Highland Fling

It's said "there are no coincidences" on Tuesday when I discovered Simple Minds and Ultravox were playing together in London at the O2 Arena in November it just so happened that "Neapolis" was my lunchtime cd.........yesterday after I booked my ticket for that show I happened to have "The Crossing" Big Country's stunning 1983 debut album as my cd du jour,throw in Annie Lennox and you have four of the greatest Scottish vocalist ever or at least from the 80's which to me is the only era that really matters.

I was a fan of Stuart Adamson's first band The Skids who came to  my attention in 1979 w/ the hit "Into The Valley" and who's first two albums"Scared To Dance" and "Days In Europa" set the tone for the late 70s early 80s{interesting tit bit of trivial,Rusty Egan drummed on Days In Europa"!!!}b4 Adamson left in 1980 to form Big Country a year later.
When "Fields Of Fire" hit the airwaves in 1983 the stage was set for an alternative to all the synthesizer music that had been popular in the early 80's,it's no coincidence the likes of Simple Minds,U2 and Echo & The Bunnymen began to enjoy success at this time.

I defy anyone to listen to "The Crossing" and not be blown away by Stuart Adamson's guitar playing,the intricate intro to the closing track "Porrohman" should bring tears to a glass eye alone.
It was once said that Stuart Adamson  could"make the guitar sound like a bagpipe"I wasn't sure if this was a put down or a complement,I took it as the latter as for me no band personified that highland celtic sound as well as Big Country period but especially on their first three albums,"The Crossing""Steeltown" and "The Seer"
Since Stuart's tragic suicide in 2001 there's always been a tinge of saddnes and sorrow when listening to Big Country these days for me,as Simple Minds have reestablished themselves as a major force I can't help but feel that Big Country mightn't have caught some of that splash and while it's admirable that Mike Peters of The Alarm has helped keep the memory and music of Big Country alive it's just not the same w/out Stuart and I say this a huge fan of both Mike Peters and The Alarm.

The final word on Stuart Adamson's greatness comes from U2's The Edge,who when delivering the eulogy at Stuart's funeral said and I quote"Big Country wrote the songs I wish U2 could write"a fitting epitaph