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.

[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.

[Violet Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I want to preface this by saying the only reason I took off half a star is that as a proofreader I found it personally difficult to immerse myself in the text due to some typos and inconsistencies that jarred me out of the flow. The content and writing style I would rate as a 5/5. If there is ever a second edition I offer my services free of charge to bring this beautiful text to it's full potential. I'm sorrowed to see some reviews that did rate it lower as a result, which is really a shame, especially when taking into account that this is a deeply personal memoir, not a book written by a professional author, or someone with any experience in the publishing industry. I would truly love to rate it a 5, but in honour of Tony's honestly throughout, I'm being honest too. I hope that this very minor flaw does not influence folks' willingness to read what I found to be a fascinating account of a band which had influenced so much of my life and my own poetry.

I loved the inclusion of (flashback memories) in brackets and italics, it felt more like a conversation where the person self-interrupts to add little personal details and I enjoyed those visual memories very much.

In many ways it felt that the sparseness of the writing style made it more akin to long form poetry than pure prose, although much if it was simply described real events (and again this speaks very highly of the band, and my respect for them, that this held my attention as primarily a fantasy reader.)

It was of course very emotion to read, because no matter how much I learned, it doesn't change the outcome of Stuart Adamson's death, or of the breakup of the band, but I am nonetheless very grateful that Tony chose to record his thoughts and experiences.

There is a sense of regrets being aired when speaking of Stuart's demise, that makes the whole thing so human and relatable, although I am only a fan and never had the pleasure and honour of Stuart's company, it is evident how much of a driving creative force he was, and made an enduring impact on Tony and on us as fans, in ways that connect rather than divide.

For me these insights into the music business were really interesting because it's so far outwith my life experience, and I doubt very much that I'd ever have educated myself if it hadn't have been handled in such a direct and engaging tone.

As a creative person I feel myself empathising with many parallels, although completely different mediums, and also relating on a purely human level to the struggles and tensions between people.

I felt it was respectful and allowed, with a measure of grace mixed with the regret, for the rest of the band and wider BC clan to have their own memories and stories, but firmly lay down that this one is Tony's. Several times he chooses to omit details that are private, and askes for forgiveness for not going into detail, which makes me respect him all the more.

[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.