Big City Secrets

Big City Secrets is the first studio album by American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released by Real World Records on March 11, 1997.

Musicians

 * Joseph Arthur – guitar (1–5, 7–9, 11, 12), vocals, harmonica (2), highly-strung bass (5), paintings, drawings
 * Roger Beaujolais – vibes (1), Venetian xylophone (2)
 * Martyn Barker – treated tubular kit (1), drums (2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11), caxixi (4), bondage snare (8), live drums (9), scaffolphoneum (9), berimbau (11), cow gong (11), percussion (12)
 * Simon Edwards – bass (1–5, 10, 11), piano (4), bass performance & arrangement (6), coal bass (7), additional guitar (7), string fossil bass (8), maze bass (9), sas (9), berimbau (11), mellotron (11), Persian fretless (11), filter bass (12), harmonic missiles (12)
 * Markus Dravs – keyboard (1), desert storm & gravel percussion (1), corn horn (2), drum programming (4, 7, 9), lesley accordion (7), low drum & sheet percussion (8), production, mixing
 * Brian Eno – backing vocals (2)
 * Peter Gabriel – backing vocals (2)
 * Nigel Eaton – hurdy gurdy (3)
 * Ashley Slater – trombone (6, 7)
 * Ron Aslan – drum loop (7)
 * Nick Plytas – mellotron (7)

Technical personnel

 * Ben Findlay – engineering, editing, mixing
 * Ruadhri Cushnan – additional engineering
 * Ray Martin – additional engineering
 * Goetz Botzenhardt – additional engineering
 * Ibi Tjani – additional engineering
 * Jacquie Turner – additional engineering
 * Nick Kirkland – additional engineering
 * Justin Griffith – assistant engineering
 * Lee Phillips – assistant engineering
 * Lee Fitzgerald – assistant engineering
 * Mark Aubury – assistant engineering
 * Crispin Murray – additional editing
 * Paul Morris – additional editing
 * Tristan Manco – graphic design
 * Derek Edwards – 2012 Real World Gold reissue repackaged album design
 * Michele Turriani – front cover and right hand inside panel background photography
 * Anna Gabriel – CD face and inside left hand panel background photography