Dynamic Range Radio Asks "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"

If you don't have an evening of drunken debauchery planned, you might consider checking out this concert recorded on New Year's Eve way back in 1983.

Anyone who's been listening to this station for a while now has probably noticed that I'm rather fond of the band Big Country. As far as I'm concerned, they were the best band on the planet during their prime, and this concert shows them at the peak of their popularity.

Here's a portion of the description of the gig, taken from Wolfgang's Vault:

This energetic King Biscuit Flower Hour Show was recorded on New Year’s Eve 1983 in Glasgow, Scotland, near Big Country’s hometown. The show opens with the sounds of rain, thunder and lightning. After an earsplitting crash, the effects slowly fade, and the band breaks into “One Thousand Stars.” Big Country’s trademark guitars in their “bagpipe” mode cut through the song’s intro, leading into Adamson’s passionate vocals. The rest of the show is propelled by the band’s powerful rhythm section and the interplay between the twin guitar action of Adamson and Watson.

“We recorded that show at a venue called Barrowlands in Scotland,” said Mark Brzezicki. “When we tour, the gig we always look forward to is the gig on our home turf. The response at that gig is always exceptional.” “I was aware that I had to play me arse off during that period,” Brzezicki adds, “because we were coming off an important tour for us. Everything kept getting moved during that gig. There was a surge of people from the front of the stage. Complete mayhem, and the hottest gig I have done ever.” “Angle Park,” “Lost Patrol,” “Fields Of Fire” and the signature “In A Big Country” are all here, making this recording a true testament to the quintessential Big Country live show of that era.

“The excitement going on in the room that night was really a Scottish thing,” says Watson. “We tried to make it a huge party, as much as possible. We had just gotten back after three months in America. We loved America but we were missing home. And this show was a homecoming.” The performance was held in a hired ballroom, or dance hall, similar to the legendary Roseland dance hall in New York City.

Steve Lillywhite (the platinum producer best known for his work with the Rolling Stones and U2) was the engineer on recording of the show. Lilywhite had produced the band’s first two albums, and wanted to be part of this historic performance. “We knew that the show was going to be taped and shot on video and it was going to be broadcast live around the world, and in the States on the King Biscuit Flower Hour,” says Stuart Adamson.

One interesting bit of trivia about this concert occurs approximately thirty minutes into the show. In the middle of "The Storm" the band notices that the clock is about to strike twelve, so they stop mid-song and count down to the new year as gongs reverberate through the hall. Then Big Country steps aside for a few minutes and allows a pipe band to ring in the new year the traditional Scottish way. This would mark the one and only time that an actual bagpipe would appear on a Big Country recording.

Euphoric New Year's Eve gigs became an regular ritual for Big Country, so to get you into the mood, here's a YouTube clip of a concert that occured exactly one year after the one featured in Wolfgang's Vault. If this show were available, I'd be in heaven.



To stream (or purchase) the New Year's Eve gig from 1983, just click on the image below to visit Wolfgang's Vault.





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