Line-up

Venue

O2 Academy Islington

Angel Central, 16 Parkfield St, N1 0PS, Islington, UK

academymusicgroup.com/o2academyislington/

Capacity: 800

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Additional details

Doors open: 19:00

Concert in your area for Rock, Pop, and Indie & Alt.

Find out more about Rock and Pop.

Big Country biography

Big Country is a Scottish alternative rock band that hails from Dunfermline, Fife, and formed in 1981. They are widely recognized for their patriotic sound, incorporating traditional Scottish and Celtic styles of music into their own.

Big Country’s first commercial success came in the form of “Harvest Home” which was released in 1982 and made the UK Singles chart, sitting at 91. They later released “Field of Fire (400 Miles)” in February 1983, which made it to number 10, and even 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Despite not matching the number 10 spot of the previous single, “In a Big Country” which was released in May 1983, became one of the trademark songs of the band for years to come. The album that these songs featured on, “The Crossing”, released on July 15th 1983, shot up the chart to number 3 in the UK Albums Chart. It also made the Top 20 of 5 other countries. The album was later certified Platinum.

“Steeltown” was the band’s next release, on October 1st 1984. It made it to number 1 in the UK and was later certified Gold. It featured the singles “East of Eden” and “Where the Rose is Sown”. In 1984, the band featured on the Band Aid charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The leading single from the band’s next album “Look Away” made it to number 7 in the UK Singles chart, and the album “The Seer” released in July 1986 made it to number 2 in the UK, and charted internationally. Kate Bush even added backing vocals to the title track.

In the 1990s the band unfortunately lost a lot of their commercial success with the release of the album “No Place Like Home” reaching 28, being released in September 1991. They still managed to maintain support slots on tours with the Rolling Stones and The Who. Around this time, there was a lot of concern for singer, Stuart Adamson’s mental and emotional health who struggled with alcoholism for many years, which ultimately led to his death in December 2001.

In 2007, to commemorate 25 years of Big Country the remaining founding members, toured the UK, on the back of releasing an album called “Twenty Five Live”. They made a comeback on April 8th 2013 with an album called “The Journey” which reached number 68 in the UK Albums Chart.

Live reviews

I saw the great Scottish rock band Big Country on their tour in 2011. They had many of the original members and I have been a big fans since my dad played me their album The Crossing. That was their big break out album in the United States and included the brilliantly produce smash hit “In a Big Country” which has been a radio standard since.

The band showed their age a little bit but they still had a ton of energy. The crowd was also pretty old butt they were all thrilled to see the band play. They did not play a very long set, but it was packed full of all their hits and actually some new songs. They did tell everyone they were working on a new album that might come out in several years. Those songs were really pretty good.

They closed with “In a Big Country” and the crowd sang along every time the chorus came on. They also were able to mimic the bagpipe sounds of the original recording on their guitars they had. It really did sound like the album and record. They did an encore of a cover song. Everyone left in a good mood, probably thinking about the 1980’s.

Anonymous

They can perhaps best be described as U2’s younger brother that never quite kicked off, but was forced to remain in its elder brother’s giant shadow of success. Musically speaking, The Alarm are as every bit brilliant as many of their 80s contemporaries: they possess an authentic, 80s style swag for rock and every single member is a genius at his instrument. They are a delight to watch live and, although they never quite reached the dizzying heights of acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan (both of whom they have performed with), it nonetheless felt like I was watching a legend on stage, transported back from the 80s in a glorious haze. Opening with biggest hit, ‘68 guns’, The Alarm immediately established themselves as serious rockers, the likes of which are hard pressed to find today. Comprising of members Mike Peters, James Stevenson, Craig Adams Smiley and Mark Taylor, the band rocked it on stage in a way that let the audience know they were professionals: rock veterans. Their set, which can be described as a form of new wave or alternative rock, included hits such as ‘Rain in the summertime’ and ‘The stand’ which had the audience begging for more.

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