Then Came The Great Divide: A reflection of the post Stuart Adamson Years of Big Country.

by Tony Butler, Ollie Prowse (Photographer)

Being in Big Country had its fair share of highs and lows. To lose its main character was a desperately upsetting situation to deal with. This is the story about how, my original colleagues, manager and I, tried dealing with this situation, and the unfortunate demise of it from my point of view. Written as an honest reflection, complete with some memory anecdotes, I have, after years of not commenting about this time period, thought it time I did.

120 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2017

Reviews

[Allan Heron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief memoir on the author's involvement with Big Country after the death of Stuart Adamson.

It's a sad, quite melancholic read. Given the events since he left, it's very easy to conclude that wrong judgements were made by the others, particularly on the management side. Since the failure of thr album The Journey to have any impact, Big Country have receded even further into the background to the extent that they seem to play permanent second fiddle to the reconstituted Skids.

The text can be a bit disjointed, but this is a quick and easy read.

[William Barclay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming

A good read for avid fans of Big Country. TB honestly putting his feelings out there. Stuart is gone but not forgotten.

[Michael Citro · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Big Country fan I was extremely interested in this book. The death of Stuart Adamson silenced a unique voice in pop/rock music. I was looking forward to reading Tony Butler's account of the band in the wake of Adamson's death to see how those who knew Adamson dealt with such a crushing blow. I have to say it's an odd book. I'm guessing it was self-released? There's nothing on the spine and it's extremely short. He flip-flops in time throughout, which can be confusing at times. He even has sections in italics where he LITERALLY says "Flashback" to indicate a thought he had of something that happened in the past. There are also typos throughout the book, terrible errors with regard to possessives, style errors/inconsistencies, commas where they shouldn't be (and missing from where they should be), and several awkward sentences that indicate no one with any editorial experience proofread the final manuscript. That's not a huge issue for me, as sometimes Tony's turn of phrase can be charming, but it is a bit distracting. As for the content, Tony often will talk about a pivotal moment for the band and a conversation that he had with a band member or the manager and then refuse to divulge the content of the conversation, stating that it's personal. Well then, why bring it up? Similarly, there's precious little of what his relationship with Adamson was like. Clearly Stuart's death was a major tragic event in his life. Butler says at one point that he doesn't go into the history of the band because others have written it better. But so what? We want YOUR take, Tony. You were there. Tell us what Big Country's career was like from your perspective.

All that said, it actually is interesting to get inside Tony's head a bit to get his perspective on things and to learn more about him as a human being and as a musician.

[Claudia Liberman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful story

I loved reading Tony's book. His honest, humble and heartfelt writing is a pleasure. I'm obsessed by Big Country, have been since I first heard "In a Big Country" in the very early 80s. The lyrics, bagpipe sounds, dancing while guitar/drumming on stage....glorious & magical. Tony's sadness over the loss of Stuart shines through & tugs at my heart. I'll be rereading it; its the type of story that will never be repetitious for me.