I came across some big country songs on youtube last night, hadnt seen them for years, i sort of forgot about big country. amazing band, the album the crossing is often regarded as the best debut album ever, They were a band that were highly regarded by those that saw them live and listened to them and many people think they were underestimated and never got the credit they deserved.

I never saw them live, a big regret, but i loved the music and they were a great band unfortunately they needed another couple of really good albums to push thier status as a top band higher, they were too short lived as a creative source and that held back their legacy.

I do remember back in 1983 thatmany people regarded big country and u2 as the 2 best bands on the planet at that time.

what do folk think, did you see big country and how would you rate them.

I loved them and still have The Crossing on cassette which I listen to still occasionally for early '80's nostalgia - never did see them live though.
I recall Keith had some good things to say about them around that time, and they even recorded a version of Ruby Tuesday (performed here live in '96).
Very sad ending for singer Stuart Adamson...RIP.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

The only song of theirs I know was In A Big Country back in high school. Never heard from them after that. Perhaps they stayed popular in Europe after that but not in Canada or I'm sure the US.

Didn't they open for some shows on the Voodoo Lounge tour in Europe?

sjouke

Big Country opened for the Stones in Tallinn during the B2B tour. Met the band at Tallinn airport the day after and had a photo taken with Stuart.

I was a big fan of the first album, but the subsequent ones weren't nearly as good. I only saw them once (Bayou, DC 12/83).

They opened in Hockenheim and Mannheim 1995 as well, the performance worked. May Stuart Adamson rest in peace.

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Sjouke
Didn't they open for some shows on the Voodoo Lounge tour in Europe?

sjouke

Yes... I saw them opening in Rotterdam

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I believe lead singer Stuart Adamson took his life many years ago

The Crossing was a very good album & the band was great live. Then the went very 80’s pop & lost there way a bit.

sadly stuart adamson took his own life on 16th december 2001, he was 43.

he had a problem with alcohol which played a huge part in his 2nd marriage breaking up and had went missing for a while before his death in a hotel in honolulu.

The first album was stellar. Subsequent albums got too heavy, ponderous and cumbersome. They become too full of themselves. But I listen to that first record very regularly.

Rod

saw them at the Roselawn ballroom in 1983.
went because of what is heard of them on MTV, wasnt too exciting. i recall enjoying the opener much more--a rockabilly band called the Elvis brothers.

Really enjoyed them as a support band for The Stones. Too bad he wasn't happy in his life I guess. He helped create some real nice music.

I remember reading an interview of Keith in the early 80's with Keith giving Big Country a very uncharactiric compliment. I believe he called them a really good Scottish soul band.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-04 23:10 by Ket.

I liked The Crossing a lot and I saw them at the Palladium in Hollywood in 1984. I think they played the song In A Big Country twice that night.
I really enjoyed their show but I have to admit I didn't keep up with them much after Steeltown came out later that year. Even though I didn't keep following them it was sad to hear when Stuart Adamson died.

I was 18 when The Crossing was released, the perfect age for it's inspired and anthemic mix of rock n roll and romanticism. I did see them once in Charlottesville, Virginia at The University of Virginia's Memorial Gymnasium in the Fall of 1983. They were firing on all cylinders and were considered a bigger deal than U2 at that time. The rhythm section, bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Bryzezicki, had just supported Pete Townshend on his Empty Glass album and were in demand. They were never able to approach the heights of The Crossing. It's a great album, but as I've aged and become more jaded, I don't know if I relate to it's keening optimism anymore.

One of a few bands who could have been really great... had they not been making their records in the horrible sounding 80s.

I believe Mike Peters formerly of Welsh rockers The Alarm took over as vocalist some time after Stuarts passing.

"I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon."

I liked the Alarm...now they didn't wreek of the 80s

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ROLLINGSTONE
I believe Mike Peters formerly of Welsh rockers The Alarm took over as vocalist some time after Stuarts passing.

I saw the Alarm at a free outdoor concert at UCLA in the mid '80's, w/Orange County Punk band Agent Orange.
Great show and totally forgot about it (and both of those bands haha) until you mentioned it - thanks for jarring the memory.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

mike peters did join big country, but left due to alarm commitments.

big country have only 2 original members left.

i liked the alarm, great band, but i dont believe the 80,s was all bad as some suggest. i think music declined mid 80,s though, early 80,s were great, so much variety and original music.

i agree that big country declined after about 3 albums and nothing came remotely close to the crossing.

also remember when fields of fire was released, in 1983, which i thought was a great year musically, but fields of fire was brilliant then compared to everything else.

as the 80,s wore on we got more kylie minogue and jason donovan crap, with hiphop and rap added which helped the decade decline.

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Hairball

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ROLLINGSTONE
I believe Mike Peters formerly of Welsh rockers The Alarm took over as vocalist some time after Stuarts passing.

I saw the Alarm at a free outdoor concert at UCLA in the mid '80's, w/Orange County Punk band Agent Orange.
Great show and totally forgot about it (and both of those bands haha) until you mentioned it - thanks for jarring the memory.

I was there, too! It was April 1986...my junior year at UCLA. I don't remember Agent Orange, but there was another opening act called the Low Riders or Long Riders or something. The concert was a big deal - tons of people.

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Jah Paul

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Hairball

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ROLLINGSTONE
I believe Mike Peters formerly of Welsh rockers The Alarm took over as vocalist some time after Stuarts passing.

I saw the Alarm at a free outdoor concert at UCLA in the mid '80's, w/Orange County Punk band Agent Orange.
Great show and totally forgot about it (and both of those bands haha) until you mentioned it - thanks for jarring the memory.

I was there, too! It was April 1986...my junior year at UCLA. I don't remember Agent Orange, but there was another opening act called the Low Riders or Long Riders or something. The concert was a big deal - tons of people.

Just did a quick google search, and evidently it was broadcast live on mtv which I don't recall happening either!

"4/12/1986: The Alarm, Spirit Of ’86 Show, UCLA campus, CA Broadcast live on MTV
Summary: Gig was broadcast live to USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Sweden, Malta, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Luxemburg"- The Alarm

"It was one of the first ever live satellite broadcasts on TV, and thus it was one of the very early live concerts shown on MTV. As well, this show highlighted The Alarm at the top of their game. as the musicianship and showmanship of the band both reached their peak for this event. The free show had been advertised on the radio and in the papers the week prior, but no one was prepared for the turnout. The expected crowd of 3,000 turned into an expected crowd of 10,000, which ultimately turned into an estimated crowd of 25,000". - The Alarm 2

Can't find any info. on Agent Orange being there, but I could have sworn they were...or maybe I saw them somewhere within that same time frame? Things are a bit "fuzzy" from those years...

Anyhow, here's a video of the Alarms entire set

The Alarm - Spirit of '86 (Full Broadcast)

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-06 23:54 by Hairball.

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Hairball


Just did a quick google search, and evidently it was broadcast live on mtv which I don't recall happening either!

"4/12/1986: The Alarm, Spirit Of ’86 Show, UCLA campus, CA Broadcast live on MTV
Summary: Gig was broadcast live to USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Sweden, Malta, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Luxemburg"- The Alarm

I taped the show with, I believe, my brother's dictaphone cassette recorder (he's an attorney)...unless it was with my mid-sized boombox (fuzzy memories indeed!) I met a friend near campus and we walked over to stake out seats - I recorded my car ride over from the Palisades, mock announcing like we were going to this incredible festival concert. I borrowed a lot of lines from my Stones Hyde Park boot (the one which included interviews about how the show came about) -- "There's 10,000 people today in the park!" -- always a Stones connection, right?

I listened to the tape a few years ago...so much energy...so bizarre! I guess it's called "youth!"

The only time I ever was a roadie was at a Big Country gig, Shepherd's Bush Empire. It was just a few weeks after I saw the Stones there on the same stage.