Celebrate NYE With Big Country

You poor suckers. While you're out having "fun" with friends, toasting 2013 and resolving to make this the best year ever, I'm disappearing into the past and refusing to think about the future at all. Ain't livin' in a bubble grand?

As I do every year, I'm ringing in New Year's Day with a viewing of my favorite show of all time, Big Country at Glasgow's Barrowland, circa Dec. 31, 1983.

As I have written here many times, Big Country was my favorite band in the early and middle '80s, and this concert was the lads' absolute high-water mark. They had just returned home from a successful stint in the States, and you can see and feel the homesickness subside and the happiness envelop them as they rip through every song on 'The Crossing,' as well as a couple of new songs from the upcoming "Wonderland" EP. They perform with pure passion and an unbridled enthusiasm that's downright infectious. And, in what I imagine was a first for a rock show, as the clock struck 12 in Scotland, the band leaves the stage for a bagpipe brigade that nearly tears the roof off the place.

Here are a few highlights, including an interview with the late Stuart Adamson about the special concert. This bit comes from the old out-of-print version of the show King Biscuit Flower Hour put out many years ago. Unfortunately, the interview was omitted from the CD/DVD combo version released by Track in 2009. Otherwise, this newer version is a stellar collection with many extras, including a 1982 concert from New York's Peppermint Lounge. It's a must for all fans.

Happy New Year! Stay alive!

Trivia Question: What momentous occasion occurred backstage involving Big Country producer Steve Lillywhite?

Jan. 6, 2013 Update: Lillywhite proposed to musician Kirsty MacColl.

Big Country - Fields of Fire (Live) (mp3)
Big Country - Harvest Home (Live) (mp3)
Interview With Stuart Adamson About NYE Show (mp3)