Big Brother UK TV Theme

The Big Brother UK TV Theme is the opening theme for the British reality TV series Big Brother, written and produced by music duo Elementfour in 2000.

"Big Brother UK TV Theme"
Single by Paul Oakenfold, Andy Gray as Elementfour
Released28 August 2000
Recorded2000
Genre
Length3:20
LabelChannel 4 Music
Songwriter(s)
  • Paul Oakenfold
  • Andy Gray
Producer(s)
  • Paul Oakenfold
  • Andy Gray
Paul Oakenfold singles chronology
"Down to Earth (Remix)"
(1997)		 "Big Brother UK TV Theme"
(2000)		 "Planet Rock"
(2001)

Following the success of the first UK series that year, the theme was released as a single. It became a hit in September 2000 when it reached number 4, selling 47,186 copies in its first week. Overall the single spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles Chart and achieved more than 160,000 sales in total.[1] It also reached number 3 on the Scottish Singles Chart where it spent nine weeks in the top 100.[2]

The original theme was used through the first five series of Big Brother, however was later replaced by a revamped version from the sixth series onwards. Versions of the theme continued to be used throughout Channel 4's run of Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother and was retained when both shows moved to Channel 5 in 2011.[1]

In July 2016, it was revealed that the track was the 14th highest-charting TV theme of all time in the UK.[3] In June 2020 it was announced the song had sold 164,000 CD singles in the twenty years since its release, with no additional downloads or streaming sales due to it not being available digitally.[4]

Background and release

The original name for the track, as evidenced by promotional copies, was "Tast-E", and this was before the duo had settled on a collective name for themselves either.[5] "Tast-E" was released in Australia on CD (WEA),[6] Belgium as "Element Four" (12", Xtra Nova)[7] and Greece (CD, Planetworks).[8]

The theme was also featured on the soundtrack for the first series, which was released that same year.[9][10]

Composition

In September 2010, Gray said to Leo Hickman of The Guardian "I came up with the basic melody while babysitting my five-week-old daughter,". "I was rocking her with my toe under my keyboard as I was playing around with chord structures. I suppose it took three days to write.", with Oakenfold adding that he is proud of their "iconic piece of music". The single version sold nearly 300,000 copies and reached number 4 in the charts in September 2000, Oakenfold stresses, "without it even being play-listed by Radio 1". "Channel 4 took a leap of faith to use it. It's not a limp piano line; it's really quite heavy and electronic. I would say the programme and its music have changed culture, not just television."[11]

In August 2011 Oakenfold, asked if he was happy that the theme had been retained by Channel 5, told Digital Spy "Of course I was. I'm very proud of my track and it's become quite an iconic piece of music." Questioned on whether he received royalty cheques every series, Oakenfold laughed "Everyone does - of course. That's the way it works if you write music."[1]

Track listing

All music is composed by Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray (as Elementfour).

Track listing
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Big Brother (Vocal Mix - Radio Edit)"
  • Paul Oakenfold
  • Andy Gray
3:20
2."Big Brother (Grayed Out Deep House Mix)"
  • Paul Oakenfold
  • Andy Gray
6:28
3."Big Brother (12" Mix)"
  • Paul Oakenfold
  • Andy Gray
10:02
Total length:19:52

Compilation appearances

Charts
Chart (2000) Peak
position
Belgium Dance (Ultratop)[12] 13
Scotland (OCC)[13] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 4

Release history
Country Date Format Label
United Kingdom 28 August 2000
Channel 4 Music
Australia[6] 2000
Warner Music Australia
Belgium[7] 20 November 2000 12" Xtra Nova
Greece[8] 2000 CD, maxi single Planetworks

Big Brother - The Original Soundtrack
Big Brother - The Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released14 August 2000
GenreSoundtrack
Length2:34:22
1:18:37 (CD 1)
1:16:45 (CD 2)
Label
ProducerPaul Oakenfold
Andy Gray
CompilerTim Binns

The soundtrack is a compilation of contemporary and classic dance tracks featured in the first series.[15]

Track listing
Disc 1
  1. "Big Brother Theme" – Elementfour
  2. "Phat Planet"– Leftfield
  3. "Breathe" – The Prodigy
  4. "Going Out of My Head" – Fatboy Slim
  5. "Push Upstairs" – Underworld
  6. "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)" – Paul van Dyk
  7. "Dooms Night" (Timo Maas remix edit) – Azzido Da Bass
  8. "Reach Out" – Midfield General
  9. "Freeze" (original mix) – Cut La Roc
  10. "Der Schriber" – Timo Maas
  11. "Be U 4T" – Peace Division
  12. "Heaven Scent" – Bedrock
  13. "Belfast (Sasha)" – Orbital
Disc 2
  1. "Porcelain" (single version) – Moby
  2. "Finished Symphony" (Hybrid's extended edit) – Hybrid
  3. "The Man with the Red Face" (Svek remix) – Laurent Garnier
  4. "Brown Paper Bag" – Roni Size
  5. "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)" – Everything but the Girl
  6. "King of My Castle" (original album mix) – Wamdue Project
  7. "I See You Baby" – Groove Armada
  8. "D*Votion 2000" – D*Note
  9. "Clubbed to Death" (Peshay mix) – Rob D
  10. "Les Nuits" – Nightmares on Wax
  11. "Swimming Pool" – Rae & Christian
  12. "Slip Into Something More Comfortable" – Kinobe
  13. "Big Brother Theme" (Grayed Out Deep House Mix) – Elementfour

References
  1. "Paul Oakenfold: 'I'm proud of the Big Brother theme' - Big Brother News - Reality TV". Digital Spy. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  2. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  3. Eames, Tom (20 July 2016). "What are the biggest TV themes of all time?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  4. "Big Brother's Big Hits: Songs from the show that entered the Official Chart". Official Charts Company. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. "Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray - Tast-E". Discogs. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  6. "Release group "Tast-E" by Paul Oakenfold & Andy Gray - MusicBrainz". musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  7. "Element Four - Element Four". Discogs. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  8. "Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray - Tast-E". Discogs. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  9. "Various - Big Brother". Discogs. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  10. "Claustrophobic PRODIGY Page - Soundtracks - Big Brother UK". Brainkiller.it. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  11. Leo Hickman (12 September 2010). "Big Brother's 80-second cash cow". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  12. "Element Four - Element Four". ultratop.be. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  15. "Big Brother". 14 August 2000. Retrieved 17 December 2018 – via Amazon.
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