Died On This Date (December 16, 2001) Stuart Adamson / Big Country
themusicsover William Stuart Adamson
April 11, 1958 – December 16, 2001
Stuart Adamson is best remembered as the lead singer of popular ’80s rock band, Big Country. He also found moderate success in an earlier influential punk band, the Skids. Formed in 1977, the Skids had a UK charting single with “Into The Valley” and would later be cited as an influence on U2 and Green Day. In 1982, Adamson formed Big Country, a full-sounding rock band that incorporated elements of Scottish folk music and instrumentation into their sound. The band’s debut album, The Crossing was a hit across Europe as well as in the United States, thanks to songs like “Fields Of Fire” and “In A Big Country,” which received heavy video play on a young MTV. Although the band never matched the success of The Crossing, they continued to make solid records and be popular concert draw well into the ’90s. The band released its final album in 1999 and mounted what would be their farewell tour in 2000. Adamson, who reportedly suffered from depression, disappeared on at least two occasions, causing concern for family, friends and band mates. In November of 2001, he did just that, and on December 16th, he was found dead of self-strangulation in his Hawaii hotel room. He was 43.
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