STUART ADAMSONRock star Stuart Adamson, lead singer of the band Big Country died in 2001at the age of 43.At the height of their fame, Big Country were chart-toppers in the 1980s and supported bands such as Queen and The Jam on major music tours.The band was successfully marketed as a Scottish set-up and defined themselves with a Celtic sound, even though none of the members were born north of the border.William Stuart Adamson was born on 11 April, 1958, in Manchester, but grew up in Crossgates, near Dunfermline.The guitarist/vocalist co-founded his first successful band, The Skids, with singer Richard Jobson, at the height of the punk movement in the late 1970s, their most famous hit being Into The Valley.The band broke up in 1981 and Mr Adamson then formed Big Country, this time taking the role of front man on lead vocals. Hits flowed in the 1980s, including In a Big Country and Fields of Fire. Their debut album, The Crossing, sold three million copies and won two Grammy nominations.Second album, Steeltown, went straight to number one in the UK in 1984.Success followed success and they performed at the Live Aid event at Wembley, the Princes Trust 10th birthday party and also toured the Soviet Union.Their farewell tour in 2000 brought Mr Adamson, who had by now been living in Nashville for four years, back together with his old band members for the last time. He went on to form The Raphaels soon after.Mr Adamson was reported missing on 26 November, 2001, and was found dead in a a hotel room in Honolulu on 16 December.
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