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. …entire summary
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
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