Stuart Adamson and Big Country decided to bow out of the live music scene with an emotionally-charged final fling 25 years ago.
Adamson announced enough was enough.
He explained why they were calling it a day in a forgotten interview from his Nashville home in May 2000, which has been uncovered from the archives.
“The final shows are going to be a trek through the life of Big Country,” he said.
“We’ll be playing a few songs from each of the albums.
“We just want to make sure that everyone who comes along has a great time.
“I’m really looking forward to the tour.
“It will be a great way to come off the road.”
The Final Fling tour would finish at Glasgow Barrowland, which became the band’s spiritual home following the homecoming concert on Hogmanay 1983.
Adamson decided it was time for a change
Adamson and guitarist Bruce Watson founded Big Country in Dunfermline in 1981.
Bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki joined in 1982.
The band exploded on to the scene with anthems such as Fields of Fire and In a Big Country from their classic debut album The Crossing in 1983.
Steeltown went straight in at Number 1 after being released in 1984.
The Seer, in 1986, yielded their highest-charting single with Look Away,
Peace in Our Time (1988), No Place Like Home (1991), Buffalo Skinners (1993) and Why The Long Face (1995) were followed by Driving to Damascus (1999).
This was the last album they recorded together with Adamson at the helm.
“I really do enjoy touring,” said Adamson in May 2000.
“But my priorities in life have changed now and I’ve had enough of spending eight months of every year away from home.
“I’ve always been one to listen to my inner voice.
“It just feels right now to finish Big Country’s touring days.”
Why did Big Country stay together so long?
Adamson stressed there was no falling out.
“I’ve had a great time with the band, but I’m a great believer in looking forward, not back, and it’s time for a change,” he said.
“The reason we have stayed together is that we have always got on well.
“The four of us finishing up on this tour were on the original Big Country album, The Crossing, and we’ve never really had a fall out in all that time.”
Adamson said he wouldn’t be quitting music after leaving the band.
He intended to keep writing new material and perform live in Nashville.
“Nashville is a great place,” he said.
“People imagine that it’s all country music, but that’s not the case.
“The only thing I miss about Scotland are the people and being able to go and watch a football match rather than watch a game on the telly.
“But I am very happy here.”
The European Final Fling tour kicked off in the Netherlands in April 2000.
Adamson’s beloved Dunfermline Athletic had just been promoted to the Premier League when the UK Final Fling tour started in Cambridge on May 18 2000.
Dates in Norwich, London, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Leeds and Manchester followed before Somebody Else was released on May 29.
Somebody Else was written by Adamson and Kinks singer Ray Davies.
It was the band’s final single with Adamson.
Big Country performed at the Olympia in Dublin and the Waterfront in Belfast before a tear-stained goodbye at Glasgow Barrowland on May 31 2000.
What songs did Big Country play in 2000?
Big Country performed 24 songs and started where it all began.
Harvest Home was written in a Dunfermline community centre in 1981.
It was released as the band’s debut single in September 1982.
It was a great way to open the concert.
Driving to Damascus songs merged seamlessly with classic tracks.
The pace never let up.
The band were dressed in kilts.
Adamson complemented the look with a pair of Adidas Samba trainers.
Set highlights included King of Emotion, Where the Rose Is Sown, Your Spirit to Me, Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys) and We’re Not in Kansas.
The 1984 single Wonderland also proved a big hit with the audience.
Adamson made it a family affair.
Teenage daughter Kirsten provided backing vocals on Fragile Thing.
It was a goosebumps moment.
Porrohman and Chance from The Crossing was reserved for the encore.
Thunderous roars and stamping feet demanded a second encore.
The fans got one.
In a Big Country and Fields of Fire followed.
The noise was deafening.
The band returned to the stage for a third encore.
The much-missed Alarm singer Mike Peters and Adamson’s son, Callum, joined them for a cover of Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World.
Band’s final UK show was emotional affair
Big Country have always been the people’s band.
There were a few misty eyes when the band took a final bow.
“Thanks everybody for your support and friendship,” said Adamson.
“May the road rise up to meet you.
“We’ll see you all again.
“Until then, stay alive!”
A message that took on added poignancy 18 months later.
And that was it.
Almost.
There was one, final encore.
Big Country took to the stage for a final time in Kuala Lumpur in October 2000.
Adamson had relapsed and was firmly in the grip of alcohol addiction.
The band struggled through the show.
Adamson died on December 16 2001 at the age of 43.
Adamson’s biographer, Allan Glen, said there was no doubt the six months leading up to the concert at Barrowland was challenging for Big Country.
Conflicting reports about the band’s future were regularly appearing in the press.
He told me: “In April 2000 came the first official announcement that the band was winding up with one last tour, billed The Final Fling by the band’s long-term live agent John Giddings of Solo, who booked live shows for, among others, U2, the Rolling Stones, Madonna and David Bowie.
“The band could still command a live following, record sales were another matter.
“Adamson intended to quit the band after the tour.”
Allan said he cited constant travelling as the main reason.
Barrowland was band’s spiritual home
“It’s apt that the band’s final concert – in Europe, at least, there was one more, in Kuala Lumpur on October 21 that year – was at Barrowland,” said Allan.
“It’s as close to a spiritual home for Big Country as Dunfermline.
“The show on New Year’s Eve 1983 and the Final Fling concert there in 2000 are remembered fondly among fans, particularly Stuart’s touching Happy New Year message to his first wife, Sandra, at the former, and the appearance of the band’s children on stage at the latter.
“Those are great memories for anyone who was lucky enough to attend those shows and a wonderful way for Big Country fans to remember all that Stuart and the band achieved.”
Butler, Brzezicki and Watson reunited in 2007 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band, which has since gone through various personnel changes.
“It’s also delightful to see the band have just announced they will play the venue on December 31 2025,” said Allan.
“When Bruce Watson pays tribute to Stuart from the stage of the Barrowland on Hogmanay this year, I doubt there’ll be a dry eye in the house.”
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