NEW MODERN ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY OF FORMER BIG COUNTRY FRONTMAN, STUART ADAMSON

FOUNDER OF TWO LEGENDARY SCOTTISH BANDS, 2026 MARKS THE TWENTY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF ADAMSON’S TRAGIC DEATH
WRITTEN WITH FULL CO-OPERATION OF FAMILY AND BANDMATES

‘STAY ALIVE: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF STUART ADAMSON’
By Scott Rowley

will be published by New Modern, 26 March 2026

Hardback, eBook, Audio HB £25 ISBN: 978-1917923538

‘You want to go where no one you know will find you, as far away from home as you possibly can. And you know exactly where that is. You fly to Honolulu, Hawaii. You walk out of the airport and book yourself into the first hotel you see. You are a 10-minute drive from Pearl Harbour, three minutes away from the Pacific Ocean.

You are on an island, in the middle of an ocean, at the ends of the earth.

It is 14 December 2001, and you have just two days left to live.’

This is the story of Stuart Adamson, founder of not one but two seminal Scottish post-punk bands, The Skids and Big Country. But it’s about more than music. Stay Alive is about alcoholism, abuse, family, fame, addiction, depression and working-class pride. And along the way there are stories of drug busts, debauchery, flag burning, fistfights, prison escapes and riots, with a revolving cast of characters from The Clash to the Rolling Stones.

For the first time, both of Stuart Adamson’s wives, children and bandmates tell their side of the story: unflinching, often funny and brutally honest. The book has been written with their full co-operation allowing access to private material – both written and photographic.

“I was supposed to interview Stuart Adamson back in 2001,” says Scott Rowley. “His manager gave me Stuart’s number in Nashville, but he never answered. I tried again and again. Not long after that, Stuart went missing and his body was found in Hawaii. The thought of his phone ringing in his empty house stayed with me.”

“I wrote an article about him and for years afterwards I’d get emails from Big Country fans, adding some personal story about how much Stuart had meant to them. Most of all, they were confused about how this guy they loved and admired ended up taking his own life. I hope this book goes some way to answering that.”

“The family and the band were ready to talk, they gave me absolute freedom, and they never changed a word. It’s their story, really.”

Pete Selby, Managing Director of New Modern who acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Matthew Hamilton of the Hamilton Agency said “With the support of those who knew him best, Scott has crafted the definitive story – it’s jubilant highs and shocking lows – of one of Scotland’s most significant post-punk songwriters. An honour to Stuart’s life and legacy, it is a story that is as funny and celebratory as it is dark and deeply affecting”

About the author

Scott Rowley is Content Director for Future PLC, working across their stable of music publications from Classic Rock to Metal Hammer to Guitar World. He was Editor in Chief at Classic Rock for 10 years. He is Scottish and lives just outside London.

Members of Stuart’s family and founding Big Country guitarist Bruce Watson will be joining the author for promotional events and interviews.

Pre-order your copy now:

Rough Trade: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/stay-alive-the-life-and-death-of-stuart-adamson
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/stay-alive-the-life-and-death-of-stuart-adamson/scott-rowley/9781917923538
HMV: https://hmv.com/store/books/booksandgraphicnovels/stay-alive-the-life-death-of-stuart-adamson-hardba
Resident: https://www.resident-music.com/product/rowley-scott-stay-alive-the-life-and-death-of-stuart-adamson-the-authorised-biography

About New Modern

New Modern is the first imprint of the newly established Putman Publishing and is led by critically acclaimed award winning music publisher Pete Selby.

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