Big Country were initially composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of Skids, vocals/guitar/keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals).
[1] Adamson auditioned Parker (1981) at The Members' rehearsal room in Ladbroke Grove, London and the next day was called on to play drums on demos for CBS Records at their Whitfield Street studios.
The culmination was a concert at the Glen Pavilion in Dunfermline and an interview with BBC Radio Scotland where the CBS Studio demos were utilised.
The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest,[4][5] reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart,[3] but stopping at 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
[3] The album includes three UK top 30 hit singles, and received critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but it was a commercial disappointment in the US, peaking at No.
[citation needed] Throughout 1984 and 1985 the band toured the UK, Europe, and to a lesser extent the US both as headliners and in support of such bigger-name artists as Queen and Roger Daltrey.
[7] In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling US following,[8] Big Country used producer Peter Wolf for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles.
After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album.
[1] Only one of these, 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, received a major label release (via Chrysalis Records), and was a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the UK Top 25.
[citation needed] Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom on 31 May 2000.
Appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife.
Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned, but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems.
He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on 16 December 2001, having been believed to have died by suicide.
It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and Bill Nelson.
[citation needed] In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany).
[19] The surviving original members toured again in late December 2010 and January 2011 with Mike Peters of the Alarm and Jamie Watson, Bruce's son, added to the line-up.
[20] This line-up began more regular touring as well as writing new material for potential release, in part with the involvement of record producer Steve Lillywhite.
The band attributed Peters' departure to his inability to commit fully to Big Country, much of his time being devoted to The Alarm and solo projects.
[26] However, when they resurfaced in December 2013, they were joined by English singer Simon Hough, who performed most of the lead vocals as well as harmonica and additional guitar.
[29] On 9 July 2015, the band announced that Derek Forbes would no longer be performing with Big Country, and that all forthcoming gigs would go on with a replacement, Scott Whitley.