Big Country consists of Bruce Watson (guitarist), Clive Parker, Mark Brzezicki (percussionist, drummer), Tony Butler (guitarist).
Big Country was a rock band from Dunfermline, Scotland, popular in the early to mid 1980s, but still releasing material for a cult following as recently as 2004. Canonically composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, vocals, guitar, piano), Mark Brzezicki ( drums), Tony Butler ( bass guitar), and Bruce Watson (guitar), though a variety of other musicians have been in the band during their long wanderings in post-popularity, including Pete Wishart who joined Runrig and became prominent in the SNP.
Formed initially as a 5-piece band in 1981, their first single was " Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the UK singles chart. Their next single was 1983's " Fields of Fire", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a crossover hit in the United States, powered by " In a Big Country", their only stateside hit single. Much of the impetus for its success in the U.S. came from airplay it got on MTV, which at the time was more open to post-punk and new wave acts. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; 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 early virtuoso 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 U.S.
