Review: Big Country - Glasgow Barrowland

BIG Country’s return to the Barrowland ballroom, the final UK venue they appeared in before singer Stuart Adamson took his life in 2001, was always likely to be emotional.

An elegy for days past before they focus on recording new material, with a setlist dominated by debut record The Crossing, their earnest, fist-pumping Celtic anthems were echoed by the chants of their loyal fans. Chief among these was Mike Peters of Welsh rockers The Alarm, the replacement frontman never less than reverent towards the band’s back catalogue, sustaining all the full-throated, head wrenched-back passion the tracks of the adopted Scots demand.

Originally released as a B-side, opener Belief In The Small Man was emblematic of the band’s quality control – there were few duff renditions here – but also a lack of variation, sounded with the first military beat of Mark Brzezicki’s drums. Recent comeback single Another Country arguably recalls The Alarm as much as the classic Big Country guitars-as-bagpipes sound but it’s still unmistakably from a familiar template. Peters afforded What Are You Working For? an epic salute by wading into the crowd to sing from the room’s centre, while a romp through their soundtrack to the film Restless Natives was unabashed nostalgia. Predictably, the highlights were the rousing explosion of In A Big Country and the rollicking Fields Of Fire. Adamson’s favourite song, Tracks of my Tears by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, provided a lovely touch for the encore.

Rating: ***