Big Country I peterbartonmanagement.com

THE BEST OF BIG COUNTRY

The band will be performing all their great hits

along with live favourites.

RETURN TO STEELTOWN TOUR 1984 - 2019

The band will be performing a large selection from this classic album along with all their great hits and live favourites.

BIG COUNTRY

Big Country Legendary Scottish Celtic Rock band still featuring two of the original founding members Bruce Watson and Mark Brzezicki.

BIOGRAPHY/TOUR

Big Country was originally formed in 1981 by guitar playing founder members Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson both native of the band's hometown Dunfermline in Scotland.

Initially driven by a shared vision of widescreen guitar melody, harmony and lyric, the classic Big Country sound was further enhanced later that summer by the arrival of drummer Mark Brzezicki and bass player Tony Butler. This is the Big Country that (with producer Steve Lillywhite), recorded the classic debut album 'The Crossing' in 1983.

The band broke massively worldwide with the release of the album's classic singles 'Fields Of Fire', 'Chance' and signature song 'In A Big Country', which went on to become massive worldwide hits, selling over 2 million copies and driving 'The Crossing' to 3 prestigious Grammy nominations in the USA.

The run of success continued throughout the 1980's with the release of the anthemic single 'Wonderland' and the second album 'Steeltown' (1984), which debuted at Number 1 in the UK and contained the hit singles 'East Of Eden', 'Just a Shadow' and 'Where The Rose Is Sown' . In 1985, Big Country appeared at Live Aid in London followed by further successful album releases 'The Seer' (1986, which included the bands biggest UK hit 'Look Away', which also reached Number 1 in the Irish Singles chart) and 'Peace In Our Time' (1988), which saw the band playing the first ever privately promoted gig in Russia at the Moscow Sports Stadium.

At the start of the 90's 'Through A Big Country', featuring all the bands classic hits was released, followed by the fifth studio album 'No Place Like Home' (1991) taking the band's total record sales to well over five million copies.

Further studio albums 'Buffalo Skinners' (1993) and 'Why The Long Face' (1995) followed,which saw Big Country landing the special guest slot on the Rolling Stones 'Voodoo Lounge' European tour and several shows in the UK and Ireland with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in 1995.

In August 1998 they were once again invited to open for the Rolling Stones on their 'Bridges To Babylon' tour of Europe prompting Mick Jagger to say that Big Country were "one of the best opening bands we ever had".

Two songs written at that time ('Somebody Else' and 'Devil In The Eye') were co-written with Ray Davies of The Kinks who invited the band to back him on the main stage at Glastonbury to perform a storming set in the rain.

By now singer Stuart Adamson had relocated to Nashville, Tennessee and so his fellow bandmates decamped to America to join him in writing and recording the album 'Driving To Damascus'. It would be the last album they recorded together. With Stuart at the helm, Big Country, scored 17 top 30 UK singles achieving 5 gold and platinum status albums along the way. Stuart and Big Country would tour Europe one final time in 2000 and on the closing night at their beloved Barrowlands in Glasgow the band were fatefully joined on stage for one last song by Alarm singer Mike Peters and Bruce Watson's son Jamie on guitar.

Tony Butler, Mark Brzezicki and Bruce Watson re-united in 2007 to celebrate the band's Twenty-fifth anniversary. "It wasn't a come-back... it was just the three of us having fun, as friends and as a band, and hoping to give the fans some enjoyment by playing our songs live, to celebrate 25 years" - Bruce Watson

In the summer of 2010, Bruce Watson picked up the phone and asked Mike Peters to sing with Big Country. The first gig was in Glasgow on New Years Eve 2010 and the second in the band's hometown of Dunfermline. The rest as they say is history.

The band have performed at many of the UK and Europe's most famous festivals, including Isle Of Wight (Twice), V Festival, T In The Park, Oxegen, Pink Pop and Cropredy creating a new generation of fans and renewing the passion for diehards with the introduction of new original songs such as 'Another Country' and 'The Journey' which encapsulate not only the sound but the heart and soul of Big Country past, present and future.

With the promise of a new era dawning for the band and the realisation that Big Country now have the platform to once again record and tour on a world wide scale, bassist Tony Butler has decided that his time in Big Country has come to a close and so he has retired gracefully from the stage. The band now welcomes Scott Whitley on bass.

In April 2013, Big Country released ‘The Journey’ and toured across the globe in support of this highly acclaimed album throughout the year.

Coming into 2014, new challenges arose for Big Country. With Mike Peters dedicating his efforts full-time towards the support of the 30th Anniversary of The Alarm’s Declaration, Big Country have been joined by Simon Hough to perform vocal duties. He has fitted in perfectly. As the band continues its touring throughout the year that Big Country celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the release of the album, ‘Steeltown’. 2015 sees a massive Best Of (and more) tour of the UK and Europe, during which, Scott Whitley joined the band on bass, following Derek’s departure after 3 years.

Big Country just gets Bigger.

CURRENT TOUR DATES

JANUARY 2020

Friday 17th Mark Brzezicki Drum Clinic - The Studio. Southend

Saturday 18th Mark Brzezicki Drum Clinic - Wyvern Arts Centre, Swindon

Tuesday 21st Mark Brzezicki Drum Clinic - The Met, Gatehouse Theatre. Stafford

Wednesday 22nd Mark Brzezicki Drum Clinic - The Music and Arts Centre Barnoldswick

Thursday 23rd Mark Brzezicki Drum Clinic - The Music and Arts Centre Barnoldswick

Sunday 26th Giants of Rock, Minehead

FEBRUARY 2020

Saturday 1st The Welly, Hull (AGMP)

Sunday 2nd 80's Festival Skegness

Sunday 9th 80's Festival Minehead

Tuesday 11th Travel to USA

Wednesday 12th Day off USA

Thursday 13th The Chapel, San Franscisco USA (Paradise Artists)

Friday 14th Thunder Valley Ampitheatre, Lincoln, CA. USA (Paradise Artists)

Saturday 15th Microsoft Theater 80's Festival. Los Angeles USA (Paradise Artists)

Sunday 16th Travel Home

MARCH 2020

Tuesday 3rd Travel to USA

Wednesday 4th Daryls House NY USA (Paradise Artists)

Thursday 5th Sony Hall NYC USA (Paradise Artists)

Friday 6th Fergs Courtyard St Petersburg, Florida USA (Paradise Artists)

Saturday 7th The Ground, Miami USA (Paradise Artists)

Sunday 8th Day off

Monday 9th Rock Cruise to Sunday 15th Rock Cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Explorer of The Seas (Paradise Artists)

Thursday 26th The Georgian Theatre, Stockton (JC)

Friday 27th The Pavillion Whitby (Solid)

Saturday 28th Skids Scarborough

APRIL 2020

Friday 3rd The Dome, Doncaster (Solid)

Saturday 4th The Picture Dome, Holmfirth (Barney)

Thursday 9th Nantwich Civic Hall, Nantwich (MM)

Saturday 11th MCH, Scotland (Craig Smart)

Sunday 12th The Big Top, Gibson Park, Melrose (RAM)

Monday 13th Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre