Stuart Adamson
| Stuart Adamson | |
|---|---|
Stuart Adamson performing in August 1991.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Stuart Adamson |
| Born |
11 April 1958 Manchester, England |
| Origin | Dunfermline, Scotland |
| Died | 16 December 2001 (aged 43) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Genres | Rock, punk rock, new wave, Celtic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1976–2001 |
| Labels | No Bad, Virgin, Phonogram, Mercury, Vertigo, Compulsion, Fox, Transatlantic, Track |
| Associated acts | Skids, Big Country, The Raphaels |
William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist of rock group Big Country, which rose to prominence in 1983. Prior to that he founded Scottish art-punk band Skids. In the 1990s he founded alternative country rock act The Raphaels. He was once described by DJ John Peel as "the new Jimi Hendrix".
Adamson was born in Manchester. Both his parents were Scottish, and the family returned to Scotland when he was four. The family settled in a small mining town, Crossgates, about a mile to the east of Dunfermline in Fife.
Adamson founded his first two bands in Dunfermline and they both started out playing Dunfermline and across the Firth of Forth in Edinburgh. He went to school with Ian Rankin, who was two years younger and went on to become a fan of Skids. Adamson was a lifelong supporter of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club.
Adamson's father was in the fishing industry and travelled the world. He encouraged Stuart to read literature, and both parents shared an interest in folk music. Adamson founded his first band, Tattoo, in 1976 after seeing The Damned play in Edinburgh. Besides Adamson, Tattoo included his friend William Simpson, who would also play bass guitar for his next band, Skids.
Adamson founded Skids in 1977, when he was 18. Adamson and Simpson first recruited drummer Thomas Kellichan. They played as a trio around Dunfermline and Edinburgh until meeting 16-year-old Richard Jobson. Jobson was recruited as a frontman; Adamson and Jobson both wrote songs for the band.
Skids' biggest success was the single "Into the Valley" in 1979, which did well in the UK charts. The band had four chart singles in the UK that year. Adamson was involved with three of their four albums, leaving in 1980 before Joy. Jobson's influence had increased in the band, which led to the increasing disputes between the two musicians. Jobson later said "This was a guy who had a mortgage, a wife and a family when we were all trying to live some mythic punk lifestyle. He seemed level-headed, grounded."
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