big country - 1997 | Stuart Adamson Official

1982–1997 — Big Country

After leaving the Skids, Stuart began again at home, bringing in local guitarist Bruce Watson to experiment on a four-track TEAC, building initially wordless instrumentals with drum-machine waltzes and bossa novas, each of them trading off bass and guitar, with Stuart adding the lyrics, melodies and vocals independently.

Their manager Ian Grant shopped the demos, Virgin showed interest, and soon Stuart and Bruce were in London recording with John Leckie, and Rick Buckler of The Jam on drums.

Back in Dunfermline, Stuart quietly assembled what would become Big Country. He approached local brothers Peter and Alan Wishart, convinced that the band should be built from nearby faces. Every local player was considered; Clive Parker, formerly of The Members, rounded out the lineup as the lone outsider. They rehearsed relentlessly at the Glen Pavilion, shaping the Portastudio demos into real songs.

The first song they tackled together was Lost Patrol, and through the autumn of 1981, they practiced with single-minded focus, preparing for the new band’s debut the following February.

Ian Grant brought Phonogram A&R man Chris Briggs to Dunfermline to see the band, then known as Angle Park, rehearse. By their debut at the Glen Pavilion on 4 February 1982, they had adopted the name Big Country, chosen for the sense of space, ambition, and forward motion Stuart heard in the music.

The show led into a support slot on Alice Cooper’s Special Forces tour, arranged through Cooper’s manager Shep Gordon, but after several dates it became clear the band wasn’t connecting with Cooper’s audience, and they were dropped from the bill. In the middle of this upheaval, on 10 February, Sandra gave birth to Callum. With the tour behind them and the new baby at home, Stuart also realised the band needed a stronger rhythm section.

Soon after, Briggs visited Air Studios and saw bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki at work. Grant laid out the choice: rebuild the band with Tony and Mark or continue trying to shape the existing lineup. After taking the weekend to think it through, Stuart decided to bring Butler and Brzezicki into Big Country, a decision that would help define everything that followed. Chris Briggs put them in the basement of Phonogram Studios with John Brandt producing.

Their first single, Harvest Home, released by Phonogram on 17 September 1982, carried the hallmarks of Big Country’s emerging sound: twin guitars, impressionistic lyrics drawn from Stuart’s wide reading, and a tone that stood apart from the synth-heavy new romanticism of the moment.

Producer Steve Lillywhite was then brought in for a follow-up single, Fields of Fire, recorded at RAK Studios, renowned for its famously bright drum room. The sessions forced Stuart to shift from guitarist-who-sings to true frontman. Lillywhite pushed him to sing the track in a key far above his comfort zone, working him relentlessly until the performance broke through. The result was a sharper, more confident voice set against a band firing on all cylinders: Mark’s rattling snare, Tony’s bass runs, and the guitars rising in full skirl.

Fields of Fire entered the UK charts at 64 in February 1983 and climbed to no.10 seven weeks later, matching The Skids' highest position and signalling that Big Country had arrived.

Big Country recorded their debut album, 'The Crossing', with Steve Lillywhite at RAK Studios and The Manor, where Stuart had last worked during the Skids era. Lillywhite aimed for a “big, cinematic sound,” amplifying the scale and clarity Stuart envisioned. The result was an expansive, open-hearted record shaped by four musicians whose working-class histories, marked by migration, conflict, and resilience, fed directly into the music’s emotional weight.

The album took its name from an early song written with Peter and Alan Wishart, though the track itself was ultimately left off the record. Released on 6 August 1983, 'The Crossing' entered the UK charts at no.4 and rose to no.3 the following month, remaining in the top 40 for 39 weeks. By 1994, it had gone platinum, confirming the band’s arrival with a debut of remarkable confidence and scale.

In July, before 'The Crossing' was even released, Big Country set out on a UK tour that quickly expanded as Fields of Fire gained momentum, pushing them from clubs into larger halls and onto a string of television appearances, including Top of the Pops, Chegger’s Plays Pop, Crackerjack, TV-am, and Channel 4’s The Tube and Switch.

September took them to Belgium and then New York, where Bill Nelson and Pete Townshend turned up, before another run of UK dates and a week of back-to-back shows in Germany. With 'The Crossing' climbing into the US top 20, they toured North America in November, returning home for Christmas and closing the year with two sold-out Hogmanay shows at Glasgow Barrowland.

On 13 January, they released Wonderland, its video filmed in the snow of Oregon’s Mount Hood and in the desert further south. The single reached no.8 in the UK, their highest chart position to date. By late February, the band were back in the United States for the Grammys, where In a Big Country was nominated for Best Song and the group for Best New Artist. The touring continued at a relentless pace.

At the height of Big Country’s early success, Stuart Adamson was beginning to buckle under the strain of fronting a band in constant motion. After nearly two years touring 'The Crossing', the group headed to Japan for FM Live ’84, a package tour with the Style Council, INXS, The Motels, and The Romantics. They were scheduled to continue on to Australia, but the dates were cancelled when Stuart burned out from exhaustion.

By August 1984, the band were in Stockholm at ABBA’s Polar Studios to begin their second album, 'Steeltown'.

Big Country revealed the sound of their second album with East of Eden, a more complex and less overtly Celtic single shaped by the industrial unrest Stuart saw around the dockyards and factories. It reached no.17 in the UK charts in October 1984, just ahead of the release of 'Steeltown' on 19 October. The album went straight to no.1, displacing U2’s 'The Unforgettable Fire', and set out a darker, more politically charged vision, opening with Flame of the West, a critique of Western power and its consequences.

Yet the record arrived at a moment when guitar music was shifting toward the jangle of The Smiths and REM, and Big Country were increasingly labelled as bombastic or old-fashioned. Stuart’s turn toward political realism drew criticism from parts of the music press, which favoured escapism in an era dominated by glossy, aspirational pop. While 'Steeltown' resonated with many who recognised its portrayal of working-class struggle, others found its themes too stark for the climate of mid-1980s mainstream music.

In the lead-up to 'Steeltown', Big Country embarked on another UK tour, moving through the usual cycle of press, radio sessions, and television appearances. They closed the year with dates across the UK and Ireland, finishing with shows in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Stuart, already strained by constant touring, was struggling with exhaustion and alcoholism, while Sandra was expecting their second child.

In January, the band briefly returned to the studio to record the score for the Scottish film Restless Natives, a local success whose music later appeared only as B-sides on 1986 singles.

A planned American breakthrough supporting Hall & Oates on a major arena tour collapsed with barely a week’s notice, leaving the band without US exposure and forcing them into an unexpected six-month hiatus. During this pause, Big Country did not tour or record, but the lull meant Stuart was home in June for the birth of his daughter, Kirsten.

After an alcohol-related incident during Kirsten’s birth, Stuart began attending AA, marking the start of 14 sober years.

Just weeks later, Big Country were offered a slot at Live Aid but declined, feeling unable to return to the stage while Stuart was newly sober; they attended the event but did not perform. By the end of 1985 the band were back in the studio with producer Robin Millar, who aimed to move them away from the heavy digital sound of the mid-80s and toward a more human, performance-driven approach.

Recording ran from November 1985 to February 1986, with Kate Bush contributing to the title track, The Seer. The lead single, Look Away, released in April 1986, reached no.7, the band’s highest chart position. The same week, however, Millar’s completed album mixes were rejected by the label.

Walter Turbitt was brought in to remix the record, giving it a more overtly commercial 1980s production. The follow-up singles, The Teacher and One Great Thing, made modest chart impacts, the latter briefly entering the top 20 and later being licensed for a Tennent’s advert.

By 1986, the UK music landscape had shifted toward newer Scottish and alternative acts, and Big Country found themselves balancing their earlier, weightier direction with increasing commercial pressure. Although 'The Seer' reached no.2 and stayed in the charts for 16 weeks, it ultimately performed below 'Steeltown', capturing a period of compromise and strain as Stuart stabilised his sobriety and the band confronted changing expectations.

In 1986 Big Country spent most of the year on the road, touring the UK, Europe, and the United States, playing more than 80 shows, including two nights at Glasgow Barrowland, two at Wembley Arena, and an appearance at Knebworth for what would become Queen’s final concert with Freddie Mercury.

Away from the stage, Stuart focused on stabilising his home life, spending time with his young family and replacing drinking with a routine of hobbies and exercise. The year ended with major shows in Birmingham, London and Brighton. In 1987, the band supported David Bowie on five stadium dates, then returned to Edinburgh to develop new material for what would become 'Peace in Our Time'.

Later that year, they embarked on the 'Under Wraps Tour', playing smaller venues to test the new songs. Behind the scenes, manager Ian Grant worked to reposition the band for the American market. Polygram released them from their US deal, and after interest from several major labels, Big Country signed with Warner Bros.

They chose Peter Wolf to produce the next album, a decision that shifted their sound toward a more keyboard-led, commercial style. This approach contrasted sharply with the band’s reputation for strong ensemble playing and the organic feel of their earlier records. The recording took place in Los Angeles, reflecting a broader shift in image and ambition, before the band travelled to East Berlin for a state-organised “peace concert,” performing before audiences unfamiliar with their music.

The project’s idealistic tone aligned with a strategy to launch the album in symbolically significant settings, culminating in an appearance at Glasnost Rock ’88 in Tallinn, Estonia, still within the Soviet Union. The album’s official UK launch took place shortly afterward, at the Russian Embassy in Bayswater at the end of September.

'Peace in Our Time' reached no.9 in the UK but stalled at no.160 in the United States, becoming the band’s weakest-performing album there and signalling a shift in momentum. As the industry’s interest cooled, Stuart himself began to lose faith.

Big Country toured through the first half of 1989 with an expanded lineup featuring backing singers and a keyboard player, but the strain led Stuart to briefly walk away. During this pause, Mark Brzezicki accepted outside session work, leaving him unavailable when the band regrouped. With Pat Ahern brought in on drums, Big Country began demoing new material. Bruce Watson connected with producer Tim Palmer in Los Angeles, leading to the singles Heart of the World and Save Me, recorded with Ahern and engineered by Chris Sheldon; they charted modestly at no.50 and no.41.

A new deal with Vertigo followed, and the band recorded 'No Place Like Home' at Rockfield Studios with producer Pat Moran. Difficulties with Ahern led to Brzezicki returning as a session drummer for the album, though he could not commit to touring. Chris Bell, formerly of Spear of Destiny, filled the role on the road.

'No Place Like Home' reached no.28 in the UK album charts, becoming the first Big Country album to miss the top ten.

The week after 'No Place Like Home' appeared, Nirvana released 'Nevermind', reshaping the rock landscape. Although Big Country had been dropped by Vertigo, they had a new set of songs that suited the shifting climate, and a new home: Chris Briggs, their former A&R guy who was now working at Chrysalis, signed the band to his label. They returned to RAK Studios, this time self-producing with Chris Sheldon engineering. With Mark Brzezicki unavailable, session drummer Simon Phillips was brought in.

The new material reflected Stuart’s increasingly stark worldview, with songs addressing corruption, environmental threat, and personal isolation. Released in April 1993, 'The Buffalo Skinners' reached no.25 in the UK and was issued in the US on Fox, a short-lived 20th Century Fox imprint. The band toured Germany, the UK, and then the United States for nearly three months, with Brzezicki returning to the drum seat.

In June 1994 the Adamson family relocated from Dunfermline to Orlando. Meanwhile, changes at Chrysalis, now under EMI ownership, left Big Country without a contract, and they ultimately signed with Castle, a label best known for reissuing catalogue titles.

Their next album, 'Why the Long Face?', again recorded at RAK with Chris Sheldon co-producing, was released in June 1995 and peaked at no.48, spending only two weeks on the UK chart. The band toured extensively, including numerous in-store appearances and support slots with Page & Plant, followed by a major run of European dates with the Rolling Stones.

Now back in Dunfermline, Sandra Adamson opened a pub, Tappie Toories, while manager Ian Grant recognised that Stuart needed a new environment and new creative stimulus. His proposed solution was unexpected but promising: a move toward Nashville, Tennessee.

Stuart and Grant travelled to Nashville in January 1996, meeting with major industry figures who encouraged Stuart to treat the city not as a brief experiment but as a place he would need to return to regularly and possibly relocate to if he wanted to build a career there.

In March, Big Country played two shows at Dingwalls in London, later released as 'Eclectic', an unplugged set blending Big Country songs with roots-based covers and featuring an expanded lineup of guest musicians. It became the band’s final project before a long pause beginning later that year. By this point, the group were performing in smaller venues, earning less, and facing ongoing label instability, while Stuart increasingly spent time in Nashville writing with other musicians.

At home in Dunfermline, life was steady. Family routines, time at Tappie Toories - but creatively, the future was shifting. By 1997 it was clear that Stuart was preparing for a new chapter, and the path ahead pointed toward Nashville.