Big World

Big World is a 1986 live album of original songs by Joe Jackson. The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City on 22–25 January 1986. The songs are loosely linked by lyrics covering a general theme of post-World-War-2 international relations and global travel.

Production

Jackson's intent for the recording was to capture the intensity and spontaneity of a live performance, but without the distraction of noise from the crowd. He requested that the audience remain silent while his performance was recorded, so no applause is heard. In the manner of a remote broadcast, the music was mixed live from microphones on each musical instrument, and sent directly to a stereo digital tape recorder. Unlike most remote recordings, no post-recording mixing or overdubbing was performed. The individual tracks were selected from performances on various nights.

Regarding the production, Joe says: ‘I want to clear up two myths about this record which still crop up all the time. Myth 1: During the live recording of the album, the audience was forbidden to applaud. Fact: There was plenty of applause. We were just playing a lot of unfamiliar material, and recording it for an album, so the audience were asked to hold it until they were sure a song was finished. They understood this and there was no problem. Myth 2: It’s a double album with a side missing. Fact: This was my first album to be released on CD, where the running time was not an issue. I was having a hard time deciding what to leave out for the LP, though, and I suggested making a 3-sided one, and selling it for the price of a regular album. Much to my surprise, the record company said yes. So rather than a side missing, you got an extra side. Critics, of course, hadn’t had to pay for it.’

Stevie McCrorie

Stevie McCrorie (born 23 March 1985) is a Scottish singer who won the fourth series of the BBC television singing competition The Voice UK in 2015. He previously worked as a firefighter. He auditioned with Kodaline's "All I Want", with all four coaches turning their chairs for him. His debut single, "Lost Stars", was released the day following his win and debuted at number six on the UK Singles Charts, number one on the Scottish Singles Charts and eighty-seven on the Irish Singles Charts. Since winning 'The Voice', he has performed at T in The Park.

In January 2016, McCrorie released his second album and first major label recording, Big World, which debuted at number thirty-five on the UK Albums Charts, making it the third highest new entry on the UK charts, and debuted at number six on the Scottish Album Charts, the highest charting new entry on the chart, behind only Blackstar by David Bowie.

Early life

Stevie McCrorie was born in Stirling. He spent his formative years in Denny, Stirlingshire. Before winning The Voice UK, he was a firefighter in the group of first recruits into the single Scottish Fire And Rescue Service in 2014 and was nicknamed The Hero during the competition. Prior to the Voice, Stevie performed with several bands in the Scottish underground music scene.