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Stuart Adamson / The Skids / Big Country

skankdelvar

By skankdelvar,
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ezbass Grand Master

ezbass

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

When I started this over on the RIP thread I didn't know that Stuart's daughter Kirsten has today (11/4/22) released a cover of her dad's song Peace In Our Time. This is in support of the charity War Child which "works directly with children who are living through conflicts, offering them safe spaces and delivering life-changing services and support".

 

Vocal performers include Karen Matheson (Capercaillie), Dean Owens, Jill Jackson, Dave Burn, Lisa Rigby, Dan Raza, Emily Smith, Paul Gilbody and Jason McNiff.

 

 

I’m obviously quite emotional today as it’s suddenly got very misty in here - again.

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Velarian Grand Master

Velarian

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50 minutes ago, police squad said:

I was at that festival. IIRC Stuart stopped the set to try and stop people throwing bottles of p!ss

I think you’re right, that rings a bell now you mention it. Apart from Big Country being awesome, my only other recollection of that day is that was clear blue skies and scorching sunshine. 😎

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police squad Mentor

police squad

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Posted (edited)
21 minutes ago, Velarian said:

I think you’re right, that rings a bell now you mention it. Apart from Big Country being awesome, my only other recollection of that day is that was clear blue skies and scorching sunshine. 😎

was a warm one yes. Some reggae band ( actually is was Steel Pulse, I've just checked) was bottled off before BC played. Thin Lizzy on the sunday was awesome. I was nearly 15, my first festival!!

Edited by police squad
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Velarian Grand Master

Velarian

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50 minutes ago, police squad said:

Some reggae band ( actually is was Steel Pulse, I've just checked) was bottled off before BC played.

Yes, when I was checking some facts I read about that too. Sadly it appears that it may have been some Stranglers fans who were responsible. ☹️

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ubit Grand Master

ubit

Posted
Posted

I love Big Country still. This a particular favourite of mine. Just listen to that bass sound and the energy being shown on stage by a bunch of young guys really enjoying themselves. So sad that Stuart had those demons that took over. At least we still have these memories.

 

 

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Chris2112 Mentor

Chris2112

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Posted (edited)

Amazing singer, writer and guitarist. I could never believe how two blokes from another awful punk band decided to change direction and ended up making some of the most sensational prog rock records just a few months later. 

 

There are just so many amazing Big Country pieces that I would struggle to name a favourite. Truly one of the all time great rock bands. 

Edited by Chris2112
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ezbass Grand Master

ezbass

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, ubit said:

I love Big Country still. This a particular favourite of mine. Just listen to that bass sound and the energy being shown on stage by a bunch of young guys really enjoying themselves. So sad that Stuart had those demons that took over. At least we still have these memories.

 

 

Tony Butler's bass tone was so much a part of the BC sound, which was sadly missing when I saw them last year, despite Scott Whitley using a P bass.

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Lozz196 Grand Master

Lozz196

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22 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Tony Butler's bass tone was so much a part of the BC sound, which was sadly missing when I saw them last year, despite Scott Whitley using a P bass.

Tony Butler was a very under-recognised part of Big Country’s sound.

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Bassassin Grand Master

Bassassin

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38 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

Amazing singer, writer and guitarist. I could never believe how two blokes from another awful pink band decided to change direction and ended up making some of the most sensational prog rock records just a few months later.

 

To my ears BC were initially very much a post punk/celtic rock band with a full-on prog rhythm section - Butler/Brezicki were phenomenal and a massive part of the sound. Early extended, multi-part songs like Porrohman & The Crossing really show that Adamson wasn't afraid to get a bit proggy!

 

Bit unfair to dismiss The Skids (assuming that's who you mean!) as an 'awful punk' band - while a lot of their debut Scared To Dance has its roots in that style, both Days In Europa & The Absolute Game move well beyond the limitations of the genre, and I suspect a lot of the early BC material would have made up the next Skids album had Stuart not left. I'd certainly recommend giving them another listen, particularly TAG - some superb, atmospheric songs like A Woman In Winter & Arena - and Stuart reprised the riff from Out Of Town (with a few differences) on Tall Ships Go, on Steeltown. Jobson was never a 'conventional' singer but he had a hell of a set of pipes on him (as well as being a bizarre and intriguing lyricist) and you can hear his influence on Stuart's singing.

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bnt Mentor

bnt

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Posted (edited)

I was kind of obligated to check out Big Country myself, being from Dunfermline, but I was glad I did. Tony was just a monster on bass, and I was not surprised to read, years later, that he had been a fan of Chris Squire among others. Flame Of The West is still one of my go-to plectrum practice pieces. The first time a I saw them live was in Dublin on the Final Fling tour, a gig kind-of ruined for me by the PA, sadly - way too loud where I was, ear-wrecking levels. 
 

The next year, I found myself at the Barrowlands in Glasgow, for the Stuart Adamson Memorial concert. I remember Bill Nelson was there with a massive rack of guitar electronics, playing a long piece he wrote called For Stuart. Bill, with Be-Bop Deluxe, had been a major influence on Stuart, who got Bill to produce one of the Skids albums. Bill introduced Stuart to the E-Bow and IIRC to the MXR Pitch Transposer (kind-of a budget Eventide Harmonizer) that was such a major part of the “bagpipe tone” in the early years. 
 

I know some people are down on the Peace In Our Time album, but I don’t get it, since it contains some of Stuart’’s best songs. Thirteen Valleys, Thousand Yard Stare, the title track, and in particular I Could Be Happy Here is up there with the best in my opinion.

Edited by bnt
MXR Pitch Transposer, not Harmoniser
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Bassassin Grand Master

Bassassin

Posted
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15 hours ago, bnt said:

I know some people are down on the Peace In Our Time album, but I don’t get it, since it contains some of Stuart’’s best songs. Thirteen Valleys, Thousand Yard Stare, the title track, and in particular I Could Be Happy Here is up there with the best in my opinion.

 

Some great songwriting, but for me that was the album where I lost touch with them for a few years. Maybe a production/management decision but it sounded like the album was a deliberate attempt to dilute the band for US market palatability - Stuart adopting a forced-sounding, mid-Atlantic nasal vocal style & AOR radio-friendly production wasn't what I expected, or wanted to hear. I'd seen them at the Astoria in December '87, when they played a few tracks from the forthcoming album (I remember Peace In Our Time & Thousand Yard Stare), which sounded phenomenal, but seemed so watered-down when they were recorded.

 

Thinking about it (and apropos of very little) that was the last London gig I went to before I moved to Scotland.

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Rich Grand Master

Rich

Posted
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On 13/04/2022 at 16:14, Lozz196 said:

Tony Butler was a very under-recognised part of Big Country’s sound.

Hell yes, he was absolutely key. I particularly love his work on Steeltown, the whole album is a bass tour de force from first note to last. And to cap it all, he's a really nice bloke too.

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Barking Spiders Veteran

Barking Spiders

Posted
Posted
On 13/04/2022 at 15:50, Chris2112 said:

Amazing singer, writer and guitarist. I could never believe how two blokes from another awful punk band decided to change direction and ended up making some of the most sensational prog rock records just a few months later. 

 

There are just so many amazing Big Country pieces that I would struggle to name a favourite. Truly one of the all time great rock bands. 

Who's this 'another awful punk band'? 

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