10 Scottish Bands You Need To Listen To
They're the Scottish bands everyone should have on their playlist.
As long as there's been humans, there's been music. With the earliest example of musical notation dating back over 4,000 years, music has continud to flourish and evolve across the globe to the days of Mozart and Beethoven to Elvis, The Beatles, and beyond.
However, while it's the likes of America that dominates the music industry today, one of the best things about music is that it's found all over the world in a variety of forms. From Mongolian metal bands, French hip-hop, and J-pop, there are countless talented artists in every country who are just waiting to be discovered by anyone who looks.
And one small country where you can expect to find plenty of music is Scotland. Despite its relatively small size (80,077 square kilometres) and population (just over 5.4 million) Scotland isn't short on some truly incredible bands. Ranging from musical icons who've lasted decades to rising underground gems, Scotland is home to something for everyone.
Although there are simply too many Scottish bands to list here - not including solo artists such as Annie Lennox, KT Tunstall, and Paolo Nutini - here are just some Scottish bands you should add to your playlist.
10. Big Country
When you think of Scottish music, the first thing that's likely to come to your mind is the traditional bagpipe and ceilidh music that's heavily associated with the country. While this music might not be to everyone's taste, one band managed to turn this aesthetic into energetic, wailing guitar anthems, and that band was Big Country.
Formed in Dunfermline in 1981, the band was fronted by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Stuart Adamson (who previously fronted punk band Skids). Once described as "Britain's answer to Jimi Hendrix" by renowned broadcaster John Peel, Adamson and the rest of the band shot to popularity with their debut album The Crossing in 1983. Containing some of their biggest tracks 'Big Country', 'Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)', and 'The Storm', the record made it to number three in the UK and placed 18th in the Billboard 200 in America.
Even after Adamson's death in 2001, Big Country still continues to tour today with original member Bruce Watson providing vocals.
If you want to experience what made this band so memorable, then look no further than their New Year concerts in Glasgow and Edinburgh, which can conveniently be found online for our viewing pleasure.