Big Country were formed in Dunfermline in 1981 after Stuart Adamson had played with Skids. Adamson and Bruce Watson had “a shared vision of widescreen guitar melody, harmony and lyric…” as their style.
Original Band Members
- Bruce Watson (guitar),
- Stuart Adamson (guitar),
- Mark Brzezicki (drummer) and
- Tony Butler (bass)
Lineup in 2020
- Bruce Watson
- Mark Brzezicki
- Simon Hough
- Scott Whitely
- Jamie Watson
Former band members include; Pete Wishart, Alan Wishart, Clive Parker, Mike Peters, Pat Ahern and Derek Forbes.
The band’s debut album in 1983, The Crossing, had 3 Grammy nominations and the single In a Big Country sold over 2 million copies.
The band’s first invitation to tour was in 1981 supporting rockers Alice Cooper. However, as noted in Adamson’s biography by Allan Glen, there was a change after only two days, “Even Cooper thought the band were too strange.” And Big Country returned home!
“Even Cooper thought the band were too strange.”
Stuart Adamson In a Big Country, Allan Glen, Edinburgh, 2010, p59
The biography goes on to say,
“When Adamson was asked what he hoped his musical legacy would be, he said he would like to be remembered not for the gold discs or the sold-out shows but in a simpler way. ‘I want to be able to sit back and think, “Well, maybe I did make a worthwhile contribution.”’ Few would doubt that he did.”
Stuart Adamson In a Big Country, Allan Glen, Edinburgh, 2010, p193
Weblink:
Band bio
Look Away on YouTube
In a Big Country on YouTube