BIG COUNTRY HONORED WITH TWO-DVD LIVE SET 'FINAL FLING'
ON CLASSIC PICTURES; BONUS EXTRAS ON THE SEPT. 24, 2002, RELEASE
INCLUDE TRIBUTE TO LATE VOCALIST/GUITARIST STUART ADAMSON
The soaring majesty of the music of Big Country is chronicled on the new
two-DVD live set 'Final Fling' on Classic Pictures. 'Final Fling' will be
released in North America on September 24, 2002.
The 200-minute 'Final Fling' encompasses two complete concerts by Big Country
-- the Scottish quartet of vocalist/guitarist Stuart Adamson, guitarist Bruce
Watson, bass guitarist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki.
Extras on this DVD set, which is exquisitely mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
sound, include a tribute to Adamson, band biography, band member profiles,
photo gallery, discography, memorabilia and a web link to Big Country's
official web site. Bonus videos include 'Live at the Peppermint Lounge,'
'Live at Das Fest' and 'The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Tour.'
The first DVD was recorded live in East Berlin, Germany, on June 18, 1988, at
The Peace Concert before 120,000 people. This was the first Peace Concert
organized by the East Germans. Songs include: "Restless Natives," "Where the
Rose is Sown," "Wonderland," "Look Away," "Just a Shadow," "Steeltown,"
"Porrohman," "The Seer," "Chance," "In a Big Country," "Fields of Fire" and a
cover of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women."
Big Country's last-ever concert is captured on the second DVD. It was
recorded at the end of the Driving to Damascus Tour in 2000 in front of a
sell-out crowd at the Glasgow Barrowlands in Glasgow, Scotland. Songs
include: "Harvest Home," "Driving to Damascus," "John Wayne's Dream," "The
Storm," "Come Back to Me," "Drive Into Me," "Lost Patrol," "Broken Heart
(Thirteen Valleys)," "Inwards," "Fields of Fire," "King of Emotion,"
"Somebody Else," "Look Away," "You Dreamer," "Your Spirit to Me," "The
President Slipped and Fell," "Wonderland," "We're Not in Kansas" and "In a
Big Country."
'Final Fling' serves as a tribute to Adamson, who, at age 43, tragically took
his own life in 2001 after battling personal problems, including alcoholism.
Adamson formed Big Country in 1981 in Dunfermline, Scotland, after he served
as a member of the post-punk band the Skids, which enjoyed some U.K. success.
Adamson recruited his friend Watson for Big Country but they weren't happy
with the original version of the band, so they asked the formidable rhythm
section of Butler and Brzezicki to join them. Butler and Brzezicki were among
the most highly valued and respected session musicians in all of rock 'n'
roll; they'd worked with the Who guitarist/vocalist Pete Townshend on his
acclaimed 1980 solo album 'Empty Glass' and its smash hit "Let My Love Open
the Door," and the Who connection continued when they assisted vocalist Roger
Daltrey on his hit 1985 solo album 'Under a Raging Moon.'
Big Country released its debut album 'The Crossing' in 1983 and it was an
immediate sensation on both sides of the Atlantic. It received rapturous
reviews and went gold in the United States and the single "In a Big Country"
was an enormous hit single. The freshness of Big Country's sound -- resulting
from Adamson and Watson often utilizing an E-bow, a device which helped give
their electric guitars a chiming, bagpipes-like tone -- and their intense,
politically- and personally-oriented lyrics helped the band often get
mentioned in the same breath as U2. Big Country received two Grammy Award
nominations -- one for Best New Artist and one for Best Rock Performance by a
Duo or Group With Vocal.
The band continued to enjoy widespread commercial and critical success
internationally with subsequent releases like 'Wonderland' (an EP),
'Steeltown,' 'The Seer,' 'Peace in Our Time' and 'The Buffalo Skinners.'
Brzezicki had left the band for a period in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
but he ultimately returned to where he belonged.
'Final Fling' captures the excitement, intensity and vibrant immediacy of Big
Country -- an important band ahead of its time.
For more information and a list of never-ending tour dates, check out
www.bigcountry.co.uk
www.trackrecords.tv
www.classicpictures.co.uk
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