1865, Southampton
With Big Country I was fairly late to the party as I got into them in around 1985 after hearing a bootleg from Germany that was recorded off medium wave radio, with the signal going in and out. I loved their big guitar sound and with other bands like U2, Simple Minds and The Alarm my love for Celtic Rock was cemented. Big Country along with their mastermind Stuart Adamson came to my home town of Poole in April 1986 on the first leg of the “Seer Tour” and then began my love affair with the band.
I become an almost fanatical fan, following them on multiple dates on every tour after that. Like many people Stuart’s untimely death hit me very hard; it felt like I’d lost a family member, however there is comfort that Bruce and Mark are still carrying on his name in the right fashion. Tonight the band arrive in Southampton as part of the 40th Anniversary of The Crossing Tour. An iconic album that turned gold in the US and platinum, signalling the initial arrival of the band. All of tonight’s 750 tickets for the show have sold out and this is a step up in venue size from the last time the band were in town at the modestly sized 600 capacity (The) Brook.
Tonight’s gig is a real double header with support from Kirk Brandon’s “Spear of Destiny”, a band that formed in London back in 1982 amongst a hive of activity from a host of Post/Punk, alternative bands. Kirk has assembled a host of talented players to accompany him with Knut Knutson on Bass, Clive Osborne on Saxophone, Adrian Portas on guitar with Robin Goodridge on Drums. Kicking off with “Rainmaker” from the “One Eyed Jacks” album the band show themselves to be in great form.
The next number “Young Men” starts and the band have to prematurely stop as Kirk has a nosebleed. After some help from a roadie to stem the flow the band professionally carry on as though nothing had happened. The band slowly build up a momentum and by the time the significant sound of “Liberator” is heard they are getting enthusiastic reactions from the crowd with hundreds of voices raising for the chorus.
They have a real uniqueness to their sound and Kirk’s creativity and distinctive vocal style continues to this day gaining the band new followers. “Never Take Me Alive” with its subject of the pain of being judged by society is more relevant today than when it was first written, tonight’s live version of the song is certainly one of the highlights of the band’s set. Kirk seems somehow overwhelmed by the brilliant crowd reaction tonight as they run through their last number “I Can See”; it feels like we are watching the headline band, the reaction from the crowd is so positive. The band humbly take the bows and wish us all well and promise us a great night with the headliners.
At just after 9pm the houselights go down and then go back up again, with the crew realising that the Spear of Destiny backdrop had not been changed for the Big Country one! With the mistake quickly corrected the into music starts and legendary drummer Mark arrives on stage to start the intro to the opening number “1000 Stars”.
The rest of the band soon follow with Simon Hough on Lead Vocals/Acoustic guitars, Gil Allan on Bass along with original member Bruce Watson and his son Jamie taking on guitar duties. The atmosphere in the place tonight is one of celebration and the crowd after been warmed up sufficiently are clearly up for a great night.
The Crossing has some great tracks on that were ground breaking at the time, where the band showed their unique Celtic guitar sound, “Close Action”, the uplifting “Lost Patrol” and epic anthem “The Storm”. Bruce and Jamie skilfully and effortlessly recreate Stuart’s guitars parts between them, however I must protest about the change at the intro of my favourite song “Porrohman” – it’s one of the band’s best and in my opinion you don’t mess with perfection.
These five guys certainly keep the original legacy of the band alive and by the look of tonight’s attendance it seems to be still growing. “Chance” emotively brings back memories of gigs gone by and virtually every person in the place is singing the chorus right back at the band while “In a Big Country” gets the dance floor bouncing, not quite as much as it once did; as most of us are in our 50’s now. Tonight the band’s set has been full of niggly technical issues and their very competent roadie had virtually all of it covered, so much so that it did not detract from the band’s fine performance.
“Fields of Fire” is brilliantly dispatched with a few lines from Thin Lizzy’s “Whiskey in The Jar”, who were clearly a huge influence on the band in the early days. All too soon it’s time for the encore and the band return with a feisty version of “Inwards” making it 11 tracks in total played tonight from “The Crossing”.
The band take their bows and Mark comes to the front of the stage to thank the audience for an incredible night and to honour the memory of the legend that was Stuart Adamson. Bruce vows that the band will record next year for the 40th Anniversary of their number one album “Steeltown”.
Set Lists
Big Country
Intro:
1000 Stars
Look Away
Close Action
Lost Patrol
The Storm
Just a Shadow
Steeltown
Ships
Porrohman
Harvest Home
Chance
In a Big Country
Wonderland
Fields of Fire / Whiskey in the Jar
Encore
Inwards
Spear of Destiny
Rainmaker
Young Men
Strangers in Our Town
Pilgrim
Judas
The Wheel
Liberator
Grapes of Wrath
Shine
Come Back
Never Take Me Alive
World Service
I Can See
Videos
Links
https://bigcountry.co.uk
https://kirkbrandon.com
Words & Media by David Chinery (Chinners)
