"Big Time" is a song by English

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

ian

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

from his 1986 album '' So''. It was his second top-ten single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at no. 8.

Recording

The song underwent a lot of changes:

Jerry Marotta Jerome David Marotta (born February 6, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American drummer who resides in Woodstock, New York. He is the younger brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a drummer and composer. Career Marotta was a member of the bands ...

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 The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

part is unique in that backing bassist

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...

and then-backing drummer

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 Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

in the 1940s or early 1950s. Inspired by this sound, Levin later invented funk fingers, which were little drumstick ends that could be attached to the fingers to achieve a similar bass guitar effect in concert. The drum parts were a considerable challenge to record, with Marotta,

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion ...

and

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...

each playing a take over a click track from the

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far mo ...

. 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 problem, engineer

Kevin Killen Kevin Killen (born October 22, 1959) is a music producer, engineer, and mixer. His work has been recognized by multiple awards and nominations, and he has worked with a range of recording artists including Shakira, Peter Gabriel, U2, David Bowie ...

mixed down Copeland's drum parts to mono, sampling sections of his playing that lined up best with the click track and flew them in a few bars at a time. Gabriel additionally wanted to bring in the drum fills, which were also meticulously sampled, and adjustments were done to the speed to get them to line up with the track.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song "features Gabriel in a characteristic lyrical goldmine delivering a passionate, believable vocal." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it a "dynamic, big-room funk-rocker" that recreates the old Memphis sound.

Music video

The visual style was very similar to the "

Sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

" video, using

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

by David Daniels and

strata-cut animation Strata-cut animation, also spelled stratcut or straticut, is a form of clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or backgrou ...

. 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" UK #Big Time (7" edit) #Curtains 12" UK #Big Time (extended version) #Big Time (7" edit) #Curtains Cassette single UK #Big Time (extended version) #Curtains #No Self Control (live version) #Across the River 7" USA #Big Time #We Do What We're Told 12" USA #Big Time (dance mix) #In Your Eyes (special mix) #We Do What We're Told

Remixes

Along with the two mixes found on different versions of the single, Big Time has been officially remixed by Electrokingdom in various mixes, including the version by Frenk DJ & Niky D. Although reputed to be more numerous, four mixes (Main Mix - Club Mix - Dub Mix - Acoustic Mix) can be downloaded on legal platforms.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album '' So'': *

– vocals, CMI,

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

– drums * Simon Clark – Hammond, CMI, bass *

– drumstick bass * David Rhodes – guitar *

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...

– surf guitar *Jimmy Bralower – Linn kick * Wayne Jackson – trumpet, cornet *

Mark Rivera Mark Rivera (born May 24, 1953) is an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, musical director and corporate entertainment provider who is mostly known for his work with Billy Joel. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor and b ...

– alto, tenor and baritone saxophone *Don Mikkelsen – trombone *

P. P. Arnold Patricia Ann Cole (born October 3, 1946), known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo ...

, Coral Gordon, Dee Lewis – backing vocals

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

"Big Time" was used in 2006 by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

as the main theme for

WrestleMania 22 WrestleMania 22 was the 22nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took p ...

. It is featured in the intro of the documentary ''

Inside Job An insider threat is a malicious threat to an organization that comes from people within the organization, such as employees, former employees, contractors or business associates, who have inside information concerning the organization's security ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{authority control 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