THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

962-Big Country-Fields of Fire (400 Miles.)

1983-Number 10 single.

Beat Bit-At 2.00. But I would commute 400 miles, and I would commute 400 more. It appears that some Scottish bands do enjoy travelling (see also best songs 598.)

Big Country were formed in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, in 1981, the classic line up, and also the four who played on this track, comprised of Stuart Adamson, (1958-2001) (vocals, guitars, and keyboards) Bruce Watson, (guitar, and mandolin) Tony Butler, (bass) and Mark Brzezicki (drums.) Big Country remained active until 2000, then the surviving members embarked on a tour in 2007 to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, and then in 2010 they once again re-formed. In total there have been 14 different members come and go, with Bruce Watson being the bands one constant. It was Stuart Adamson who chose the bands name, as he wanted his new band to sound like a loud ‘Rock’ band, with a strong infusion of ‘Folk,’ and ‘Country.’ Adamson said,’The groups name was meant to represent new discoveries born of ambition.’

The discography of Big Country includes nine studio Albums released between 1983-2013, and 29 singles issued between 1982-2013, there are also 18 live Albums, and 25 compilation Albums, that have been officially released over the years. In the UK, Big Country have achieved 15 top 40 singles, with ‘Look Away’ from 1986 charting the highest at Number 7, while in America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, their only hit remains ‘In a Big Country,’ which reached Number 17 in 1983.

‘Fields of Fire (400 Miles’) was the second of four singles released from Big Country’s critically acclaimed debut studio Album ‘The Crossing,’ from July 1983, which would go on to sell in excess of one million copies worldwide. All four band members at that time receive the song writing credits, with the legendary Steve Lillywhite producing the single, and the Album.

William Stuart Anderson was born on April 11, 1958, in Manchester, England, but at the age of four moved with his family to ‘Crossgates,’ around a mile east from Dunfermline, in Scotland. Adamson’s first band in 1976 were called ‘Tattoo,’ but after seeing ‘The Damned’ (see also best songs 833 and 273) perform he founded his own ‘Punk Rock’ band called the ‘Skids’ in 1977, at the age 18. With the Skids he recorded three studio Albums between 1979-1980, and nine singles between 1978-1980, of which five reached the UK top 40, with ‘Into the Valley’ from 1979 charting the highest at Number 10. Stuart Adamson had experienced problems related to alcoholism, and depression in the 1980’s, but had been sober for over a decade before starting to drink again. All his problems finally took their toll, and on December 16th, 2001, he was found dead in a room that he had booked into in the ‘Best Western Plaza Hotel,’ in Honolulu, in Hawaii. According to a local police report he had died by hanging himself with an electrical cord from a pole in a wardrobe. A subsequent Coroner’s Office report found that he had consumed a ‘very strong’ amount of alcohol around the time of his death. Adamson was once described by the influential DJ John Peel (1939-2004) (see also best songs 435) as,’The new Jimi Hendrix,’ and U2’s ‘The Edge’ stated that Adamson, with Big Country,’Had written the songs that he wished U2 could write.’

‘Fields of Fire (400 Miles’) was produced by Steve Lillywhite, who was born on March 15th, 1955, in Egham, Surrey, England. Lillywhite (see also best songs 1004-603-254 and 32) has been credited with working on over 500 different songs since entering the music industry as a tape operator in 1972. He has produced for some of the worlds top artists including working on nine studio Albums with ‘U2.’ His first commercial success came in 1978 as the producer of ‘Hong Kong Garden,’ the debut single from ‘Siouxsie and the Banshees,’ which reached Number 7 in the UK. In 2012 he was made a Commander of the Order of The British Empire ‘CBE,’ for his contributions to music.

‘Fields of Fire (400 Miles’) was originally titled ‘400 Miles’ as it was written when Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson were taking regular trips from Edinburgh to London, the distances between those two cities is approximately 400 miles. Adamson has said that the song wasn’t to tell a coherent story,’It’s a selection of images, thoughts on a train journey.’

‘Between a father and a son, between the city and the one. Before the teacher and the test, before the journey and the rest. The shining eye will never cry, the beating heart will never die. The house on fire holds no shame, I will be coming home again.’