Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the release of The Crossing, an album that didn't come to my attention until late September of that momentous year. Still and all, it came to rule my autumn of 1983, so much so that I had a little ritual where I'd give it a spin every year whenever the first chill of fall set in.
Well, it took him long enough but Todd in the Shadows finally got around to talking about Big Country. As usual, I have numerous bones to pick but appreciate the gesture all the same.
Rock 'n' Roll is filled with some of the absolute dregs of humanity - but then again, Rock 'n' Roll also gave us Mike Peters. The Alarm (and former Big Country) frontman passed on after a decades-long battle with lymphoma and we are all the worse off for the loss.
Mike was a great musician, and from all accounts a real stand-up guy - the anti-Bono, if you will. He certainly came off as such on his podcast and in various interviews. Mike always genuinely seemed happy and grateful to outlive a death sentence, and made sure he made the most of every day he beat the Reaper.
I saw The Alarm in 2007 when they were in their Stiff Little Fingers phase and it was a terrific show, full of the punk rock power and energy the Eighties' version of the band hinted at but never quite pulled off.
Even so, a lot of their older music has truly stood the test of time, so take a break today and enjoy this classic show from 1986.
I can't remember what I wrote this for or exactly when, just that it was written a long time ago. I'm posting it now because this album always reminds me of the week after Christmas, seeing I bought it then back in 1984...
My obsession with Scottish post-punk probably began the first time I heard John McGeoch's guitar, but certainly reached an apogee with Big Country.
I first heard them in September of 1983 during the height of the New British Invasion/synth pop craze and almost immediately ran out to buy their debut The Crossing at the old Quincy Records off the main drag in Quincy Square. I remember actually being afraid that if I didn't get the album right away they might disappear back into the ether somehow. It was that kind of year.
