The ''Big Brother'' UK TV Theme, also known as "Elementfour" in Belgium or as "Tast-E" in Australia and Greece, is the

opening theme A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vis ...

for the British reality TV series '' Big Brother'', written and produced by music duo

Elementfour Elementfour (variants Element Four and Element 4) was a music producing duo made up of DJ Paul Oakenfold and musician/composer Andy Gray. Sometime before July 2000, they collaborated in writing and producing the opening theme for the Channel ...

in 2000. Following the success of the first UK series that year, the theme was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. It became a hit in September 2000 when it reached number 4, selling 47,186 copies in its first week. Overall the single spent 10 weeks on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and achieved more than 160,000 sales in total. It also reached number 3 on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

where it spent nine weeks in the top 100. The original theme was used through the first four series of ''Big Brother'', however was later replaced by a revamped version from the fifth series onwards with an enhanced bassline. Versions of the theme continued to be used throughout

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's run of ''Big Brother'' and ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'' and was retained when both shows moved to Channel 5 in 2011. A sample from a remixed version of the track was used in August 2022 to promote the upcoming 2023 series on ITV2. In July 2016, it was revealed that the track was the 14th highest-charting TV theme of all time in the UK. In June 2020 it was announced the song had sold 164,000 CD singles in the twenty years since its release, with no additional downloads or streaming sales due to it not being available digitally.

Background and release

The original name for the track, as evidenced by promotional copies, was "Tast-E", and this was before the duo had settled on a collective name for themselves either. "Tast-E" was released in Australia on CD (

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

), Belgium as "Element Four" (12", Xtra Nova) and Greece (CD, Planetworks). The theme was also featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the first series, which was released that same year.

Composition

In September 2010, Gray said to

Leo Hickman Leo Hickman is a journalist specialising in climate change and has been the editor and director of CarbonBrief since 2015. Previously, he was a feature journalism, features journalist and editor with ''The Guardian'' from 1997 to 2013. From Sept ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' "I came up with the basic melody while babysitting my five-week-old daughter,". "I was rocking her with my toe under my keyboard as I was playing around with chord structures. I suppose it took three days to write.", with Oakenfold adding that he is proud of their "iconic piece of music". The single version sold nearly 300,000 copies and reached number 4 in the charts in September 2000, Oakenfold stresses, "without it even being play-listed by

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

". "Channel 4 took a leap of faith to use it. It's not a limp piano line; it's really quite heavy and electronic. I would say the programme and its music have changed culture, not just television." In August 2011 Oakenfold, asked if he was happy that the theme had been retained by Channel 5, told ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' "Of course I was. I'm very proud of my track and it's become quite an iconic piece of music." Questioned on whether he received royalty cheques every series, Oakenfold laughed "Everyone does - of course. That's the way it works if you write music."

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

''Big Brother - The Original Soundtrack''

The soundtrack is a compilation of contemporary and classic dance tracks featured in the first series.

Track listings

Disc 1 # "Big Brother Theme" – Elementfour # "

Phat Planet "Phat Planet" is a song by the English electronic group Leftfield, taken from their album '' Rhythm and Stealth'', released in 1999. It is built on an insistent, two-note bassline, and the heavily distorted vocal of "Phat Planet", spoken by Neil ...

"–

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music duo formed in 1989 as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of the Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was very influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, wi ...

# " Breathe" –

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

# "

Going Out of My Head "Going Out of My Head" is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as a double A-side single with "Michael Jackson", released as the third and final single from his debut studio album ''Better Living Through Chemistry'' ...

" –

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

# "

Push Upstairs "Push Upstairs" is a song by British electronic music group Underworld from their fifth album, ''Beaucoup Fish''. It was released as a single on 15 March 1999. In business, to "push upstairs" means to promote someone either unwillingly or with a ...

" –

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

# "

Tell Me Why (The Riddle) "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)" is a song by German DJ Paul van Dyk in collaboration with English indie dance band Saint Etienne, with Sarah Cracknell of the group on vocals. Released in May 2000, the song peaked at number seven on the UK Singles ...

" –

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

# "

Dooms Night "Dooms Night" is the debut single by German DJ and producer Azzido Da Bass, first released in 1999 in Germany. In the UK, the song missed the top 40 until a remix of the song by Timo Maas was released on 9 October 2000; it was this version wh ...

" (

Timo Maas Timo Maas (born July 27, 1969, Bückeburg, West Germany) is a German DJ/ producer and remixer whose career in electronic music spans well over 30 years. His remix of Azzido Da Bass's single "Dooms Night" helped launch his career in 2000. In ...

remix edit) –

Azzido Da Bass Azzido Da Bass (born Ingo Martens, 29 August 1971) is a German DJ and record producer based in Hamburg, Germany. Early life Over the years, Martens was influenced by a wide range of music genres: as a youth, he first became interested in hip ho ...

# "Reach Out" –

Midfield General Damian Harris, also known by his stage name Midfield General, is the original founder of the Skint Records label. Midfield General is the recording alias of Skint label boss Damian Harris. A prime architect of the sound of big beat, Harris g ...

# "Freeze" (original mix) –

Cut La Roc Lee Potter (born 4 January 1972), known by his stage name Cut La Roc, is a British electronic musician, considered as a pioneer of big beat, a genre fusing elements of hip hop, house and rock. Biography Potter grew up in Brighton, England, ...

# "Der Schriber" –

# "Be U 4T" – Peace Division # "Heaven Scent" –

Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

# "Belfast (Sasha)" – Orbital Disc 2 # "

Porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

" (single version) –

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

# "

Finished Symphony "Finished Symphony" is a song by the British electronic music group Hybrid. It is the first single from their debut album ''Wide Angle''. The track's popularity has increased since its release, and it has been used in various chillout collections, ...

" (Hybrid's extended edit) –

Hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

# "The Man with the Red Face" (Svek remix) –

Laurent Garnier Laurent Garnier (born 1 February 1966), also known as Choice, is a French electronic music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJing in Manchester during the late 1980s. He became a producer in the early 1990s and recorded several albums. Early influ ...

# "Brown Paper Bag" –

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

# "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)" –

Everything but the Girl Everything but the Girl (occasionally referred to as EBTG) are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, producer and singer Ben Watt ...

# " King of My Castle" (original album mix) –

Wamdue Project Chris Brann (born March 25, 1972) is an American electronic music producer and remixer. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Brann is known for his work under the monikers Wamdue Project and Ananda Project. Career Chris Brann's teamed up with DJ De ...

# "

I See You Baby "I See You Baby" is a song by British duo Groove Armada, featuring Gram'ma Funk on vocals. The song was also recorded with the chorus line "shakin' that thang" (to replace "shakin' that ass") for various markets around the world, and also for us ...

" –

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of whic ...

# "D*Votion 2000" –

D*Note D*Note is a British electronic dance music band, founded primarily in London in 1993 by musician Matt Winn (aka Matt Wienevski, born 20 September 1965). The band emerged with their debut album ''Babel'', which reflected an acid jazz background ...

# " Clubbed to Death" (

Peshay Paul Pesce, better known as Peshay, is a British drum and bass and electronic music producer and DJ. Early life Peshay is of British and Italian heritage. His first introduction to music was at an early age through his mother who was a well ...

mix) – Rob D # "Les Nuits" –

Nightmares on Wax George Evelyn (born 15 January 1970), better known by his stage name Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E., is an English DJ and record producer from Leeds. His music has been released by Warp Records. He is based in Ibiza. Nightmares on Wax were or ...

# "Swimming Pool" –

Rae & Christian Rae & Christian are an English production duo, consisting of Mark Rae and Steve Christian. They are also founders of the Grand Central Records label. History In 1995, Mark Rae fulfilled a long-term dream by founding Grand Central Records in Ma ...

# " Slip Into Something More Comfortable" –

Kinobe Kinobe is a British music act. It was founded in west London in 1998 by childhood friends Mark Blackburn and Julius Waters. Blackburn departed in 2004, replaced by Dave Pemberton. Chuck Norman replaces Pemberton for their 2017 releases. Kino ...

# "Big Brother Theme" ( Grayed Out

Deep House Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

Mix) – Elementfour

References

External links

* * * * {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Big Brother'' UK TV Theme, noerror 2000 songs 2000 singles Paul Oakenfold songs Song recordings produced by Paul Oakenfold Songs written by Paul Oakenfold Techno songs Television game show theme songs Songs from television series Television soundtracks 2000 compilation albums 2000 soundtrack albums Big Brother (British TV series) Celebrity Big Brother