The Big L.

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This article is about the Roxette song. For the American hip hop recording artist, see Big L.
"The Big L."
Single by Roxette
from the album Joyride
B-side"One Is Such a Lonely Number" (demo)
Released26 August 1991 (1991-08-26)
RecordedJune 1990
StudioEMI (Stockholm, Sweden)
GenrePop rock
Length4:29
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Per Gessle
Producer(s)Clarence Öfwerman
Roxette singles chronology
"Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)"
(1991) 		"The Big L."
(1991) 		"Spending My Time"
(1991)
Music video
"The Big L." on YouTube

"The Big L." is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. Written by Per Gessle, it was released on 26 August 1991 by EMI as the third single from their third studio album, Joyride (1991). The song became a top ten hit in Belgium, Ireland and Sweden, and was the highest-charting single released from Joyride in France. It also reached the top twenty in a number of other countries, including Australia, Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Despite a US radio mix of the song appearing on CD versions of the single, it was never released as a single in North America.

Critical reception[edit]

Scottish Aberdeen Press and Journal stated that "they can still bang out a decent tune."[1] AllMusic editor Bryan Buss wrote in his review of Joyride, that "The Big L." follows in the successful vein Gessle and Fredriksson mined with "The Look".[2] Swedish Expressen called it a "peppery pop song adorned with details from old rock 'n' roll".[3] I Dag described it as "classic pop that could just as well be Gyllene Tider in the 90s".[4] Kim Såtvedt from Norwegian Laagendalsposten named it a "useful up-tempo song".[5] A reviewer from Music & Media wrote that the song is "again proof of Per Gessle's knack for writing pleasant pop underpinned by rocking beats. The casual but economic production further adds to the song's power."[6]

Formats and track listings[edit]

All songs were written and composed by Per Gessle.

  • Cassette and 7-inch single (Europe 1364347 · UK EM204)
  1. "The Big L." – 4:29
  2. "One Is Such a Lonely Number" (Demo, September 1987) – 3:33
  • 12-inch single (Europe 1364346)
  1. "The Big L." (The Bigger, The Better Mix) – 6:17
  2. "The Big L." – 4:29
  3. "One Is Such a Lonely Number" (Demo) – 3:33
  • CD single (Europe 1364342)
  1. "The Big L." – 4:29
  2. "One Is Such a Lonely Number" (Demo) – 3:33
  3. "The Big L." (The Bigger, The Better Mix) – 6:17
  4. "The Big L." (US Mix) – 4:35

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06.[7]

Studios

  • Recorded in June 1990 at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Mixed at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)

Musicians

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe 26 August 1991
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
 EMI [20]
Japan 16 October 1991 Mini-CD [26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Singles". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 29 August 1991. page 7.
  2. ^ "Roxette - Joyride". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Roxette: Joyride". Expressen. 26 March 1991.
  4. ^ I Dag. 2 June 1991.
  5. ^ Såtvedt, Kim (6 June 1991). "Plater". Laagendalsposten (in Norwegian). No. 105. p. 7. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 21 September 1991. p. 18. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Booklet". The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06 (liner notes). Roxette. Stockholm, Sweden: Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. 2006. 9463 67972–2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "Roxette – The Big L.". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Roxette – The Big L." (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Roxette – The Big L." (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 39. 28 September 1991. p. 31.
  12. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  13. ^ "Roxette – The Big L." (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  14. ^ "Roxette – The Big L." (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Roxette". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Roxette" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Roxette – The Big L." (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Roxette – The Big L.". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  19. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  20. ^ a b "Roxette – The Big L.". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Roxette – The Big L.". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Roxette: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  24. ^ "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  26. ^ "ビッグ・L | ロクセット" [Big L | Roxette] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
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