Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1984 by
Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
. The band mixed various musical styles, incorporating elements of
punk rock,
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...
,
hip hop,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
, and
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...
. After releasing a number of well-received studio albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Big Audio Dynamite broke up in 1997. In 2011, the band embarked on a reunion tour.
History
T.R.A.C. (1984)
After being fired from the Clash in 1983 and following a brief stint with
new wave band
General Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlic ...
, Mick Jones formed a new band called Top Risk Action Company (T.R.A.C.). He recruited bassist
Leo "E-Zee Kill" Williams, saxophonist John "Boy" Lennard (from
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...
band
Theatre of Hate), and former Clash drummer
Topper Headon. Headon was quickly fired for his
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
addiction and Lennard either left or was fired and the band folded. Although the band released no material (only demos were recorded which have yet to be officially released), T.R.A.C. can be seen as a forerunner to Big Audio Dynamite in much the same way
London SS
The London SS is a British rock group founded in March 1975 by drummer Geir Wade, bassist John Brown, guitarist Mick Jones, and guitarist Eunan Brady (formerly of the Hollywood Brats). They later became associated with the then new punk rock s ...
can be seen as an early incarnation of the Clash.
Big Audio Dynamite (1984–1990)
Jones then formed Big Audio Dynamite with film director
Don Letts (maker of 1978 film ''
The Punk Rock Movie'', various Clash
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
s, and later Clash documentary ''
Westway to the World'' in 2000), bassist Leo Williams (from T.R.A.C.), drummer
Greg Roberts, and keyboardist
Dan Donovan. In November 1985 the band's debut studio album, ''
This Is Big Audio Dynamite
''This Is Big Audio Dynamite'' is the debut studio album by English band Big Audio Dynamite, led by Mick Jones, the former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. It was released on 1 November 1985 by Columbia Records. The album peak ...
'', was released. The album's cover shows the band as a four piece, minus Donovan who took and designed the photograph.
1986's ''
No. 10, Upping St.'' reunited Jones for one last album with former Clash lyricist and lead vocalist
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...
, who was credited with co-producing the album and co-writing of five of its nine tracks. BAD supported Irish rock band
U2 on their
Joshua Tree Tour on certain dates, then released 1988's ''
Tighten Up Vol. 88'' and 1989's ''
Megatop Phoenix
''Megatop Phoenix'' is the fourth and final studio album by the original line-up of English band Big Audio Dynamite, released on 4 September 1989 by CBS Records. Mick Jones and Bill Price produced the album. It was recorded at the Kinks' Ko ...
''. ''
Tighten Up, Vol. 88'' contained "
Just Play Music!
"Just Play Music!" is a song by English band Big Audio Dynamite, released in May 1988 as the first single from their third studio album, '' Tighten Up, Vol. 88'' (1988). The edit of "Just Play Music!" omits Don Letts' rapping from the outro and som ...
", which was the second No. 1 single on ''
Billboards
Modern Rock Tracks chart.
In 1990, the original line-up wrote and recorded the song "Free" for the soundtrack to the adventure comedy film ''
Flashback'', starring
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...
and
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award ...
. This would be the final song written with the original line-up, as the band would break-up shortly after. "
The Bottom Line" from the band's first album was remixed and used as the title track for ''Flashback'' (1990). However, this track was not included on the film's official soundtrack. It can be found on the 12" or by download. Later in 1990, Jones debuted Big Audio Dynamite II and released the UK only studio album ''
Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack.
History
Kool-Aid was invented by ...
''. Keyboardist Dan Donovan remained in BAD II for one song, a re-working of the final BAD track "Free" renamed "Kickin' In".
Big Audio Dynamite II (1991–1993)
For 1991's ''
The Globe'', only Jones remained from the original incarnation of Big Audio Dynamite, and the band was now called "Big Audio Dynamite II". This new line-up featured two guitarists. The album sleeve was designed by
Shawn Stussy. ''The Globe'' (1991) featured the band's most commercially successful single, "
Rush", which hit No. 1 on both the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Australian National
ARIA
In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
Chart. "Rush" was also released in the United Kingdom with the 1991 re-release of
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
's "
Should I Stay or Should I Go". The sleeve art for the 7-inch and CD singles displayed the Clash on the front, and BAD II on the rear with the record label displaying "Should I Stay or Should I Go" as side "A" and "Rush" as side "AA". Even though it was effectively a double A-side release, the Chart Information Network/Gallup decided that only the Clash would be credited with a number one hit. "Innocent Child" and "
The Globe" were also released as singles.
BAD supported U2 on their
Zoo TV Tour, headlined the
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
120 Minutes
''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003.
After its cancellation, MT ...
tour which also featured
Public Image Ltd,
Live, and
Blind Melon, and released the live EP "On the Road Live '92".
In 1991, while Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite II, the rest of the original line-up briefly formed a band called Screaming Target. They released one studio album ''Hometown Hi-Fi'' and two singles "Who Killed King Tubby?" and "Knowledge N Numbers" before disbanding. The title and album cover art were purposely meant as a tribute to Jamaican
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
deejay Big Youth
Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his ...
's debut studio album ''
Screaming Target
''Screaming Target'' is the debut album by Jamaican deejay Big Youth. It was recorded and originally released in 1972 on the Gussie and Jaguar labels in Jamaica. '' (1972).
In 1993, Greg Roberts formed the electronic band
Dreadzone with Tim Bran, with the name suggested to them by Don Letts. Bassist Leo Williams and keyboardist Dan Donovan joined the band before their second studio album ''
Second Light'' and the single "Little Britain" in 1995. Dreadzone is still active, with Roberts and Williams remaining members.
Big Audio (1994)
The band later recruited keyboardist Andre Shapps (co-producer of ''The Globe'', brother of MP
Grant Shapps
Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who is serving as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Transport in the Johnson governm ...
and Mick Jones's cousin) and DJ Michael " Lord Zonka" Custance as
DJ and vocalist. Both appeared on the band's seventh studio album ''
Higher Power'' (1994), which was released under the shortened name "Big Audio".
Final years and subsequent activities (1995–2010)
After signing a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Gary Kurfirst
Gary Kurfirst (8 July 1947 – 13 January 2009) was an American music promoter, producer, manager, publisher, and record label executive. Kurfirst founded Radioactive Records, whose acts included Live, Black Grape, Ramones, Big Audio Dynamit ...
's
Radioactive Records in 1995, the band reverted to the original "Big Audio Dynamite" moniker and released their least successful studio album to date, ''
F-Punk'' (1995).
Radioactive Records refused to release the next proposed BAD studio album, ''
Entering a New Ride
''Entering a New Ride'' is the ninth and final album by Big Audio Dynamite (aka BAD), recorded in 1999. Radioactive Records declined to release the album, so in 2001 the band decided to post the tracks on its website. In this way, the album is one ...
''. The line-up contained MC vocals by Joe Attard of Punks Jump Up,
Ranking Roger of
the Beat and
General Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlic ...
and drummer Bob Wond of Under Two Flags. In 1998, the band launched a new website, primarily intended as a means to distribute songs from the ''Entering a New Ride'' album. In 2001, after having only released 6 songs from the album, the website went down and Big Audio Dynamite disbanded. Their final studio album was never properly released in its entirety, but it has been heavily leaked online for fans who wished to hear it.
Since 2005, Jones has been working on a project with
Tony James (formerly of
Generation X
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...
and
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band formed in 1982 by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band have had three UK top-40 hit singles, including " Love Missile F1-11" and " 21st Century Boy".
The band's music, image and in ...
) called
Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon is a rock music duo consisting of Mick Jones (formerly of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik). The band formed around 2002.
Career
Similar in many respects to J ...
.
In early 2007, a BAD II live 8 song DVD was released, titled ''Big Audio Dynamite Live: E=MC²''.
2011 reunion
In 2010,
Don Letts revealed to
Billboard.com that he and
Mick Jones broached the idea of a Big Audio Dynamite reunion in 2011. He explained, "I could lie to you and say 'Not in a million years,' but... if Mick wasn't tied up with
Gorillaz it might happen this year. (Jones) has looked at me and said, 'Maybe next year,' but who knows. I've got to admit that in the past I'm not a great one for reformations; I always think if you're lucky in life, you get a window of opportunity, use it to the best of your ability and then fuck off and let someone else have their turn. But here I am 25 years down the line considering the thing." Besides a Big Audio Dynamite reunion, Letts said he was also hopeful for more Legacy Editions of the band's studio albums after finding more unreleased material—including live recordings—in the vaults. "There's definitely more stuff; whether
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
thinks it's worthwhile, that's another matter. But there seems to be a lot of respect for Big Audio Dynamite. Time has shown that a lot of the things we were dabbling in back then have come to manifest themselves today...so hopefully we'll get to do some more."
The reformation of the original line-up of BAD was confirmed on 25 January 2011 with the announcement of a UK tour. The 9-date tour was a commercial and critical success. The first of their two sold out
Shepherd's Bush Empire shows received a 4-star review in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' ('Not just a reformation - this is ''their'' time'), ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' welcomed BAD's return with a glowing review declaring, 'they remain a joy'. Their headline slot at
Beautiful Days festival was favourably reviewed on the
Louder Than War music website.
Big Audio Dynamite played sets at the 2011
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a music festival held annually in San Francisco, California, at Golden Gate Park. The festival is produced by Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly Presents, and Starr Hill Presents. It is the l ...
,
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
,
Glastonbury Festival 2011
The 2011 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 22–26 June 2011. Tickets for the festival went on sale from 9 am on Sunday 3 October 2010, over 37 weeks before the festival was set to begin, with a deposit of £50 b ...
,
Rock en Seine and
Lollapalooza.
Members
Big Audio Dynamite (1984–1990, 2011)
*
Mick Jones – vocals, guitar
*
Don Letts – vocals,
samples
*
Dan Donovan – keyboards
*
Leo Williams – bass
*
Greg Roberts – drums, backing vocals
Big Audio Dynamite II (1990–1993)
*
Mick Jones – vocals, guitar
*
Nick Hawkins – guitar, backing vocals
*
Gary Stonadge
Gary Stonadge (born 24 November 1962) is a British bass guitarist and DJ. He started playing in Mick Jones' band Big Audio Dynamite – bass, backing vocals
*
Chris Kavanagh – drums, backing vocals
Big Audio (1994–1995)
*
Mick Jones – vocals, guitar
*
Nick Hawkins – guitar, backing vocals
*
Gary Stonadge
Gary Stonadge (born 24 November 1962) is a British bass guitarist and DJ. He started playing in Mick Jones' band Big Audio Dynamite – bass, backing vocals
*
Chris Kavanagh – drums, backing vocals
*Andre Shapps – keyboards, programming, samples, percussion
*Michael 'Zonka' Custance – DJ, keyboards, samples, percussion, backing vocals
Big Audio Dynamite (1996–1998)
*
Mick Jones – vocals, guitar
*
Nick Hawkins – guitar
*Andre Shapps – keyboards, programming, samples, percussion
*Michael 'Zonka' Custance – DJ, keyboards, samples, percussion, gang vocals
*Daryl Fulstow – bass
*Bob Wond – drums
*Joe Attard – MC
*
Ranking Roger – vocals
Discography
* ''
This Is Big Audio Dynamite
''This Is Big Audio Dynamite'' is the debut studio album by English band Big Audio Dynamite, led by Mick Jones, the former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. It was released on 1 November 1985 by Columbia Records. The album peak ...
'' (1985)
* ''
No. 10, Upping St.'' (1986)
* ''
Tighten Up Vol. 88'' (1988)
* ''
Megatop Phoenix
''Megatop Phoenix'' is the fourth and final studio album by the original line-up of English band Big Audio Dynamite, released on 4 September 1989 by CBS Records. Mick Jones and Bill Price produced the album. It was recorded at the Kinks' Ko ...
'' (1989)
* ''
Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack.
History
Kool-Aid was invented by ...
'' (1990)
* ''
The Globe'' (1991)
* ''
Higher Power'' (1994)
* ''
F-Punk'' (1995)
* ''
Entering a New Ride
''Entering a New Ride'' is the ninth and final album by Big Audio Dynamite (aka BAD), recorded in 1999. Radioactive Records declined to release the album, so in 2001 the band decided to post the tracks on its website. In this way, the album is one ...
'' (1997)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
Unofficial site
{{Authority control
The Clash
English dance music groups
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2011
1984 establishments in England
Musical groups from London
Alternative dance musical groups
English post-punk music groups
Dance-rock musical groups
Funk rock musical groups