Stuart Adamson may now be best remembered for his untimely and tragic death in 2001 at the age of 43. After a divorce from his second wife, he went missing in November and was found a month later in a hotel room in Hawai’i having had hanged himself. At the time of death, he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.279%.
It is therefore hard to listen to this interview without searching for clues of his battles with drinking and depression. And while there are some, what is more striking are Adamson’s intelligence and thoughtfulness, his respect for his roots, and his respect for music. Interviewed by Lisa Robinson during Big Country’s 1984 US tour in support of their extremely successful debut LP, The Crossing, this recording captures a man who took his craft seriously and was wary of the rock n’ roll lifestyle.
00:00 – The problem(?) for U2, The Alarm, and Big Country 01:15 – The new fashion of music 01:41 – Drawing inspiration from punk rock 02:43 – Answering the accusations of being a hype band 03:35 – The songwriting process 04:11 – Publishing credits for the whole group 04:47 – Influences: early, fashion pop, rock 07:03 – Process of writing lyrics 07:32 – The current U.S. tour 07:54 – Avoiding the vulgarity of rock stardom 09:00 – Not just anyone can get on stage 09:59 – Music changing lives 10:24 – Learning how to play the guitar / not knowing how to play the guitar 11:19 – Singing in Big Country 11:38 – Writing anthemic songs 12:02 – Being serious / periods of terrible depression 12:44 – Writing poetry / a career as an English teacher 13:46 – Plans for the following year / writing in solitude