in 1991, the band was dropped by mercury and its distributor phonogram, the companies that had released all of their material since 1983. after that, big country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the uk and europe with the release of every subsequent album. only one of these, 1993's "the buffalo skinners", received a major label release (via chrysalis records), and it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the uk top 25. the album obtained enthusiastic critical response, and although it produced two uk top 30 singles in "alone" and "ships", its sales were meagre.