Stuart Adamson: In a Big Country [Paperback]

I could well be accused of being biased - Big Country was the first ever gig I went to - but I still play the music and get misty-eyed at any clip of Stuart Adamson. The prospect of a biog of Stuart was a double-edged sword, then. As a fan I desperately wanted to read it, but also as a fan I didn't want to read anything horrible about someone I adore. Luckily, Allan Glen is not only a fan but he's also a serious music journalist who grew up in Dunfermline (the band's hometown) and followed Stuart's career closely. The book celebrates all the wonderful things about the man and the music, but is also very honest about the problems and troubles that beset Stuart and led, ultimately, to him taking his own life without it turning into a gushing fanzine or (worse) a lurid hack job. I'll probably end up with three copies this Christmas, but I won't care. You can never have too much Stuart Adamson!

On 8 September 2010, the surviving members of Big Country announced they would be joining forces with Mike Peters of The Alarm to embark on a tour under the Big Country banner. Someone who they haven't been willing to join forces with is author Allan Glen. The public animosity towards the author from those integral to the plot is a little unfortunate given that Glen has delivered a respectful, controversy-free, fan-driven account of Stuart Adamson's life in as much detail as has been allowed him. He even takes a moment in his acknowledgements to offer his goodwill to the forthcoming official band biography.

The absence of any first-hand input from the Big Country and Skids camps does cast an undeniable shadow over the book. When you take away Ian Rankin's introduction and the foreword, discography and index, you're left with a biography just shy of 200 pages. I get the impression the author would have loved at least another 100. So would I, but Glen deserves credit for producing a faithful and ultimately moving narrative in spite of the obstacles placed in his way. Importantly, the book is blessed with the cooperation of Adamson's son, Callum, which, I suppose, is the best seal of approval of all. In A Big Country is the story of a celebrated man who famously chanted 'stay alive' to hordes of devotees, only to end up a tormented soul and victim of a tragic self-inflicted death. From a human point of view and as a lifelong fan, I don't think it's ghoulish to want to know how that story unravelled.

As expected, after the final page, we're no nearer to or farther from understanding than we already were. The final days are handled with due care, and they're as deep as the book delves into Adamson's private life. The focus centres on his bands and his music. That's no bad thing because the music speaks volumes. Stuart and his guitar won't be on stage when Big Country play their next show, but his music will and therefore he lives on. And no matter what aspersions are cast over the reasoning behind Glen choosing to write about his countryman, the end results serve the greater good in keeping a star shining.

For me if no one else, the book begins with a wonderful moment of serendipity. As someone whose first two reviews on Amazon were for Big Country and Manic Street Preachers albums (not a coincidence), reading James Dean Bradfield eulogize over Stuart in his foreword provides me with two idols for the price of one. Not that it should have come as a surprise. JDB has always been one to pay his dues to the great man's talents, rarely letting a Scottish gig go by without playing the seminal opening bars of Into The Valley as a segue into Motown Junk, a song that, as the Manics frontman admits in his notes, is already massively indebted.

Such unflinching respect has never been universal, of course. For every right-thinking listener who understands that The Crossing and Steeltown are two of the finest British rock records ever made there's another window-licking moron who 'doesn't get it' and turns derision into a fashion. While Glen positions himself very much as a fan and positive voice, he occasionally gives too much space to quotes from the non-believers and I worry that Steeltown in particular doesn't really get the defence it deserves from him. The Skids albums are more pationately defended as the classics they are, but if you're coming to the book solely as a Skids fan, be warned that the band is history by page 60.

As pages pass like the flash of a spark, it's fair to say the derisive media quotes begin to carry more weight. Naturally, we're reminded of the 'No place like the bin' review for 1991's patchy No Place Like Home, but somewhere around The Seer and Peace In Our Time period, the book turns into the Dave Bates Show. Dave Bates was the man at PolyGram who oversaw the commercial decline of Big Country before washing his hands of the band when he decided they were getting too dirty. He recalls his experiences with an engaging honesty and admits to his share of culpability, but if ever there was a passage where Glen's lack of sources shows, it's when every quote seems to be from the A&R man. I'm guessing Bates' anecdotes won't be repeated in the official book. Dougie Dudgeon, formerly of Castle Communications (he doesn't seem to know what his job title was), is called upon to recall what was surely the most farcical period in the band's history in the mid-90s. The words 'Spinal Tap' come into play more than once.

In the end you'll be left wanting more. A feeling you may have felt before during your fandom. Glen has been denied the opportunity to bring much new to the table for the hardcore, but In A Big Country nevertheless provides newcomers with a neatly compiled instant knowledge of The Skids and Big Country and long-time fans with a well-written trip down Memory Lane. On my shelf sits a nicely-produced hardback book with an attractive dust jacket about a personal hero who is sadly gone and too often forgotten, and because of that alone I can't do anything other than thank and support both author and publisher.

I enjoyed reading this book and once I learned that it was coming out I had to get a copy. It's not available in the U.S. so I ordered it from Amazon U.K. There is a lot of info about Stuart, The Skids and Big Country that I was glad to learn about. It is well researched and well written. I hope that there will be an official book released by the band and I will definitely get that one, but until then, this is a great resource. It was well worth the wait.