Entertainment For Lively Minds
Stuart Adamson
Posted by sitheref2409 on 16 December 2010 - 9:26pm.
Today's the anniversary of his death in 2001.
Big Country - and latterly the Skids (well, I listened to BC before the Skids if you see what I mean) - were and still are a large part of my musical landscape.
Stuart went to Beath High a few years after my Dad, and BC gave me two of my best live experiences.
I know they're often derided for being a Quo-like one style band. And wrongly so.
I always thought they were an honest band, and surprisingly political. They also did the soundtrack for Restless Natives, one of my guilty pleasure movies.
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Yes!
Not a Big Country fan but their music is so perfect for that film.
My favourite bit of Stu is "Circus Games" by Skids.
And gave rise to one of the
And gave rise to one of the biggest in-jokes in one of Christophre Brookmyre's books:
"Either that, or I've picked the wrong song and someone called Albert Tatlock is getting away with murder" following a devastating accurate and pointed deconstruction of the Skids.
I saw Big Country live twice
They were excellent. My only criticism of them were the somewhat pointless extended 12" mixes of some of their singles (although they weren't alone in the 80s for that)
Here's a favourite moment:
And Stuart was a great fan of Bill Nelson, whom the Massive were only discussing a couple of weeks ago http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/bill-nelson-a-lost-cultural-icon
Much missed
Thanks for the post sithere. Thoroughly enjoyed the video. Never realised Eddi Reader sang on it.
Regularly play a couple of BC's later cd's. Other stuff is on unplayed vinyl.
You've inspired me to buy/download some of the earlier stuff and learn to love it all over again.
I'd go with the Buffalo
I'd go with the Buffalo Skinners, and Driving to Damascus. Different, but both really good.
I went to Beath too.
Stuart was mates with my big brother. They even went to see Led Zep together at the Caird Hall when Zep 4 came out. His guitar playing is much more clever than people give him credit for.
I always enjoyed Big Country
and saw them live a couple of times mid 80s and it was as if Hampden Park had come to London! Great nights both. They never seemed to enjoy the "cool" status that the music press gurus attached to others such as Echo & the B. - And perhaps they were not first rank but a good band nonetheless and Stuart always came across as a genuine and decent guy.
The line from "Big Country":
"I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert but I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime" always had resonance with me.
There was an interview with
There was an interview with Jim Leishman I think, about who he'd have to dinner party.
His answer about Stuart, and the fact they still play "Into the Valley" when the Pars are at home still speak volumes for the guy. Another one of those people about whom I've rarely heard a bad word said or written.
A lovely man...
...in later years I'd see him in Nashville & we'd reminisce about the lives that had brought us from Scotland to Tennessee...
It's easy to forget
how good Big Country were. Thanks for the reminder.
Restless Natives
Never a massive BC fan, but the soundtrack they did for film "Restless Natives' was superb.