Big gold dreams : A story of Scottish independent music 1977-1989

"This is a tale that spans 12 years, of punkish rebels, too much eye liner and some great faces from what would become Scottish music's "Rock Royalty"... This is like opening that stocking at the end of your bed on Christmas day morning, unwrapping each parcel with eager anticipation. Some you may have heard; others will come as a revelation. I'd say that these have been carefully put into phases across the set, but as you will find these are assembled chronologically and serve to document the scene".

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"Listeners could drop in anywhere on any of the discs and find a string of songs guaranteed to bring a smile to their face, a lump to the throat, or a swelling heart. It's a well-chosen, carefully annotated collection made both for people who were there and want a trip down memory lane and for a newcomer looking to do some serious exploring. Either one will come away glad they took the time to take this deep dive into some of the best music ever made".

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"In the UK's pre-punk landscape, no one - not least the remote London-based music industry - offered more than the crumbs of a support slot to 99 per cent of the acts featured here; if this gang of misfits, oddballs and dreamers from the industrial heartlands of Scotland were going to achieve anything, they would have to do it themselves. So they did. Some succeeded, many failed, all - going by the sounds on offer here - had a blast. It was that kind of time ... What is most striking aout Big Gold Dreams is its reminder of the sheer diligence and industry of some Scottish musicians: The Exploited's Big John Duncan pops up several times in various acts, as do Waterboys supremo Mike Scott and Smple Minds' chief execs Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr ... More noticeable still is how so many of these bands' songwriting and actual sound took such giant leaps forward (...), widening the ambition of Scottish pop music at every turn. Everything was possible. Here, then, is the full story of Scotland's independent scene (...) in all its far-reaching, genre-defying, scene-burning glory. A glittering prize".