Big Fun — Inner City
Kevin Saunderson’s beats, Paris Grey’s voice and a UK top ten in 1988: how Big Fun by Inner City took Detroit techno into the pop charts.
- Inner City: Detroit producer Kevin Saunderson and singer Paris Grey.
- Released in the UK on 22 August 1988 by 10 Records and Virgin.
- No. 8 in the UK, No. 1 on the US dance club chart.
“Big Fun” by Inner City is where Detroit techno met the pop charts. Kevin Saunderson was working on the track in 1987, Paris Grey sang it, and in 1988 it reached the UK top ten and topped the US dance club chart. In North America it even gave its name to the group’s debut album, released elsewhere as Paradise.
Saunderson, Grey and a college project
Saunderson, born in New York in 1964, is one of the Belleville Three, the high-school friends who pioneered Detroit techno with Juan Atkins and Derrick May. He was working on “Big Fun” in 1987, while still at college. The song needed a voice: Chicago house producer Terry Baldwin introduced him to Paris Grey, born Shanna Jackson in 1965 in Glencoe, Illinois, near Chicago. Saunderson felt her vocal fit the track, and Inner City was formed in Detroit the same year.
Writing and release
The writing credits go to Saunderson, Grey, Art Forest and James Pennington; Saunderson produced it. In the UK, 10 Records and Virgin released it on 22 August 1988 as the first single from Paradise. It runs just 3:25: Grey’s bright melody over Saunderson’s drum programming, with no wasted bars.
Charts and the follow-up
“Big Fun” reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the US Dance Club Songs chart, the first of five Inner City releases to top it. It went to No. 3 in the Netherlands, No. 4 in Switzerland and No. 5 in West Germany and Ireland. The follow-up, “Good Life”, did even better in Britain at No. 4, and Paradise (1989) reached No. 3 on the UK album chart and went platinum.
Inner City went on to score nine UK top-40 hits and five US dance No. 1s. The project is still active: Saunderson’s youngest son, Dantiez, joined in 2017, the single “Good Luck” came out on KMS that year, and Steffanie Christi’an took over vocals in 2018.
Echoes
Its influence spread fast. Frank De Wulf used it backwards on “Just a Techno Groove” in 1989, and Matt Aitken of Stock Aitken Waterman said Rick Astley’s “Take Me to Your Heart” was heavily inspired by it. In 2014 a new version by D.O.N.S. and Terri B! topped the US dance chart again. LA Weekly ranked the original seventh among the best dance tracks in history in 2015, and the BBC included it in its 30 tracks that shaped dance music in 2019.
In the mix
“Big Fun” is the sunny side of Detroit. For the city’s deeper, jazzier side, try “For You” by Kenny Larkin; for the Chicago records that came just before, “Acid Tracks” by Phuture and “Move Your Body” by Marshall Jefferson.
FAQ
Who sings Big Fun by Inner City?
Paris Grey (Shanna Jackson), born near Chicago in 1965. Chicago house producer Terry Baldwin introduced her to Kevin Saunderson.
Who produced Big Fun?
Kevin Saunderson, one of Detroit’s Belleville Three with Juan Atkins and Derrick May.
How did Big Fun chart?
It reached No. 8 in the UK and No. 1 on the US Dance Club Songs chart, the first of five Inner City records to top it.
