Big Country to perform music from an era of strikes and strife in Leamington

Formed in 1981, the band’s music was most recognisable for the sounds it infused with Scottish folk and martial music styles.

And they will play at The Assembly, Leamington, on October 30.

Steeltown was recorded at a time of industrial and political strife in Great Britain.

And while the band was recording Steeltown in Abba’s Polar Studios in Stockholm – in 1984 the miners’ strike not only split mining communities, it also divided the nation.

Miner’s son Bruce Watson, guitars and vocals, remembers the time well, and said: “Stockholm felt like the most expensive place on earth – it’s as if we were on a different planet to how things were back home.

“My dad was a miner, so what we did was knuckle down to hard work for six weeks.

“We worked alongside Steve Lillywhite the producer in Studio One as Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber worked on Chess next door.”

As well as songs from Steeltown, the band will also perform classic hits, including Harvest Home, Fields of Fire, In A Big Country, Chance and their biggest UK hit, Look Away. The show starts at 7pm. Tickets £20. Phone 01926 311311.