Big Time Peter Gabriel

Big Time with Peter Gaberial and Cyberdyne

Peter Gabriel has described "Big Time" as "a satirical story about a basic human urge... success."

Gabriel used a smorgasbord of sounds on this track, some of which were either processed through or generated by his synthesizers (a Fairlight CMI and Prophet 5) or drum machine (a Linn).

The Memphis Horns, who also appeared on "Sledgehammer," played on this one, as did Stewart Copeland of The Police, who contributed drums. The other credits read:

David Rhodes - guitar
Simon Clark - bass
Daniel Lanois - surf guitar
Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin - drumstick bass
Simon Clark - Hammond organ
Coral Gordon, Dee Lewis, PP Arnold - backing vocals

The video is filled with eye-catching special effects and played often on MTV. Gabriel raised the bar earlier that year with his video for "Sledgehammer," which like "Big Time," was directed by Stephen R. Johnson.

On the So tour, Gabriel didn't bring a horn section, so keyboard player David Sancious loaded the horn notes from the recording into an Akai sampler and played them back live. The sampler took floppy discs that had to be changed out between songs, so there were times when Gabriel stretched his stage patter while Sancious loaded the discs.

Daniel Lanois, who co-produced the album, isn't a fan of using computers to replace real-life instruments unless it's done with a specific purpose by someone who is passionate about the technology. "They have been especially useful when people have been really thrilled with them," he told Rolling Stone. "If somebody was to say to me, 'I've got an amazing bass sound on this Fairlight, and I want to use it,' I'd say, 'Terrific.'"

He used this track as an example of how to do it right, saying, "'Big Time,' on Peter Gabriel's record, was based around a Fairlight bass riff. And it had a certain kind of drive and robotic feel that you won't get out of a played bass."

This was used in these TV shows:

Young Sheldon ("A Patch, A Modem, And A Zantac" - 2017)
Everybody Hates Chris ("Everybody Hates Varsity Jackets" - 2009)
Cold Case ("The Lost Soul Of Herman Lester" - 2004)

And in these movies:

Postman Pat: The Movie (2014)
Inside Job (2010)
Perfect Body (1997)
This was used as the official theme song for WWE Wrestlemania 22 in 2006.

Terminator Lore
Cyberdyne initially began as a manufacturing corporation at 18144 El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, California. Founded in the early 1980s, its products were possibly computers or processors, as well as some sort of smaller parts producer for larger manufacturers of high tech equipment. As of 1984, the small company owned a factory.

A T-800 Terminator, which was sent from the future and designed to kill humans, programmed to assassinate Sarah Connor, was crushed in one of the hydraulic presses in Cyberdyne's factory. Thus, the company obtained the machine's wreckage, including its CPU chip and an arm.

Big Time
Written by: Peter Gabriel
Album: So
Released: 1986

Hi there!

I'm on my way, I'm making it (oh)
I've got to make it show, yeah
(Yeah!)
So much larger than life
I'm gonna watch it growing

The place where I come from is a small town
They think so small, they use small words
But not me
I'm smarter than that, I worked it out
I've been stretching my mouth
To let those big words come right out

I've had enough, I'm getting out to the city
The big, big city
I'll be a big noise with all the big boys
So much stuff I will own

And I will pray to a big God
As I kneel in the big church

(Big time)
I'm on my way, I'm making it (big time)
Ooh, yes (big time)
I've got to make it show, yeah (big time)
(Big time) so much larger than life
(Big time) I'm gonna watch it growing (big time)

My parties have all the big names
And I greet them with the widest smile
Tell them how my life is one big adventure
And always, they're amazed
When I show them 'round the house to my bed
I had it made like a mountain range
With a snow-white pillow for my big fat head

And my heaven will be a big heaven
And I will walk through the front door

(Big time)
I'm on my way, I'm making it (big time)
C'mon (big time)
I've got to make it show, yeah (big time)
(Big time) so much larger than life
(Big time) I'm gonna watch it growing (big time)

(Big time)
My car's getting bigger (big time)
My house getting bigger (big time)
My eyes getting bigger (big time)
And my mouth (big time)
My belly's getting bigger (big time)
And my bank account (big time)
Look at my circumstance (big time)
And the bulge in my
Big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big!