Big Time (Peter Gabriel song)

"Big Time" is a song by 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, with Marotta, Manu Katché and Stewart Copeland each playing a take over a click track from the LinnDrum. Marotta originally 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 problem, engineer Kevin Killen 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 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".

The song was used prominently in the theatrical trailer for the 1988 comedy film Big.

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" UK
 * 1) "Big Time" (7" edit)
 * 2) "Curtains"

12" UK
 * 1) "Big Time" (extended version)
 * 2) "Big Time" (7" edit)
 * 3) "Curtains"

Cassette single UK
 * 1) "Big Time" (extended version)
 * 2) "Curtains"
 * 3) "No Self Control" (live version)
 * 4) "Across the River"

7" US
 * 1) "Big Time"
 * 2) "We Do What We're Told"

12" US
 * 1) "Big Time" (dance mix)
 * 2) "In Your Eyes" (special mix)
 * 3) "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:


 * 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

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.