The Crossing

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There was plenty of depth beyond the singles, with songs like “Inward” exuding a choppy energy that had remained intact from the new wave days. “1000 Stars” and others built an intricate wall of guitar sound, carefully constructed by the band with producer Steve Lillywhite. The opening section of “The Storm” showed their more acoustic side, on an album entirely written by the four members of a big new British attraction of the era. a b c d "BPI Certification". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016 . Retrieved 11 August 2016. When the first Big Country album The Crossing was released in July 1983, Big Country had the fan base ready to guarantee an instant Top 5 record. The album spent ten of its first 12 weeks in the UK Top 10, with three weeks at No.3 in September and October, by which time the LP had yielded another major hit in the anthemic “Chance.” De Lisle, Tim (21 July – 3 August 1983). "Big Country: The Crossing". Smash Hits. Vol.5, no.15. p.23.

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Christgau, Robert (27 September 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved 18 September 2011. The album launch took place in Moscow and was accompanied by a tour of the USSR, [10] a political statement some felt seemed insincere. [11] During the Peace in Our Time UK tour, the band were supported by Diesel Park West and Cry Before Dawn. [12] The 1990s [ edit ] Big Country's first single was " Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. [1] It was a modest success, although it did not reach the UK Singles Chart. [3] Their next single was 1983's " Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. [3] The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the Top 20 in the Billboard 200), powered by " In a Big Country", their only US Top 40 hit single. [1] The song features heavily engineered guitar sounds, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; [1] Adamson and fellow guitarist Watson achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the US. The band performed at the Grammy Awards and on Saturday Night Live. a b c d e f g h i Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Thirded.). Virgin Books. pp.60/1. ISBN 1-85227-969-9. The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010.

Julian knew Stuart from his Skids days and was keen to see what he was up to in his new band. He discovered that the creative process as far as art direction had already begun when he got into the picture. Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii News". Starbulletin.com. 18 December 2001. Archived from the original on 24 August 2008 . Retrieved 8 April 2014.The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scottish folk and martial music styles, and the band engineered their guitar-driven sound to evoke the sound of bagpipes, fiddles, and other traditional folk instruments. I think it's overdue for a reappraisal. They became very uncool by the late 80s, so maybe people wrote off this record, too. If so, that would be a mistake.

So who designed the cover art for The Crossing? The liner notes don’t give a lot of clues. «Sleeve by J.B. & Q. Branch». Hmm. Big Country star found dead – The Scotsman". News.scotsman.com. 18 December 2001 . Retrieved 8 April 2014. Heart and Soul" – 4:33 (This version fades out earlier than the version on the 1983 cassette release) Adamson moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s, where he met country music singer/songwriter Marcus Hummon, and together they released an alternative country studio album as The Raphaels in 2001.Julian Balme is very proud of what they created at the time. “I was really pleased with The Crossing sleeve. It was a case of, if you couldn’t have your Boy’s Own manual illustrations on there, you would have a plain colour with the logo embossed on it, and that’s what happened.” Mike Peters left the band in November 2013 at the end of their 19-date Land's End to John O'Groats UK Tour. 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. Initially, the band intended to continue as a four-piece, sharing lead vocals and returning all the songs to their original keys; Peters had required the songs to be tuned lower to accommodate his deeper voice. [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. [27] [28] While the status of Hough's membership was not immediately clarified, in a March 2014 podcast, Bruce Watson confirmed that Hough was now the band's fifth member. He also indicated that the group was working on new material, which would involve Hough, for potential future release. [29] a b "The Great Divide Podcasts". Bigcountryinfo.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014 . Retrieved 8 April 2014. Message from Derek Forbes — Big Country – It's more than a journey. It's an adventure". Bigcountry.co.uk. 31 December 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014 . Retrieved 8 April 2014.

That would have been the Harvest Home single, released in September 1982. That was the first time the Big Country logo was used, and when Julian arrived he found that the idea for the logo was already on the table. 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. [30] On 12 November 2021, the band announced that bassist Scott Whitley would be leaving the band to pursue other interests. His replacement is Gil Allan from Dunfermline. [ citation needed] Band members [ edit ] Current members [ edit ] Image McGee, David (1992). "Big Country". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rded.). Random House. p.58. ISBN 0-679-73729-4. Julian got involved in the music industry as soon as he left art school – or actually before, as he had started working for Stiff Records two days a week before he left college. He would go on to work full-time for Stiff for about a year. Big Country – Steeltown". Rotherham Theatres. 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014 . Retrieved 8 April 2014.

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In 1991, the band was dropped by Mercury and its distributor Phonogram, the companies that had released all of their material since 1983. 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 it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the UK Top 25. [3] The album obtained enthusiastic critical response, and although it produced two UK Top 30 singles in " Alone" and " Ships", [3] its sales were meagre. In June 1995, Big Country released their seventh studio album, Why the Long Face. [13]