The original band consisted of Stuart Adamson (vocals, guitar), Bruce Watson (guitar, vocals), Tony Butler (bass) and Mark Brzezicki (drums). Adamson was a former member of the Scottish punk band The Skids. The band’s music incorporated Scottish folk and martial music styles, and the band engineered their guitar-driven sound to evoke the sound of bagpipes, fiddles, and other traditional folk instruments.

Following Adamson’s death in 2001, the band reformed in 2007, with the surviving members. Between 2010 and 2013, the band reformed with Mike Peters of The Alarm on lead vocals. Since then the band has continued with only two of the original members (Watson and Brzezicki).

Big Country’s first single was “Harvest Home”, recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, although it did not reach the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983’s “Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)”, which reached the UK’s Top Ten and was followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the Top 20 in the Billboard 200), powered by “In a Big Country”, their only US Top 40 single.