(Junior TV Times Magazine)
No 7, w/e 11th February 1984, price 22p
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Look In (Junior TV Times Magazine) No 7, w/e 11th February 1984, price 22p |
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| Page 1 · Page 15 · Pages 16 & 17 · Page 18 |
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Front Cover COLOUR FEATURE - LOOK OUT RATFANS IT'S ROLAND RAT! PLUS: BIG COUNTRY COLOUR CENTRE, DANGERMOUSE, WINTER OLYMPICS, KNIGHT RIDER, CHARLIE NICHOLAS, BUCKS FIZZ, FALL GUY, AND MORE! |
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Page 15 BIG COUNTRY - WALKING IN A WONDERLAND Big Country have described their sound as music to 'raise the spirit'. Fed up with groups with no message, they wanted to put the feeling back into music and, judging by the success of their previous singles and the latest, Wonderland, that's just what their fans were looking for. Big Country - 'Wonderland' (official video), 1984 - posted by utahwrx Big Country was formed by Scot Stuart Adamson who was a founder member of a group called The Skids, who had several hit singles. But in 1981 he decided to call it a day: "I was getting really fed up with it all towards the end of The Skids, and that's one of the reasons I left," said Stuart. "But I knew I still wanted to be writing songs and making music in some sort of form." So Stuart returned to his wife and family in his home town of Dunfermline where he joined up with guitarist Bruce Watson. Bruce had been in several punk bands which had supported The Skids but at the time he was scrubbing out nuclear submarines! Naturally, he was glad to give up his job and join Stuart, especially as it has been said that his boots used to glow in the dark thanks to the radiation! "I got together with Bruce, but we never intended to get a full group together. We were probably going to be one of those duos with the tapes in the background!" said Stuart. "We tried some boys from Dunfermline and that didn't work out. It was too much of a wally sound. Everybody was playing like mad at the same time." Right people So the duo then travelled to London to make some demo records. They needed a bass player and drummer and that's how Tony Butler (bass) and Mark Brzezicki (drums) became involved. They were session musicians working on other people's records as Rhythm For Hire. "I'd previously known"... >> to p.18 |
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Page 16 & 17 BIG COUNTRY COLOUR POSTER CENTRESPREAD |
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Page 18 BIG COUNTRY - WALKING IN A WONDERLAND (CONT.) >> from p.15 ...Tony and Mark so I asked them to come along and play. And it just clicked right away," says Stuart, who then persuaded them to stay. "If you're going to have a complete group, especially with the situation I'd just come out of, it's got to be the right people. There's got to be some sort of meshing of spirits at certain points." That meshing has made a very distinctive sound. As Stuart comes from Scotland people have compared it to bagpipes. It doesn't please him too much! "Just because it's not like an American rock 'n' roll style of guitar playing, people think of some British instrument to compare it with. I think it sounds more like the fiddle." Scottish Roots And on the subject of Scotland, Stuart has a shock confession: "We're not even Scottish! Bruce was born in Carlisle and I was born in Manchester." However, the broad accent tells where his roots really are. Roots that have influenced the Big Country sound. "When I was growing up my mum would always have a lot of old Irish and Scottish folk records lying around. So it's something I've been brought up with. "There would always be folks around on Friday and Saturday night after the pubs and dancehalls shut and everyone would have to get up and sing or play song. There would be guys up there playing guitars, bagpipes, accordians and fiddles. So I suppose some of the things I write go right back to that." Feelings One thing he wants to be more obvious about is the feeling and message of his songs. "The whole thing about putting feelings in to songs is that you want to communicate them. I don't think music's that important that it can change the shape of the world. The best thing is that certain songs can make you feel sad and thoughtful or 'up' and want to dance, or just 'up' in an optomistic sense. We like to make people feel important, give them hope and optimism. As far as I'm concerned people who buy our records or come to our gigs are as much a part of the group as us. Without them, there wouldn't be a Big Country." Indeed, Stuart always likes to make sure there's time for the fans. "That's why you'll never find us shooting off after a show and playing the horrible pop star game. Just because I've been on television it doesn't make me a better person than the next man. I remember I used to hate it when I'd see a band live, they'd work me up to fever pitch and then disappear. It's not fair to deny people any close contact. We'll always sit and talk to the people who want to talk to us." Street fans! Despite all the success and confidence it brings, Stuart hasn't changed much. "I'm still in awe of meeting people and when I do I get really embarrassed. It was like that once when we were putting down the backing track at Granada for Hold Tight. All the Coronation Street stars were in the canteen and Bruce and Mark were running after them getting autographs!" Big Country - 'Chance' (rare recording) Hold Tight, 1983 - posted by BC1000stars |