Songfacts®:

• The Gap Band have some big fun under the sun on this track, the lead single from the 1986 album Gap Band 8. The song is very repetitive, with lead singer Charlie Wilson mostly repeating the lines, "I'm gonna need you" and "Wanna have big fun" throughout the 6:49 run time. Wilson says there's a meaning behind the groove. "In 'Big Fun' the message is that you can have a good time without taking drugs or pills or anything," he told Melody Maker.
• The song was written by their producer Lonnie Simmons and engineer Rudy Taylor, who also did a lot of songwriting for the band. Simmons produced The Gap Band in their early '80s heyday when they had hits with songs like "Early In The Morning" and "Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)," but had taken some time away from the band before returning for Gap Band 8.
• "Big Fun" didn't get much attention in America, where the band is from, but it's their highest charting song in the UK, where it went to #4.
• The Gap Band have always made club-ready songs that play well on the dance floor. "Big Fun" is no exception, capturing the sound of 1986 with lots of keyboards, drum machines and samplers. It's a departure from the stone-cold fun of their earlier hits but stays true to form with heavy bass and live percussion.