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Hecklergigs: Big Star, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 28/ 8

August 5th, 2012 By Tom Atkinson

The Cambridge Dictionary (that’s the Online Advanced Learner’s edition for all you fact fans) defines ‘cult’ as ‘someone or something that has become very popular with a particular group of people’, and it’s hard to find a mention of American band Big Star without this word sneaking in.

What we generally take cult to mean is that the thing in question isn’t of much interest to the world in general, but thanks to a devoted bunch of obsessives, those who don’t know accept that it must be kind of cool.

Big Star are certainly that, and even if you haven’t heard them directly, you might have come across a cover by artists as varied as The Bangles and Elliott Smith or their song In The Street, used as the theme tune to That ‘70s Show (another cover by fellow 70s rockers Cheap Trick).

Even if you’ve missed all of that you’ll know about some of their supporters. Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie recently said “everybody in Primal Scream is a big fan of Big Star”, Wilco and Idlewild featured on a 2006 tribute album, and Teenage Fanclub practically are Big Star, but Scottish.

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