Big Country return to the west country tomorrow celebrating the 35th anniversary of their iconic album The Crossing.

The band’s distinctive post punk guitar sound will be pounding out the 1983 album, which reached number four in the UK charts and number 18 in USA Billboard 200. Hits from the album included Fields of Fire, Harvest Home and In A Big Country.

Three of the original Big Country line-up: Bruce and Jamie Watson on guitars and Mark Brzeziki on drums are joined by Simon Hough on lead vocals and Scott Whitely on bass guitar. Big Country blast into Swindon’s Level lll, Commercial Road tomorrow, and along with The Crossing will play a best of selection from Peace In Our Time, their top 10 album that was released 30 years ago.

The Scottish rock band got together in 1981 in Dunfermline, Fife with the late Stuart Adamson as lead singer. The musicians engineered their guitars to create the sound of other instruments, including bagpipes, on their seminal anthem In A Big Country. With an e-bow they could also create the sound of strings or a synth from the guitar.

In 1985 the band provided the musical score to the Scottish independent film Restless Natives. They appeared on numerous TV programmes including The Tube, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops in the UK, and the Saturday Night Live TV show in America. The musicians were all well respected both as a band and individually, with Mark played on Pete Townshend’s 1985 solo hit single Le Me Love Open The Door, and on the album White City: A Novel. He was also in demand from The Cult working on their Love album.

What was supposed to be the band’s final fling was in the year 2000 and then in 2001 Stuart Adamson died in Hawaii. This brought the remaining members of the band back together for a tribute at Glasgow’s Barrowlands.

In 2007 to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, the musicians reunited for a UK tour and after a flirtation with Mike Peters from The Alarm on vocals, the band welcomed Simon Hough as singer, and then Scott Whitley joined as the new bass player in 2015.

Tickets to see Big Country in Swindon from 8pm are £22.75 and available from https://www.ents24.com/swindon-events/level-iii/big-country/5397674 - Flicky Harrison