Big Country - SWG3, Glasgow 21st November 2024

So when one of Scotland’s top bands of the last 40 years ask one of the team if they want to cover the full day with them at a gig, what did you expect them to say….hell yes !! Well our Mike was afforded that honour thanks to his 35 year friendship with leader and founding member Bruce Watson. They even shared the same management company back in the late 80’s such is the connection. So off he popped to what is the Glasgow show on the Steeltown 40th anniversary show, a show that was sold out.  

So some of you will know about the recent turmoil and departures in the band which during the gig Bruce referred to and this version of the band is somewhat new. After last singer Simon Hough left the band in the lurch they turned to Tommie Paxton who fronts excellent BC tribute band Restless Natives to fill the gap and see out the remainder of the tour. Now if you ever wanted a Stuart Adamson sound alike then Tommie is your man. A man who has studied the dear departed Adamson in fine detail and who faithfully reproduces his trademark guitar and vocal abilities down to an almost perfect art. Another couple of new additions to the band joining the Watson duo of Bruce and son Jamie are drummer Reece Dobbin and bass player Chris Stones, who also plays with Restless Natives. Some of you will know Stonesey as he used to scribble for Rockfiend and he was Mike’s right hand man in Too Late To Atone for the last 10 years. So it’s a fairly new band tonight….what’s in store then?

Well fear not people as tonight’s rendition of Steeltown and other BC classics is nothing short of magnificent. It’s tight, it’s punchy and even though some of the band are newcomers you would never tell the difference between the original band and now, hell it’s punchy, tight and from the ears of this reviewer it’s probably the best the band have sounded in years. The new blood in the band seems to have ignited the fire in the belly of Watson senior and you can tell this in his demeanour on stage. Everyone on stage is having a ball in the ferocious heat of the venue.  

As the night moves on the band hit their biggest hits with Look Away, In A Big Country, Fields of Fire, Wonderland etc….you know the score. A band who has sold well over 5 million albums and has a fan base like no other are on fire tonight and it’s bloody good to see. We don’t have a lot of internationally acclaimed bands hailing from Scotland but tonight we are witnessing one of the best and on this form they are rightly one of the best.

So after tonight’s impressive display the band have a few weeks of gigs left before a homecoming show in Dunfermline on 21st December. Having witnessed a few BC gigs over the years this was one of the best ones since the passing of Adamson. Maybe it’s the young blood who grew up listening to their hometown heroes that have given the band a kick in the balls and elevated it to what it now is…a great rock band playing great songs. If you get a chance to catch any of the last shows on this tour and are remotely interested the go, you really won’t be disappointed. And you don’t need to wear tartan !