"Bigger than Us"
Single by White Lies
from the album Ritual
Released3 January 2011 (2011-01-03)
RecordedMay–June 2010
Genre
Length4.43 (Album Version)
4.06 (Radio Edit)
LabelFiction
Songwriter(s)
  • Harry McVeigh
  • Charles Cave
  • Jack Lawrence-Brown
Producer(s)Alan Moulder
White Lies singles chronology
"Death"
(2009)		 "Bigger than Us"
(2011)		 "Strangers"
(2011)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Bigger Than Us" on YouTube

"Bigger than Us" is a song by English Indie rock[1] band White Lies from their second studio album, Ritual.[2] It was released as the lead single on 3 January 2011 in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number 42.[3] A live version of the track was made available by the band for download.

The single received its first airplay on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 16 November 2010.[4] On 18 November 2010 the video premiered on the NME's website.[5]

The song is featured on the soundtrack of the 2010 video game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, its 2020 remaster of the same name, and F1 2011.

Music video

The music video for "Bigger than Us" was shot by French directorial duo Jonas & François. On 18 November 2010 the video premièred on the NME's website.[5] The video is a homage to Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The video recreates elements of E.T.'s apparent death whilst he is quarantined alongside Elliott. The character of E.T. is played by a large "Bigger than Us" candy bar which contains a young girl. Elliot is watched over by Gertie and Mary whilst what may be Greg and Steve wait outside. There are other intertextual references to the film featured in the video, the basketballs circling the band at 2:56, the bright red light within the bass drum at 3:08 and the images of the woods where the original film sees E.T. return home.

Track listing

Digital download
  1. "Bigger than Us" – 4:43
7" vinyl
  1. "Bigger than Us"
  2. "Bigger than Us (Datassette Remix)"

Charts

Chart (2010–11) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 46
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 36
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[8] 29
Denmark (Tracklisten)[9] 38
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 45
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 42

Release history

Region Date Label Format
Belgium[12] 19 November 2010 Polydor Records Digital download
Denmark[13]
Germany 30 December 2010 Polydor Records
United States[14] 22 November 2010 Geffen Records
United Kingdom[15] 2 January 2011 Polydor Records

References

  1. ↑ "White Lies - To Lose My Life". Clash. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  2. ↑ Chi, Chi. (2010-11-01) Newsbeat – White Lies reveal new album details. BBC. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.
  3. ↑ White Lies Announce Sophomore Album, Ritual – First Single: "Bigger Than Us" Available Nov 22nd Archived 2011-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Bloginity.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.
  4. ↑ Zane Lowe's Hottest Records blog: Hottest Record: White Lies – Bigger Than Us. BBC (2010-11-16). Retrieved on 2010-12-03.
  5. 1 2 White Lies, 'Bigger Than Us' – Video – In The NME Office – NME.COM – The world's fastest music news service, music videos, interviews, photos and free stuff to win Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine. Nme.Com. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.
  6. ↑ "White Lies – {{{song}}}" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  7. ↑ "White Lies – {{{song}}}" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. ↑ "White Lies – {{{song}}}" (in French). Ultratip.
  9. ↑ "White Lies – {{{song}}}". Tracklisten.
  10. ↑ "White Lies – {{{song}}}" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  11. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  12. ↑ "Bigger Than Us - Single by White Lies - Download Bigger Than Us - Single on iTunes" (in Dutch). iTunes Store. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "Bigger Than Us - Single by White Lies - Download Bigger Than Us - Single on iTunes" (in Danish). iTunes Store. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  14. ↑ "Bigger Than Us - Single by White Lies - Download Bigger Than Us - Single on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  15. ↑ Nissim, Mayer (1 November 2010). "Music - News - White Lies unveil second album details - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
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