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Back Cover If you've been living in a cave for the last few months, right now you may well be asking yourself: 'What is Tennents Live!?' Well, Tennents Live! is the official sponsor of tonight's Big Country concert, but it's also much much than that. For a start, Tennents Live! is the biggest, brightest and best rock music sponsorship deals that Scotland has ever seen. Launched in September 1988, Tennents Live! will run until December 1989. By then Tennents Live! will have invested a massive £1 million in the Scottish music industry. The project will bring some of the world's most popular rock musicians to Scotland. But most importantly, Tennents Live! is giving a vital boost to up and coming Scottish talent. Who knows, some of the bands supported by Tennents Live! could well become the next the big name in Scotland's illustrious music industry. After all, even big Country had to start somewhere! One way Tennents Live! is helping new musicians and prospective music businessmen in Scotland is by supporting MIST, the Music in Scotland Trust, which was launched by HRH The Prince of Wales in Glasgow on January 24. MIST, a division of the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust and instigated by Tennents Live!, provides a potential source of funds and specialist advice for bands and music-related businesses in Scotland. Long before MIST was officially launched, Stuart Adamson had put his name forward to be a patron of the Trust, and Big Country are likely to be actively involved in supporting the only body ever set up in Scotland to help our new musical talent. Another important aim of Tennants Live! is to take the best of Scottish rock to rural areas. The people behind Tennents Live! realise that towns and villages outside the central belt are neglected by the music industry, and the proiect is committed something to solve this problem. That's why, thanks to sponsorship from Tennents Live! some of the best bands around have played in some of Scotland's most unlikely musical venues, from Mid Yell in the Shetlands to Galashiels in the Borders. Tennents Live! also brings you TLN (Tennents Live! News), Scotland's only Scottish music magazine, distributed free of charge all over the nation, and providing a unique source of news and stories about our thriving music scene. So as you can see, Tennents Live! is about more than just money. It's about Scotland, and Scottish music. So now you know. |
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Inside Big Country was born on a bleak winter's day in 1982. It was then that two lads, Stuart and his friend Bruce Watson, played for the first time with London-based musicians Tony Butler and Mark. Rock legend has it that the four men played only one song before they had realised that they had found, in each other, the talent with which to shape their musical future. But Big Country's musical roots stretch even further back to the town of Dunfermline. It was here that Stuart and Bruce were born, and later, during their teenage years, first experimented with rock music. Stuart's first songs relied heavily on both traditional Scottish music and rock for their inspiration. The Celtic, foundations for Stuart's work have given us many intense. soul-stirring anthems. Indeed Big Country's music is arguably at its best when it draws its inspiration from the music of Stuart's Celtic ancestors. Inspired by bands like The Clash, The Stranglers, and The Damned, Stuart joined with Richard Jobson to form The Skids. Stuart recalls his time in the Skids with a broad grin; 'It was pretty chaotic, but we had a lot of laughs.' It was while Stuart was still playing with The Skids that he became friendly with another local guitarist, Bruce. It was a friendship that was set to last. Bruce had been playing with another local band, Delinx. Both Delinx and The Skids were soon to fall apart, leaving Bruce and Stuart free to work together. The two men's guitar-driven music and powerful lyrics worked well together, but lacked a convonving rhythm section. This gap was to be filled by bassist Tony Butler and dummer Mark Brzezicki. Tony and Mark were already experienced musicians who had worked with the likes of Pete Townsend and The Pretenders. To begin with, Big Country simply took off where The Skids had left off. 'The music was a bizarre combination of punk rock with Celtic overtones and a bit of traditional Scottish music thrown in for good measure,' says Stuart. But Big Country soon developed a solid sound all of its very own. It was early in 1983 that Big Country first burst on to the post-punk British music scene. In what was to become an era of blandly synthesised and mass produced music, Big Country provided a potent and refreshing reminder of what rock music is all about. Big Country soon found themselves a recording contract. Later that year, they launched their debut single, Harvest Home. In the band's second single, Fields Of Fire, Big Country's raw energy sent the single shooting to the top of the charts. This success was quickly followed up by a second smash hit with In A Big Country, an opening slot on a tour with U2, and in August 1983, the band's debut album, The Crossing, was launched. The album remained in the UK Top 40 for over five months and achieved platinum status on both sides of the Atlantic. That year, the band were voted Best New Group by readers of Rolling Stone magazine and received Grammy and BPI nominations. Big Country had arrived. Two more Top Ten singles followed before the release of the band's second album, Steeltown. Steeltown received rave reviews from the critics and soared to the top of the British album charts within weeks of its release. Boosted by the success of Steeltown, the band undertook an exhaustive tour of three continents, playing in America, Asia and Europe. The band then returned home to compose the sound-track for the film Restless Natives and to play at the historic Live Aid concert in London. In July 1986, Big Country's third album, The Seer, went straight to number two in the British album chart. The album featured Look Away which was destined to become the group's fourth Top Ten single. It was then to be two years before Peace In Our Time, Big Country's latest album, was launched in the autumn Of 1988. Peace Our Time was produced in Los Angeles, by Peter Wolf, the former J.Geils Band singer. The album captures the energy and dynamism of live performance in a studio. To launch the Peace In Our Time album, and to underline how deeply the band care about world peace, Big Country toured the Soviet Union and East Germany with a special Peace In Our Time tour. The Soviet leg of the trip was sponsored by Tennents Live!. Stuart was deeply moved by his experiences behind the Iron Curtain. 'Hundreds of people had Big Country banners. I think they felt we were trying to communicate, even though they may not have understood every word.' says Stuart. Stuart believes that it is up to ordinary people to demand world peace. 'If politicians are going to make initiatives, then it's up to us to show that we're interested in reducing nuclear arms he says. Peace In Our Time has shown that Big Country is now musically more vital and dynamic than ever before. Big Country's music acts as a beacon of hope and optimism for many fans both East and West of the Iron Curtain. Let's hope it continues. DAVID MILLER. |