Big Country / The Icicle Works
The seventh stop on Big Country's celebratory 'Return to Steeltown' tour.
'Steeltown' was the second album to be released by Dunfermline-based guitar band Big Country, and their first to go to Number 1 in the UK albums chart. It took its name from the town of Corby, and honours the Scottish workers who travelled there at the height of the Great Depression to work the foundries and rolling mills of steel company Stewarts & Lloyds. By the early 80's, the British steel industry was in decline, and jobs were, once again, on the line.
In 2024, 'Steeltown' celebrates the 40th Anniversary of its release, a strident guitar-based work from a band that presented itself as a rock antidote to the electro-pop offerings being delivered at the time by artists like Tears for Fears and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. And whilst founding member, guitarist and singer, Stuart Adamson is no longer with us, original guitarist Bruce Watson and drummer Mark Brzezicki are now joined by singer Simon Hough, bass player Gil Allen, and Bruce's son Jamie on guitar, on a UK tour to celebrate this classic album, and perform it in full.
Epic Studios in Norwich was the seventh stop on Big Country's celebratory 'Return to Steeltown' tour, and it was good to see the venue so full on a Thursday night. And, true to their word, the band began with 'Flame of The West', following with lead single 'East of Eden', and working their way through the entire album to the closing song, 'Just A Shadow'. The only track that got missed was, for some reason, 'Girl With Grey Eyes', it being replaced by a later B-side, 'Winter Skies'. Whilst Adamson's presence is still missed, Simon Hough does well on vocals, and Jamie Allen is magnificent on guitar.
However, the fun did not stop there. The band went on to perform another five classic Big Country songs, including crowd-pleasing hits from both 'The Crossing' and 'The Seer'. For an encore we got a rendition of 'Lost Patrol', which was neatly segued to a tune from the band's 1985 soundtrack to the Scottish film, 'Restless Natives'. Not that this evening's Norwich audience seemed particularly restless.
Support came from The Icicles Works' Ian McNabb and Chris Layhe, back together performing as a duo, performing stripped back and acoustic versions of some of their best-known songs. And, even though it took a while to warm up the audience (with McNabb light-heartedly describing the polite applause as being like something you would hear when a putt was sunk on a golf course), hits like 'Evangeline' and 'Understanding Jane' reminded us just how good The Icicle Works, and McNabb's song-writing, still sound.
Thanks, as usual, to Epic Studios and all their friendly staff for once again providing a safe space and a great night out, and to the team on sound and lights who always ensure every act looks and sounds wonderful.
