Big Country Info Big Country Info

 

LINER NOTES (VHS & LASERDISC)

(jump to:Liner Notes (DVD))
(jump to: Printed Credits (VHS & LD) | Printed Credits (DVD) |: On Screen Credits)

The Pier, New York was a pretty ironic location for the climax of Big Country's 1986 "Seer" tour of America, overshadowed by a massive aircraft carrier stacked with winged artillery. Somehow, though, in this sinister setting, as darkness enveloped the clutter of NYC, Big Country's frustrated songs of freedom and joy gained a symbolic poignancy. Stuart laughed a lot, larking about with the stetsoned Bruce, determined to prove that rock needn't be dour to communicate care. Bruce [does he mean Mark?], in the spirit, rolled the rhythms into military dubs while Tony encouraged the up crowd to dance. It was a night when the band's work became a shared pleasure, then the anthemic hits from "The Crossing", the depressed optimism of "Steeltown" and the mystic yearnings of "The Seer" combined in one strong, simple mesage: Stay Alive.

Steve Sutherland

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Big Country rides to the peak of its amazing international success - filmed live on Pier 84 in New York City in 1986.

When Big Country gave this concert it was enjoying immense popularity not only in the U.K. but also in America. The founding members seen here - Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler, and Bruce Watson - had formed the band in 1981 and taken hard-rocking anthems like "Fields Of Fire," "Harvest Home" and "Steeltown" - all heard here - high in the U.K. charts, even while developing a rabid, if somewhat more "alternative" U.S. following.

The current album was a great one, "The Seer.” Hits from that album given intense treatment here include “Look Away,” “One Great Thing," and "The Teacher." Other standout moments come with a rousing double encore — and in the midst of powerful guitar soloing on “Inward” when Stuart leaps off the stage and puts a stop to a violent incident in the front rows.

Intense, timeless rock and roll from one of the most accomplished bands to come out of the 1980's.

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This Big Country concert finds the band at the height of its mid-1980's fame, playing outdoors on Pier 84 in New York City.

Big Country was formed in Scotland in 1981. Its first single,"Harvest Home released in 1982, achieved success on the U.K. charts; the song is heard in this concert. The next single, "Fields Of Fire;' closes this concert: it was released in 1983 and entered the U.K. top ten. The first Big Country album was "The Crossing:' It led to new levels of success, bringing the band to the attention of listeners in the U.S. The album made the U.S. top twenty; its biggest single, "In A Big Country:' was a U.S. top-forty hit. The album went gold, and Big Country appeared on the Grammy Award TV broadcast and on the show "Saturday Night Live:' A world tour followed.

As this concert shows, Big Country's sound differed from many of the other highly commercial, post-punk 1980's bands known at the time as "new wave:' While new-wave style synthesizers and African-influenced counter rhythms did form important parts of Big Country's sound, the focus was more fully on rootsy electric guitars and a gritty, anthem-like feeling partly influenced by Bruce Springsteen. The band also used technology to give guitars and other electronic instrumentation the feeling of traditional Scottish instruments like fiddles and bagpipes. The result was a hard-driving, tightly knit form of British-Isles roots-rock.
The second album,"Steeltown," came out in 1984. It entered the U.K. album chart at number one, and while it never cracked the U.S. top forty, the title song is featured in this New York concert to enthusiastic acclaim. In 1984 and 1985 Big Country toured intensely.

The current album when the band played this concert was "The Seer." Major tracks from the album include "Look Away;' "One Great Thing;' and "The Teacher; all heard here.

In the years following this concert, Big Country developed a strong cult following for its savvy songwriting, tight-knit instrumental interplay, intriguing musical settings, and positive stage presence — all evidenced here. Big Country found a commercial niche in the 1990's, opening for bigger-time classic-era rock acts like the Rolling Stones and the Who.

The band also continued to release albums throughout the decade, many of which received admiring critical attention. In 2000, a Big Country farewell tour drew big crowds, including a sold-out show in Glasgow.
Lead singer Stuart Adamson died in 2001. The other band members re-formed in 2007 for a 25th-anniversary tour, and returned again for live shows in 2010 nd 2011. This concert returns us to the moment when Big Country was defining its own sound in 1980's rock and pop. 

WILLIAM HOGELAND

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PRINTED VHS/LASERDISC CREDITS

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Virgin Vision Ltd in association with
Grant/Edwards Management and The Image Factory present
Big Country, The Seer Live In New York

REMEMBRANCE DAY
I WALK THE HILL
JUST A SHADOW
STEELTOWN
LOK AWAY
THE TEACHER
INWARDS
HARVEST HOME
ONE GREAT THING
FIELDS OF FIRE

Big Country are Stuart Adamson, Bruce Watson, Tony Butler and Mark Brzezicki
Executive producers ore Angus Margerison, Stephen Navin, Peter Nowlan
Produced by Piers Thompson
Directed by Eddie Arno and Mark Innocenti
Special thanks to Jeff Golembo, David Simone, David Bates,
Marsha Vlasic, Ron Delsener, Paul Schindler and Katie Asling

APPROX RUNNING TIME 55 MINUTES
STEREO-MONO COMPATIBLE
© 1986 VIRGIN VISION LTD

The copyright proprietors have licenced the moterial in this videocassette for private and domestic use only and ony! other use or reproduction in whole or in port including the making of copies of the material or cousing it to be transmitted to subscribers to a diffusion service or selling, letting, or hire or otherwise dealing with it in whole of port is strictly prohibited

Distributed by Palace, Virgin and Gold (Distribution) Ltd
69 Flempton Road, London E10 7NL
Tel: 01 539 5566 DOLBY AND THE {DOLBY LOGO} SYMBOLS ARE
TRADEMARKS OF DOLBY LABORATORIES

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1 REMEMBRANCE DAY
2 I WALK THE HILL
3 JUST A SHADOW
4 STEELTOWN
5 LOOK AWAY
6 THE TEACHER
7 INWARDS
8 HARVEST HOME
9 ONE GREAT THING
10 FIELDS OF FIRE

Stuart Adamson
Guitar, Vocals

Mark Brzezicki
Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Tony Butler
Bass, Steel Guitar, Vocals

Bruce Watson
Guitar, Mandolin, Sitar

Pier 84, New York, NY
August 26, 1986

DIRECT PLAY - FOR MENU USE YOUR REMOTE CONTROL BUTTON TOTAL PLAYING TIME APPROX. 52 MINUTES

IMMORTAL

IMM 940379

DVD
VIDEO

DOLBY DIGITAL Stereo

DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 Surround

dts 5.1 Surround

DTS® AND DTS DIGITAL SURROUNDE ARE TRADEMARKS OF DTS, INC

COLOR

NTSC

ALL

PACKAGING © 2012 IMC MUSIC LTD. ARTWORK: ELIAN, EMST-HOLLAND
COVER PHOTO: GETTY
MADE IN THE E.U.

BIG COUNTRY,
LIVE IN
NEW YORK CITY

IMMORTAL

IMM
940379

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{OPENING CREDITS}

An Image Factory Production

BIG COUNTRY

THE SEER - LIVE!

Directed by
Arno & Innocenti

{CLOSING CREDITS (NOT INCLUDED ON DVD VERSION}

BIG COUNTRY

STUART ADAMON
BRUCE WATSON
TONY BUTLER
MARK BRZEZICKI

Directors
EDDIE ARNO
MARK INNOCENTI

U.S. Producer
ROBERT LOMBARD

Producer
PIERS THOMPSON

Executive Producers
ANGUS MARGERISON
STEPHEN NAVIN
PETER NOWLAN

Director of Photography
PAUL CAMERON

Lighting Designer
RICHARD OCEAN

Audio Designer & Supervisor
ERIC ZEEHANDELAAR

Assistant Director
LOREN SMITH

Director of Remote Recording
KOOSTER MCALLISTER
The Record Plant Mobile

Script Associate
TIM MAY

Camera Co-Ordinator
NICK INFIELD

Camera Operators
BOB GORELICK
JOHN HAZARD
JEFF HOFFMAN
ABE SCHRAGER
JEFF WAYMAN
GASHEM EBRAHIMIAN

Camera Assistants
MARYAN EVANS
ALEX LIVESEY
JEFF RUFANO
SAVAS ALATIS
ERIC MUZZY
JACK FRENCH
RON SCHLAGER
LARRY PLANET
MICHAEL LEWIN
WAYNE de La ROCHE

Grips
STUART ALLEN
JOE SPALLINO
ROBERT PODBIELSKI
SMITH SUMROY
PATRICK MINIETTA

Cameras
OTTO NEMENZ INC

Grip Equipment
GENERAL CAMERAS

Gaffer
ED POPLAWSKI

Audio Stage Manager
J.B. MATTEOTI

Technical Engineer
ED ‘K-9' CILETTI

Engineering Assistants
JOHN WARD
ADAM BARASH

Communications Supervisor
BOB TOURKOW

Crew
JIM FISHER
PETER ERSKIN
DANIEL MISKIN
STEVE O'CONNOR

Video Assistant Engineer
BARRY RUSSO

Time Code Sync
E.Z./SPECTRA SOUND L.A.

Communications Equipment
C.P. COMMUNICATIONS INC
BEST AUDIO &
THEATRE TECHNOLOGY

Production Manager
GARY MEAKINS

Stage Managers
CHIPS QUIQLEY
KEITH KEVAN

N.Y. Production Assistants
SALOME BREZINER
CHRISTIANE ROGET
SUSIE

For Big Country

Representation
GRANT EDWARDS MANAGEMENT

Stage Manager
LES KING
Set Design & Lighting
PETER BARNES/CHAMELEON

House Sound
DAVE BATCHELOR

Big Country appear by courtesy of
PHONOGRAM RECORDS

Video Mastering
UNITEL VIDEO, HOLLYWOOD

Offline V.T. Editors
WILLIE MAYKIT
BETTY WOENT

Editor
BILL SAINT

Sound Mixing
JULIAN STANDEN
DAVE BATCHELOR
VIDEOSONICS

U.K. Production Assistants
LAUREN BROWN
DICKIE JEFFARES

U.K. Production Assistants
LAUREN BROWN
DICKIE
JEFFARES
SUSIE ARMITAGE

Archive Material
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
V.T.L., LOS ANGELES
ARCHIVE FILM LIBRARY LEEDS
ANGLIA SURVIVAL LIBRARY

Special Thanks
JOHN WILLIAMS
TOM TERCEK
FRANK NORTON
RON DELSENER
JIMMY HARGREAVES
JON-SIMON MARTIN
PETER FAIRLEY
MIKE SILVERMAN

and

B.M.L. LIGHTING
IMAGE TRANSFORM
STUART J. ALLYN
MARTIN AUDIO INC.,N.Y.
CLEAR-COM INTERCOM SYSTEMS
AUDIO SERVICES CO,L.A.
THE PALACE, LONDON
VIEWPLAN LTD
CHARLIE PHILLIPS

All Songs Published by
10 MUSIC LTD
An Image Factory Production

Copyright © 1986
VIRGIN VISION LTD