Big Country
Big Country, 1991.
Background information
Origin	Scotland
Genres	Alternative rock, New Wave, folk rock, Celtic rock, post-punk
Years active	1981–2000, 2007, 2010–present
Labels	Phonogram, Track-BCR, Transatlantic
Members
Bruce Watson Tony Butler Mark Brzezicki Mike Peters Jamie Watson
Past members
Stuart Adamson Alan Wishart Pete Wishart Clive Parker Pat Aherne

Big Country is an internationally-renowned Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981.

The height of the band's popularity was in the 1980s, although it retained a cult following for many years after, including the release of several further titles. The band's music was most recognisable for the sounds it infused with Scottish folk and martial music styles, as well as for playing and engineering their guitar driven sound to evoke the inspirational spirit of bagpipes, fiddles and other traditional folk instruments.

Career[link]

Formation, commercial success[link]

Big Country comprised Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, vocals/guitar/keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals) though a variety of other drummers had played in the band at various times throughout its existence, including Simon Phillips and Aaron B. Prior, to the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki; an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band and it featured Peter Wishart, later of Runrig and now an SNP MP, on keyboards, his brother Alan on bass, and Clive Parker, drummer from Spizz Energi / Athletico Spizz '80 (Rough Trade & A&M Records). Parker had approached Adamson to join his new band after the demise of The Skids. Adamson auditioned Parker (1980) at The Members rehearsal room in Ladbroke Grove, London, and the next day was called on to play drums on demos for CBS Records at their Whitfield Street studios. The demos were produced by Adam Sieff and just featured Adamson, Parker, with scarcely a contribution from Watson. Adamson had asked bassist Dave Allen from the Gang of Four to join the band but he declined. Adamson asked Parker to join the band, which led to 8 months of rehearsal in Dunfermline in a disused furniture warehouse. The culmination was a successful concert at the Glen Pavilion at Dunfermline, (playing to a home crowd, mainly Skids fans), and an interview with BBC Radio Scotland where the CBS Studio demos were utilised. What followed were live dates with Alice Cooper's Special Forces tour in 1982. The band appeared out of their depth with their rambling Echo & The Bunnymen-keyboard oriented-sound which went down badly with the metal crowds. Thus the band was dumped from the tour after only two gigs at The Bournemouth Centre and Birmingham Odeon. Adamson's management issued an ultimatum and the Wisharts and Parker were sacked. Adamson later asked Peter Wishart to rejoin on Keyboards, but Peter declined without his brother in the band. Parker formed the synth pop band Scary Thieves, and signed to EMI Records, and later went on to play session drums for ex-Jesus and Mary Chain member John Moore in The Expressway, (Polydor Records) touring the UK and USA. Alan Wishart later joined Parker in contemporary folk band Barra (Sony/ATV Music/Hi-Note Records). The manager Ian Grant brought in Brzezicki, and Butler, and along with Watson, the main band Big Country line-up was formed. Although the band's music drew from Scottish traditional music, none of its members were born in Scotland. Adamson grew up in Dunfermline though, and his family was of Scottish descent, so to that extent his Scottish accent was genuine.

Formed initially as a five-piece band in 1981, their first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields of Fire", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the US Billboard Top 20), powered by "In a Big Country", their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the U.S. The band also performed on both the Grammys and Saturday Night Live.

The band released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest,^[1][2] was a Top Ten hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the U.S., reaching only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make a U.S. chart appearance.

Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album featured three UK top 30 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like Wonderland (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the U.S, peaking at #70 on the Billboard album charts.^[3]

Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., both as headliners themselves and in support of such artists as Queen and Roger Daltrey. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the musical score to a Scottish independent film, Restless Natives (1985), which was not released on CD until years later on the band's Restless Natives and Rarities (1998) collection.

1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2. It produced three further Top 30 singles, including the Irish number one hit "Look Away", which would also prove to be the band's biggest hit in the U.K., peaking at #7. Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the album's title track, and as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., The Seer sold a little bit better than Steeltown, reaching #59 on the Billboard charts.^[4]

In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following,^[5] Big Country used producer Peter Wolf for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles. It reached #9 in the UK Album chart, but sold poorly in the United States.^[6] During the "Peace In Our Time" Tour, the band were supported by Diesel Park West and Cry Before Dawn.^[7]

The 1990s[link]

No Place Like Home (1991) not only effectively killed off the band's commercial hopes in the US, it nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki returned to the studio as a session drummer after leaving the band. The album found the band trying to reinvent themselves and shift away from their '80s image. It was not a commercial success and was not released in America, although two re-recorded tracks showed up on 1993's The Buffalo Skinners.

In 1991, the band was dropped by Phonogram, the label that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album. Only one of these, 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, received a major label release (via Chrysalis Records), and it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the UK Top 25. The album obtained a surprisingly enthusiastic critical response, and although it produced two UK Top 30 singles in "Alone" and "Ships", its sales were meagre and, in retrospect, it can be seen as Big Country's last, lost chance to regain a mass audience. Regardless, the band retained an intensely devoted cult following, as evidenced by their deceptively large post-1990 discography, which consists mostly of live concert recordings and singles/rarities collections.

Throughout the 1990s, Big Country became a popular supporting act, supporting bands such as Rolling Stones and The Who. Big Country had backed Daltrey on his 1985 solo album Under the Raging Moon, and Tony Butler played bass and backing vocals on Pete Townshend's 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open the Door". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album White City: A Novel. Brzezicki played drums for The Cult on their 1985 Love album and featured in the video for the single, "She Sells Sanctuary".

Of growing concern was the mental and emotional health of lead singer Adamson, who reportedly had struggled with alcoholism for several years. Adamson split with his first wife, who later spoke to Scottish and English tabloids about his heavy drinking. He moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s where he took up residence and married a hairdresser. While in Nashville, he met artist Marcus Hummon and released a studio album with him under the moniker The Raphaels.

In 1995 Big Country released another album, Why the Long Face?.

1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, Driving to Damascus (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release John Wayne's Dream). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had needed some time off.

Farewell tour, Adamson's death[link]

Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom on 31 May 2000. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again. They played what turned out to be their last gig in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October that year.

In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on 16 December 2001. The autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself.^[8][9][10]

At the time of death he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.279%.

A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and The Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and Bill Nelson.

2007 reunion[link]

In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany). They also released a new album, twenty five live, on the trackrecords label.

As of September 2008 the band returned to an indefinite hiatus.^[11]

2010–11 tour[link]

The surviving original members toured again in late December 2010 and January 2011 with Mike Peters of the Alarm and Jamie Watson, Bruce's son, added to the lineup.^[12] They played another set of concerts in April 2011. Big Country have been announced at six major UK/Irish festivals in 2011 — Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Oxegen in Kildare and V Festival (Chelmsford and Stafford), plus Inverness with Simple Minds.

Steve Lillywhite, who had produced Big Country's first and second albums, produced the band's first single in over twelve years. He remarked: "When I heard the demo of their new song, I was impressed on first listen. I am looking forward to working with the band again whom I last worked with in the 80s on one of my favourite albums I have ever produced — The Crossing."

"It will be a real buzz working with Steve again", Tony Butler said in response. "He is a producer we all have a great regard for and are looking forward to working with again. We'd also like to thank all the festival promoters for having faith in us."

The band will also soon announce a series of smaller dates where they will be "breaking in" new songs for a future release. "These will be places we have never played before," Mark Brzezicki added, "giving us the chance to work in new songs in the more intimate type of venues.”

Mike Peters said, "Due to the success of the January and April tours, the band have decided to continue and have already started planning for a new album and a 30th anniversary tour in the new year."

Bruce Watson commented: "We are 100% dedicated and intent on making this new line up a permanent one. We can finally look forward to completing unfinished business from the past, particularly internationally, and look to a creative and active future".^[13]

Around August 2011, Big Country released their first single in 11 years called "Another Country" with Peters on vocals.

Personnel[link]

 id:Vocals+Guitars      value:blue       legend:Vocals+Guitars
 id:Vocals              value:purple     legend:Vocals
 id:Guitars             value:green      legend:Guitars 
 id:Bass                value:red        legend:Bass
 id:Drums               value:yellow     legend:Drums
 id:Lines               value:black      legend:Studio albums
 

 at:07/15/1983 color:black layer:back
 at:10/01/1984 color:black layer:back
 at:07/01/1986 color:black layer:back
 at:09/01/1988 color:black layer:back
 at:09/01/1991 color:black layer:back
 at:03/01/1993 color:black layer:back
 at:06/05/1995 color:black layer:back
 at:01/01/1999 color:black layer:back

 bar:Adamson       text:"Stuart Adamson"
 bar:Peters        text:"Mike Peters"
 bar:BruceWatson   text:"Bruce Watson"
 bar:JamieWatson   text:"Jamie Watson"
 bar:Butler        text:"Tony Butler"
 bar:Brzezicki     text:"Mark Brzezicki"
 bar:Ahern         text:"Pat Ahern"

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Adamson   from:01/01/1982 till:12/16/2001 color:Vocals+Guitars
 bar:Peters    from:12/01/2010 till:end        color:Vocals
 bar:BruceWatson from:01/01/1982 till:12/16/2001 color:Guitars
 bar:BruceWatson from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Guitars
 bar:BruceWatson from:12/01/2010 till:end color:Guitars
 bar:JamieWatson from:12/01/2010 till:end color:Guitars
 bar:Butler    from:01/01/1982 till:12/16/2001 color:Bass
 bar:Butler    from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Bass
 bar:Butler    from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Vocals width:2
 bar:Butler    from:12/01/2010 till:end        color:Bass
 bar:Brzezicki from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1992 color:Drums
 bar:Brzezicki from:01/01/1995 till:12/16/2001 color:Drums
 bar:Brzezicki from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Drums
 bar:Brzezicki from:12/01/2010 till:end        color:Drums
 bar:Ahern  from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1995 color:Drums

• Note: Big Country were inactive from 2002 until 2007 and again from 2008 to 2010.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Big Country Live
• Trouser Press: Big Country entry
• Big Country Fan Site

Diego Sanchez
Born	Diego Sanchez (1981-12-31) December 31, 1981 (age 30) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Other names	The Dream, The Nightmare
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	171 lb (78 kg; 12 st 3 lb)
Division	Welterweight (170 lb) (2002 - present) Lightweight (155 lb) (2009) Middleweight (185 lb) (2005)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Fighting out of	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Team	Jackson's Submission Fighting
Trainer	Greg Jackson
Rank	Black belt in Gaidojutsu Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active	2002 – present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	28
Wins	23
By knockout	6
By submission	9
By decision	8
Losses	5
By knockout	1
By decision	4
Notable school(s)	Del Norte High School
Website	http://www.diegonightmare.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: October 19, 2010

Diego J. Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) of Mexican descent, with a background in wrestling and Gaidojutsu, system of submission wrestling developed by his longtime trainer Greg Jackson.^[1] He currently fights as a welterweight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Sanchez is currently ranked as the #9 welterweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.^[2]

Early life[link]

Sanchez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Del Norte High School, where he became a state champion wrestler.^{[citation needed]}

Mixed martial Arts career[link]

Diego Sanchez wrestled in New Mexico before starting training MMA while working for UPS. Sanchez eventually joined Jackson's Submission Fighting, still while working for UPS, managing the time between work and training. In 2002, he made his MMA debut for King of the Cage where he also later became a champion.^[3]

His UFC debut came when he was chosen as a participant on the first season of the reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. Presented as a young, focused middleweight who only had one goal, to become a UFC champion, he won a contract with the UFC after winning a fight against Kenny Florian, becoming the middleweight winner for the first season of the show. On the show, Sanchez was known for being the "odd-ball" of the group, practicing yoga at odd moments and trying to extract "energy" from a lightning storm, and was also a self-proclaimed "Zen master". Sanchez' last fight before his loss to Josh Koscheck was against Joe Riggs on December 13, 2006 at UFC Fight Night 7. Sanchez landed a right hook that knocked Riggs down, followed by a running knee that knocked Riggs out. Sanchez won at 1:45 of the first round, scoring the first UFC knockout of his career.

Sanchez was then cleared to fight Koscheck after serving a three-month suspension following a failed drug test where Sanchez tested positive for the agents found in marijuana.^[4]

At the weigh-in for UFC 69, Sanchez shoved Koscheck while they stared each other down.

Sanchez ended up losing by decision to Josh Koscheck at UFC 69, ending his undefeated run, in a fight that was virtually all stand up. Predicted to be one of the best fights of 2007, the bout was slow paced, with very few exchanges. Going into the final moments of the third round, Sanchez was expected to advance in aggression in order to attempt a win, but instead he remained timid, throwing very short, under powered jabs. Koscheck managed to keep Sanchez at bay with superior hand speed and footwork until the bout timed out, to take the win on all three judges' cards.

Several weeks after the fight, Dana White announced that Sanchez was sick on the eve of the fight and almost had to retire when a test came back indicating he had Hepatitis C.^[5] Doctors eventually concluded the test results were not correct, but could not diagnose his sickness, so the fight went ahead as planned. The day after the fight Sanchez had a hole in his thigh the "size of a coffee cup" and was diagnosed with a staph infection.

Sanchez during weight in before a match preparation

In his next fight he lost a split decision to Jon Fitch at UFC 76 on September 22, 2007 before rebounding against David Bielkheden at UFC 82 with a submission due to strikes. Following the win, Sanchez stopped Luigi Fioravanti via TKO due to strikes at 4:07 of the third round at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale. After pulling out of a fight with Thiago Alves due to an injury, Sanchez announced he would be moving to the lightweight division.^[6]

Move to Lightweight[link]

His next fight was then scheduled for February 21, 2009 at UFC 95 against Joe Stevenson in the lightweight division. Training for the bout Sanchez worked with professional boxers Joey Gilbert and Lupe Aquino, Brazilian grappling experts Xande and Saulo Ribeiro and wrestling coach Bob Anderson.^[7] Although Stevenson pressed the action throughout the bout, Sanchez landed the better strikes and won by unanimous decision. Diego credits Tony Robbins for giving him mental preparation for this latest fight, and was seen entering the bout chanting "YES" repeatedly.

At the UFC 100 Fan Expo event in Las Vegas, 2009

On June 20, 2009, Sanchez won a split-decision victory against Clay Guida at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale. Sanchez won Fight of the Night honors, his second such award in a row. Opening up with a seemingly endless barrage of jabs and right uppercuts for the first minute he shook Guida, in the first round Sanchez also connected with a head kick that floored his opponent. Sanchez maintained a superior standup through the first round and the rest of the fight, though Guida rallied and made a contest of the next two rounds in a closely contested match. The fight went on to win "Fight of the Year" by several MMA magazines and the UFC.

At UFC 107 on December 12, 2009, Sanchez fought and lost to BJ Penn for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Early in the first round, Penn landed a right hand that dropped Sanchez, followed by flurry of punches that almost prompted referee Herb Dean to stop the fight. Although Sanchez was able to recover enough to stay in the bout, he was outclassed in the following 3 rounds that saw Penn dominate with superior stand up, whilst all 27 takedown attempts made by Sanchez were negated by Penn's superior defense. Early in the fifth round, Penn landed a head kick that caused a large cut to be opened up on the forehead. Herb Dean called the action to a halt for doctor's advice and the fight ended at 2:37 by TKO, marking the first time Sanchez has been stopped in a fight. This also marked only the second fight in UFC history to end in the fifth round. At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White was quoted saying Sanchez was "about as busted up as I've ever seen a guy."^[8] Sanchez had his bottom lip completely split open, with his left eye swollen shut and a large cut above his left eyebrow.^[9]

Return to Welterweight[link]

Following his loss to Penn, Sanchez announced that he would be going back to fighting as a welterweight.^[10]

Diego Sanchez made his return to his hometown, Albuquerque, New Mexico and has been training at Albuquerque Kickboxing & MMA for his return to welterweight.

Sanchez then faced John Hathaway on May 29, 2010 at UFC 114. In the first round of the fight, Hathaway caught Sanchez with a knee to the head as Sanchez attempted a takedown. Hathaway then dominated with ground and pound while all of Sanchez's takedown attempts were negated by Hathaway's strength, while through the rest of the way fight saw Hathaway utilize his superior striking reach, giving him the unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26), handing Sanchez his second consecutive loss.

Sanchez recently rejoined Jackson's Submission Fighting for his fight with Paulo Thiago.^[11] Sanchez defeated Paulo Thiago by unanimous decision on October 23, 2010 at UFC 121 in California. In this fight, Sanchez utilized his wrestling to control and punish Thiago in the second and third rounds. The bout even saw Sanchez get a powerful slam on Thiago in the second round.

Sanchez defeated Martin Kampmann by a controversial unanimous decision on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.^[12] In the bout, Kampmann dropped Sanchez in the first round, and continue to get the better in the exchanges but Sanchez continuously pressured Kampmann into the cage to force wild exchanges in the second and third rounds. By the end of the fight, both men were bloodied up especially Sanchez, whose face was a bloody mess.

Sanchez was expected to face Matt Hughes on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135;^[13] however on September 5, Sanchez had to withdraw from the bout due to a broken hand.^[14]

A bout between Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger was briefly linked to UFC 141.^[15] However, a lingering hand injury kept Sanchez out of action until February 2012.^[16]

The Ellenberger/Sanchez bout took place on February 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 1^[17] Ellenberger defeated Sanchez via unanimous decision, in a bout that earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors.

Personal life[link]

Sanchez married his girlfriend, Bernadette on May 21, 2011.^[18]

Championships and awards[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • The Ultimate Fighter 1 Middleweight Tournament Winner
  • Fight of the Night (Five times)
• King of the Cage
  • KOTC Welterweight Championship (One time)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 2006 Fight of the Year vs. Karo Parisyan on August 17
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Clay Guida on June 20
• World MMA Awards
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Clay Guida on June 20
• Inside MMA
  • 2009 Bazzie Award for Fight of the Year vs. Clay Guida on June 20

Submission grappling[link]

• Grapplers Quest
  • Grapplers Quest Champion (Seven times)
  • Grapplers Quest Hall of Fame

Amateur wrestling[link]

• New Mexico Activities Association
  • NMAA High School Wrestling State Champion

Mixed martial arts record[link]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diego Sanchez

External links[link]

• Diego Sanchez Official Website
• Diego Sanchez on Myspace
• Official UFC Profile
• Professional MMA record for Diego Sanchez from Sherdog