Big Fun (Inner City song)

"Big Fun" is a song by American electronic music group Inner City. The single went to number-one on the dance chart in the U.S. for one week, and was the first of five releases by the band to reach the top spot.[1][2] "Big Fun" also peaked at number fifty on the American R&B singles chart.[3] It was also a top-ten hit in the UK.[4]

"Big Fun"
Radio Fun track of the US 7-inch vinyl single
Single by Inner City
from the album Paradise
Released22 August 1988 (1988-08-22) (UK)
Genre
Length3:25
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kevin Saunderson
Inner City singles chronology
"Big Fun"
(1988)		 "Good Life"
(1988)
Music video
"Big Fun" on YouTube

"Big Fun" was described as a "surprise crossover success" in the United Kingdom by AllMusic.[5]

Impact and legacy

LA Weekly listed "Big Fun" at number 7 in their list of The 20 Best Dance Music Tracks In History in 2015, adding,

""Big Fun" was electronic dance music's first pop moment. But beyond its obvious commercial impact, “Big Fun” was also a milestone in the way it mixed a catchy lead vocal and synth hook with what was essentially a techno backing track. Electronic dance music, for better or worse, would never again be a wholly underground phenomenon."[6]

Mixmag ranked it as one of The 30 best vocal house anthems ever in 2018, stating that the song "marries Paris Grey’s celebratory vocals with Kevin Saunderson’s vibrant production that’s packed full of fun flourishes. One of the most surefire party-starters in the crate of any DJ."[7]

British public service broadcaster BBC included the song in their ranking of 30 tracks that shaped dance music over the last 30 years in 2019. They noted,

"As one of house music’s most infectious crossover hits Big Fun was a hit for young dancers and older ravers alike. It transformed dance music from something found in club basements to a genre that could move an entire nation."[8]

Other versions and homages
  • The song was sampled (and backmasked) in “Just a Techno Groove” by Frank De Wulf under his projects Sounds In Order/Dow Jones in 1989.
  • German DJ and remixer Gardeweg used portions of this song, along with Inner City's other two singles, "Good Life" and "Paradise," for his 2003 single "All I Want".
  • At the end of 2014, a new version was recorded by D.O.N.S. and Terri B! on Carrillo Records. This version peaked at number one on the US dance chart.[9]
  • Rick Astley's 1988 UK top 10 single "Take Me To Your Heart" was heavily inspired by "Big Fun", according to its writer and producer Matt Aitken, who described the track as "a homage", before adding, "You can't copyright a synth pattern."[10]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1988–1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 57
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 15
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[13] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 17
France (SNEP)[12] 48
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 5
Italy (Hit Parade Italia)[16] 28
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 8
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[20] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[21] 50
West Germany (Media Control Charts)[22] 5

Year-end charts
Chart (1988) Position
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[23] 3

See also

References
  1. "Billboard > Artists / Inner City > Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 128.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 275.
  4. "Official Charts > Inner City". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  5. Bush, John. "Inner City - Music Biography". Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  6. "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever". LA Weekly. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  7. "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever". Mixmag. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  8. "30 tracks that shaped dance music over the last 30 years". BBC. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. "Hot Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  10. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 39: Success to S.S. Paparazzi on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  11. Australian (ARIA) peak provided by ARIA through "response to chart inquiry, received 2014-01-17". Imgur. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  12. "Big Fun", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  13. "Top 25 Dance Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 8. 10 December 1988. p. 14. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  14. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  15. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know > Search results for Inner City". Fireball Media. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  16. "Indice per Interprete: I". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  17. "Inner City — Big Fun" (in Dutch). Top40.nl. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  18. "dutchcharts.nl > Discografie Inner City" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  19. "hitparade.ch > Discographie Inner City" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  20. "Inner City Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  21. "Inner City Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  22. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Inner City (singles)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  23. "Top 25 Dance Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. 24 December 1988. p. 10. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
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