Big Audio Dynamite
Big Audio Dynamite (later known as
Big Audio Dynamite II and
Big Audio, and often abbreviated
BAD) was a British
rock band formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of
The Clash,
Mick Jones.
:Lineup:
*
Mick Jones - guitars & vocals
*
Don Letts - sound effects & vocals
*
Dan Donovan - keyboards
*
Leo Williams - bass
*
Greg Roberts - drums & background vocals
The group's initial incarnation, founded by Jones and film director
Don Letts (maker of
The Punk Rock Movie, various Clash music videos, and later the Clash documentary
Westway to the World), debuted with the 1985 release
This Is Big Audio Dynamite.
1986's No. 10, Upping St. reunited Jones for one album with former Clash-mate
Joe Strummer who co-produced the album and co-wrote a number of songs, but that reacquaintance soon ended. BAD supported
U2 on their
1987 world tour, then followed with 1988's
Tighten Up, Vol. '88 and
1989 Megatop Phoenix.
Lineup:*
Mick Jones - guitar, vocals
*
Nick Hawkins - guitar (1990 - 1997)
*
Gary Stonadge - bass (1990 - 1995)
*
Chris Kavanagh - drums (1990 - 1995)
*
Andre Shapps - keyboards
*
Darryl Fulstow - bass (1995 - 1998)
*
Bob Wond - drums (1995 - 1998)
For 1991's
The Globe, only Jones remained from the previous assemblage, and the band was now called
Big Audio Dynamite II. This new line-up, featuring two guitarists, was more "Clash-like" and, possibly as a result, often played heavier, more
alternative rock-influenced music.
The Globe produced the band's most commercially successful single, "
Rush" which hit #1 on the US modern rock charts.
|
B.A.D. II in 1991: Nick Hawkins, Mick Jones, Gary Stonadge, Chris Kavanagh |
The band later recruited keyboardist
Andre Shapps (who co-produced all three BAD II albums), and Michael "DJ Zonka" Custance as DJ. Both appeared on the band's 1994 album
Higher Power, which was released under the shortened name "Big Audio," which fans often called them. The album wasn't as well-received as
The Globe or previous BAD albums; there was a joke going around amongst fans about the removal of "Dynamite" from the band's name (they claimed the group had "lost their ka-boom").
After signing with
Gary Kurfirst's
Radioactive Records in
1995, and releasing a less successful album,
F-Punk, BAD found its proposed next album
Entering a New Ride, in limbo -- the record company apparently refused to release it. Coincidentally, the new line-up featured the inclusion of vocalist
Ranking Roger (
The Beat,
General Public). In
1998, the band launched a new web site, primarily as a means to distribute songs from the
Entering a New Ride album to the group's fans.
As of 2005, Jones is working on a project with
Tony James (ex-member of
Generation X and
Sigue Sigue Sputnik) called
Carbon/Silicon.
Albums
Chart singles
| Year | Song | UK singles | US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | Album | | 1986 | "E=MC2" | 11 | - | - | This Is Big Audio Dynamite |
| 1986 | "Medicine Show" | 29 | - | - | This Is Big Audio Dynamite |
| 1988 | "Just Play Music!" | - | - | 1 | Tighten Up, Vol. 88 |
| 1988 | "Other 99" | - | - | 13 | Tighten Up, Vol. 88 |
| 1989 | "James Brown" | - | - | 2 | Megatop Phoenix |
| 1989 | "Contact" | - | - | 6 | Megatop Phoenix |
| 1991 | "Rush" | - | 32 | 1 | The Globe |
| 1991 | "The Globe" | - | 72 | 3 | The Globe |
| 1994 | "Looking For a Song" | - | - | 24 | Higher Power |
|
*'E=MC
2' features samples from the 1970 gangster film
Performance starring
James Fox and
Mick Jagger.
*'E=MC
2' has been covered live a few times by the band
Hard-Fi. One notable performance of this (mentioned on NME's website) was at
Brixton Academy on
15 May 2006, a gig also guested by
Billy Bragg and
Paul Weller. No official (or bootleg) recording of this cover is known to exist at present. On
18 May 2006, at the end of
Hard-Fi's record-equalling five night residency of
Brixton Academy (a record matched by
The Clash amongst others) they were joined onstage by Mick Jones one song into their three song encore for their final performance of 'E=MC
2'.
*
Sigue Sigue Sputnik (featuring Chris Kavanagh from BAD II and Jones' partner in Carbon/Silicon
Tony James)
*
Unofficial site*
Interview with the original lineup of Big Audio Dynamite after the release of Megatop Phoenix
