Released in 1989 as the lead single from their second studio album of the same name, Then Jerico’s “Big Area” represents a high-water mark for late-1980s British alt-rock and big-canvas arena pop. While history frequently filters the musical landscape of that era through the lens of synth-pop or the emerging Madchester scene, Then Jerico carved out a distinct space defined by towering melodies, muscular guitar work, and a sense of cinematic grandeur. Led by the charismatic and fiercely intense frontman Mark Shaw, the band channelled the anxieties and aspirations of late-twentieth-century youth into a track that remains an explosive, visceral capsule of its time.
At its core, “Big Area” is a song obsessed with scale, ambition, and the overwhelming weight of modern existence. The title itself functions as a metaphor for the vast, often intimidating world that young people are forced to navigate. Shaw’s lyrics paint a vivid picture of a generation standing on the precipice of adulthood, staring out into a massive, unpredictable landscape of choices and consequences. The verses pulse with a restless, nocturnal energy, capturing the feeling of moving through a crowded, neon-lit urban environment while feeling profoundly isolated. When Shaw sings about the pressure to succeed and the fear of being swallowed whole by the machinery of the modern world, he taps into a universal coming-of-age anxiety that still resonates deeply today.
What elevates the track from a typical period piece into an enduring anthem is the sheer emotional scale of the performance. Mark Shaw possesses a vocal delivery that balances swagger with profound vulnerability, moving effortlessly from a low, brooding baritone in the verses to a soaring, desperate roar in the chorus. In “Big Area,” his voice acts as an emotional lightning rod, anchoring the song’s massive sonic architecture with genuine human grit. He does not merely sing the lyrics; he fights through them, capturing the exhausting struggle to maintain one’s identity and dignity in a world that constantly demands conformity and compromise.
Musically, the song is a masterclass in the “Big Music” aesthetic that dominated the late-1980s UK rock scene, sharing sonic DNA with contemporary giants like Simple Minds, The Cult, and The Waterboys. The track opens with a wash of atmospheric keyboards that instantly establishes a sense of wide-open space, before exploding into a driving, thunderous rhythm section. The drum sound is enormous, featuring the heavily gated, echoing snare that defined the decade’s production style, giving the song an immediate, physical punch. Beneath this rhythmic engine, the bassline locks into a relentless, propulsive groove that pushes the track forward with the unstoppable momentum of a freight train.
The true sonic engine of “Big Area,” however, is its spectacular guitar work. The track features layers of chiming, delayed electric guitars that weave together to create a shimmering wall of sound. Rather than relying on simple power chords, the guitar arrangements are intricate and textural, using chorus and echo effects to fill every corner of the stereo field. When the chorus arrives, these guitars swell into a triumphant, panoramic crescendo that perfectly mirrors the thematic vastness of the lyrics. It is music explicitly designed to fill stadiums, a glorious collision of rock-and-roll power and pristine pop production that showcases a band operating at the absolute peak of their creative confidence.
Despite achieving massive commercial success upon its release—reaching the top fifteen in the UK Singles Chart and becoming the band’s signature tune—”Big Area” possesses a dark, melancholic undercurrent that saves it from becoming hollow stadium rock. There is a persistent sense of tragedy and urgency woven into the melody, a recognition that the “big area” of life can just as easily destroy you as it can fulfill you. This tension between hope and dread, between the desire to conquer the world and the fear of losing oneself in the process, gives the song its lasting artistic weight.
Decades after the neon lights of the late eighties have faded, Then Jerico’s finest moment stands as a monument to a time when guitar music dared to be unapologetically huge, theatrical, and emotionally naked. It captures a specific moment in British rock history when bands believed that a four-minute pop song could encapsulate all the beauty, terror, and scale of human ambition. “Big Area” remains a thrilling reminder of the power of widescreen pop-rock, inviting listeners to step out into the vast unknown and lose themselves in the music.
The song peaked at No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart on 4th February 1989.
Lyrics
I was taken by surprise
I was shattered by your eyes
Living far beyond my means
Do you know how that feels?
I was waiting for so long
I was praying to be wrong
Only holding out to see and believing
There’s only one
Strong enough and hard enough
To give you up, well…
In this big area of mine
Sometimes you break me up inside
Saying I, I won’t let you go
Got that feeling if anyone
Who comes to know you
Long enough will give you away
There was never one as I
Who could stand the reasons why
Who would even take the time
Did you care, was I right?
Only once did you try
Even then it was hard enough
Just for you to realize or believe
There was only one strong enough
Or hard enough to give you up, well…
In this big area of mine
Sometimes you break me up inside
Saying I, I won’t let you go
Got that feeling if anyone
Who comes to know you
Long enough will give you away
In this big area…
Well!
In this big area of mine
Sometimes you break me up inside
Saying I, I won’t let you go
Got that feeling if anyone
Who comes to know you
Long enough will give you up, well…
Sometimes you break me up inside
In this big area of life
Saying I, I won’t let you go
Got that feeling if anyone
Who comes to know you
Long enough will give you away
I was taken by surprise
I was shattered by your eyes
Breaking down
On something so right
And so fine…
Written By Shaw, Stainthorpe, Wren, Taylor, Downes, Mungo
