<p>Stuart Adamson co-founded the Skids and Big Country but was profoundly ill-suited to the spoils of his success. Author Scott Rowley unpacks his passage from Dunfermline to Nashville and Hawaii to get a sense of his demons and what drove and inspired him. He talks to us here about his compelling new memoir ‘Stay Alive: the Life and Death of Stuart Adamson’ and touches on …</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… hints of troubled family life in his early lyrics and the shadows of his father and grandfather</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… that famous three-word review: “More crusading porridge!”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… the guilt of his success when he returned to his Dunfermline roots</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… why learning to sing is unwise!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… how Big Country were saved by Steve Lillywhite and the resentment about their being sold as a pop group</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… Nick Drake, Sinead O’Connor … “people who should never have been given a record contract”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… insurmountable friction with Richard Jobson</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… how Nevermind made the old rock landscape look outmoded</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… “guitars that sounded like bagpipes!” and other hoary old clichés</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… “empty, breast-beating, bombastic!”: the rigours of the rock press consensus</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… and how Big Country nearly played Live Aid.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Order ‘Stay Alive: the Life and Death of Stuart Adamson’ here: </strong><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Stay-Alive-The-Life-and-Death-of-Stuart-Adamson/Scott-Rowley/9781917923538" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Stay-Alive-The-Life-and-Death-of-Stuart-Adamson/Scott-Rowley/9781917923538</a></p><br><p><strong>Help us to keep the conversation going: </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>