Big Country have done so much since that 1983 masterpiece; they’ve gone through triumph and tragedy and now they’re touring as hard as ever. The venues may be smaller and the audiences likewise but the delivery is still there.

Starting off the evening’s proceedings were the three-piece Glaswegians Pistol Daisys. Spouting a classy line in polished, country-tinged alt-rock, they went down favourably with an audience that grew throughout their set. They might do well to cut down on the Stevie Nicks-isms, but the songs were delivered with aplomb and set-closer, their latest release Crying in Marseille being received particularly well.

Pistol Daisys have a full schedule of festivals throughout the summer, and although their music will be perfectly suited for the summer sun, I look forward to catching them again in a more intimate setting.

Next up were the Vapors, those one-hit wonders who along with the Only Ones, Psychedelic Furs and the Undertones filled out many a compilation in the glory days of compact discs.

They had a surprisingly vocal bunch watching them who seemed to know a lot more than Turning Japanese, which naturally drew the biggest cheers although there were plenty of other snappy power pop tunes from the days when such things were in vogue. One or two of them were new as well, with the band having brought out two albums, Together in 2020 and Wasp in a Jar earlier this year, after their lengthy hiatus. Short, snappy and catchy. There should always be a place for music like this.

Short and snappy would never be a phrase attached to Big Country, as they walked onto the stage and began with the title from their 1993 album Driving to Damascus, the final recording with the classic line-up that included the great Sturt Adamson. It was clear from the first notes that this was a band who despite numerous line-up changes are once more on top of their game, tight as a drum and feeding off an audience who knew every word. A clutch of songs from that debut album followed, with the explanation that with no anniversary to promote, “We can play what we want.”

Not only are the band performing well Bruce Watson, sole surviving member of that classic line-up, has developed over the years into a fully-fledged guitar hero, careering round the stage like a man half his age, while new frontman Tommie Paxton not only looks like Adamson, he makes a fair attempt at filling those enormous shoes.

The memory of Stuart Adamson is present every time Big Country perform but tonight was given added poignancy with the death a few days earlier of Mike Peters, the band’s singer for two years. With almost as many Alarm t-shirts in the audience as tonight’s headliners The Seer is dedicated to Mike, with its haunting vocals filled out by the return of Pistol Daisys, who stayed for Winter Sky, one of the better b-sides of its era.

As Tommie explained, Mike would always dedicate the next sing Never Take Your Place to his predecessor; tonight it was for them both. And while I have the utmost respect for Mike both as a musician and as a courageous fighter, he never did fill the place in the same way Tommie manages.