything by them, so i suppose i'm to blame...
ReplyDeletemaybe this will finally inspire me.
and, yeah, that story about stuart adamson linked to in the skids post was heart-wrenching.
LOved them from the first verse of In A Big Country. Saw them live about 6 times too. AWESOME live band.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I had their first EP Hard Rain or no that was Aztec Camera but the first BC EP was well known in Europe and propelled them to outdo the first release by leaps and bounds. Thanks again and I'm kickin' myself for taking down that ep post I did but not good quality so I took it down..
ReplyDeleteI only learned about the Skids after hearing Big Country (I think Chance was the first Big Country song I heard).
ReplyDeleteThese days I listen to the Skids moer often than I listen to Big Country. However, songs like 'In a Big Country' and 'Fields of Fire' are great to listen to when running. When I hear them, I involuntary run just a little bit faster.
This Big Country concert was broadcast on BBC TV if I recall correctly (I remember the bagpipe players).
BTW, after the Skids, Richard Jobson made one great album with his band The Armoury Show. Listen to the single 'Castles in Spain', for instance: about one quarter Big Country and three quarters Skids-circa-The Absolute Game.
always loved Big Country from there beginnings any group with a genius like Stuart Adamson in can't be bad,amazing live, unique guitar sound,stuart r.i.p. play me a guitar solo in heaven
ReplyDeleteHey Jeffen
ReplyDeleteOne of the best concerts ever released on VHS(& Beta I assume) back in the day was the 1983 Big Country concert at The Barrowlands.I still have the tape.The band was energized by a 'very' passionate Glasgow crowd!
Doug
Big Country - Ya beauty as we here in Scotland would say - going to see the reformed Big Country minus sadly Stuart - I struggled over whether to go as Stuart wasthe Heart and Soul of the band - a huge part of my growing up - thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteBrink
ReplyDeleteThe story was sad as hell but we till have the music!
King
The footage bears out your words!
ViaCom...
If you put the link back up let me know and I'll link ti it.
Just8
TAS are on of those bands I always read about in Trouser Press I'll make it a point to track that album down now.
Martin
Amen.
Doug
Another hometown show from '83, if that King Biscuit show is any indication it must've slayed.
Anon
While reforming s band like Big Country might seem blasphemous they've brought in the AMAZING Mike Peters of The Alarm - that's stroke of genius.
I've got the VHS of the Barrowlands gig. And the shitty Pinnacle video convertoer I have doesn't have drivers that will work with windows 7 or Linux.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to find a work around for that even if it means borrowing an XP or Vista machine over the holidays.
I need to scroll down more often. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for The Skids & Big Country. Gracias y saludos.
ReplyDeleteThat first album is a true classic.
ReplyDeleteOne hit wonders??? Don't think so, there was also...
ReplyDeleteChance; Fields Of Fire; Harvest Home; Just A Shadow; Look Away; One Great Thing; Wonderland yadda yadda. Never seen this one around before, many thanks
I'm not a fan of Big Country,(although I did see them at Reading Festival once and enjoyed their set),but I am a huge fan of his work with Skids-particularly the "Scared to Dance" album.On the strength of that alone I'd put him up there alongside John McGeoch,Keith Levene and Geordie (Killing Joke)as one of the very best.I just read the piece on his final days and it made me very sad indeed.R.I.P.Stuart.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your Big comments everyone:
ReplyDeleteP.S.
KSM
If you ever get the video uploaded let me know!
Piratecyna
yeah I tried to take on that whole OHW thing in the follow-up post!
Pink...
I too like The Skids more than BC but they are both proof of Adamson's genius!
Awesome post - thank you!
ReplyDeleteYg
ReplyDeleteGLAD YOU ENJOYED ALL THE BC
Link is dead. Any chance of a re-up?
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