Roots of Big Country

The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 in London by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott being the only constant member. Over a four-decade career, the band has drawn on multiple styles of music including punk rock, rock and roll, folk music, Celtic soul, noise rock, country music, rhythm & blues and chamber music.

The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977 under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the group soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.

Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and were commercially successful in that period, with four Top 40 albums and two hit singles: "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat".

Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson, William Simpson, Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson. Their biggest successes were the 1979 single "Into the Valley" and the 1980 album The Absolute Game. In 2016, the band announced a 40th-anniversary tour of the UK with their original singer Richard Jobson.