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"Big Time"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album So
B-side	"We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" (US) "Curtains" (UK)
Released	November 1986 (US) 16 March 1987 (UK)
Genre	Funk rock dance-rock
Length	4:26
Label	Virgin Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Peter Gabriel
Producer(s)	Daniel Lanois Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"In Your Eyes" (1986) "Big Time" (1986) "Red Rain" (1987)
Music video
"Big Time" on YouTube

"Big Time" is a song by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his fifth studio album So (1986). It was his second top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at no. 8.

Recording

The song underwent many permutations before being finalized; Jerry Marotta remembers an early version of "Big Time", which he described as more intense and so far out from the released version that it "would not have been a hit".

The song's bass guitar part is unique in that backing bassist Tony Levin and drummer Marotta teamed up to record it. Levin handled the fingerings while Marotta hit the strings with his drumsticks, resulting in a percussive sound; it was inspired by a technique developed by Gene Krupa in the 1940s or early 1950s. Inspired by this sound, Levin later invented funk fingers, small drumstick ends that could be attached to the fingertips in order to reproduce it during live performances.

The drum parts were a considerable challenge to record - Gabriel requested that Marotta, Manu Katché and Stewart Copeland each play a take over a click track from a LinnDrum. Marotta recorded a drum part with a harder rock feel, but Gabriel instead opted for Copeland's "lighter, poppier approach". Gabriel liked Copeland's drum take but felt that it did not quite lock in rhythmically. He said, "I love Stewart's playing. He's not the world's best timekeeper, as he would be first to admit, but he can drive a track like very few others; it's always ahead of the beat, sits right up and forward, and his kit always sounds very alive."

To get around the timing problems, engineer Kevin Killen mixed Copeland's drum parts to mono and sampled sections of his playing that lined up best with the click track. Gabriel additionally wanted to incorporate Copeland's drum fills, which were also meticulously sampled and adjusted to align with the rest of the song.

Critical reception

Cash Box said that the song "features Gabriel in a characteristic lyrical goldmine delivering a passionate, believable vocal". Billboard called it a "dynamic, big-room funk-rocker" that recreates the old Memphis sound. The Los Angeles Times was more critical and labeled the song as the album's "biggest failure", arguing that it was "a satire on ego and ambition that says nothing we haven't heard from lesser observers many times before".

Music video

The visual style was very similar to the "Sledgehammer" video, using stop motion claymation by David Daniels and strata-cut animation. The larger video was supervised by director Stephen R. Johnson and produced by Prudence Fenton. It was shot at Peter Wallach Studios. Artist Wayne White contributed to the creation of the video.

Track listing

7" US (Geffen 28503)

1. "Big Time" (4:24)
2. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" (3:20)

7" US (Geffen 28503-DJ)

1. "Big Time" (Fade) (3:12)
2. "Big Time" (4:24)

12" US (Geffen 20600)

1. "Big Time" (Dance Mix)) (6:10)
2. "In Your Eyes" (Special Mix) (7:14)
3. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" (3:18)

7" UK (PGS-3)

1. "Big Time" (7" edit)
2. "Curtains"

12" UK (PGS3-12)

1. "Big Time" (extended version)
2. "Big Time" (7" edit)
3. "Curtains"

Cassette single UK (PGT-312)

1. "Big Time" (extended version)
2. "Curtains"
3. "No Self Control" (live version)
4. "Across the River"

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album So:

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, CMI, Prophet, Linn
• Stewart Copeland – drums
• Simon Clark – Hammond, CMI, bass
• Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta – drumstick bass
• David Rhodes – guitar
• Daniel Lanois – surf guitar
• Jimmy Bralower – Linn kick
• Wayne Jackson – trumpet, cornet
• Mark Rivera – alto, tenor and baritone saxophone
• Don Mikkelsen – trombone
• P. P. Arnold, Coral Gordon, Dee Lewis – backing vocals

Chart performance

In popular culture

"Big Time" was used in 2006 by WWE as the main theme for WrestleMania 22. It is featured in the intro of the documentary film Inside Job (2010).

The B-side, "Curtains", was not released in digital format until 2004, when the "Broad mix" of the song was featured in the videogame Myst IV: Revelation, to which Gabriel also lent his voice as an actor.

References

1. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Books. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
2. "Music Week" (PDF).
3. "Peter Gabriel – Big Time (4:24)". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 47. 22 November 1986. p. 79. ISSN 0006-2510.
4. Randall, Mac (10 July 2002). "Gabriel, Beck and Miller Struggle with Gravity". The New York Observer. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
5. Grant, Steven; Robbins, Ira. "Peter Gabriel". Trouser Press. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
6. Dean, Maury (2003). Rock n' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 160. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
7. ^ Killen, Kevin; Marotta, Jerry (9 July 2014). "Killen and Marotta". The Ethan Hein Blog (Interview). Interviewed by Ethan Hein. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
8. Levin, Tony (1996). "Tony Levin: Around the World in a Disc". Innerviews (Interview). Interviewed by Anil Prasad. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
9. ^ Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
10. "Peter Gabriel". Petergabriel.com. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
11. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 22 November 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
12. "Reviews". Billboard. 22 November 1986. p. 79. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
13. Atkinson, Terry (25 May 1986). "Gabriel's 'So': The Play's The Thing". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
14. So (booklet). Geffen. 1986. 9 24088-2.
15. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 120. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
16. "Peter Gabriel – Big Time" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0784." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
18. "Peter Gabriel – Big Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Big Time". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 19, 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
21. "Peter Gabriel – Big Time" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
22. "Peter Gabriel – Big Time". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
24. "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
25. "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
26. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MARCH 7, 1987". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012.
27. "Top 100 Singles of '87". RPM. Vol. 47, no. 12. 26 December 1987. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
28. "Top 100 Hits for 1987". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
29. "WWE Takes "Big Time" Approach to Marketing Blitz for WrestleMania 22". WWE. Stamford, Connecticut. 7 March 2006. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
30. "Inside Job (2010) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
31. Ubisoft (22 August 2004). "Myst IV Revelation Features Original Peter Gabriel Song and Voice Talent". Business Wire.

External links

• "Big Time" at Discogs (list of releases)

• 1986 songs
• 1987 singles
• Animated music videos
• Dance-rock songs
• Funk rock songs
• Geffen Records singles
• Peter Gabriel songs
• Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois
• Songs about fame
• Songs written by Peter Gabriel
• Virgin Records singles
• Music videos directed by Stephen R. Johnson