Formed by Stuart Adamson following the demise of Skids, the band's classic line-up of Adamson (vocals/guitar), Bruce Watson (guitar), Tony Butler (bass) and Mark Brzezicki (drums) met with critical and commercial success during the 1980s.
By the time of the band's fifth album, No Place Like Home (1991), their commercial success had begun to wane and they released three more albums between 1993 and 1999 before the suicide of Adamson in 2001 led to the band splitting up.
In 2007, Butler, Watson and Brzezicki celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of Big Country by reforming for a UK tour, touring again in 2010, this time with Mike Peters joining the band for vocal duties.
2011 saw the release of a new single, the band's first new music for eleven years, before Butler retired in 2012.
In 2013 the line-up of Watson, Brzezicki, Peters, joined by Derek Forbes (bass) and Watson's son Jamie (guitar), released the album, The Journey.