Big Audio Dynamite (B.A.D)
Big Audio Dynamite were formed
in London in 1984 by ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones, who was still
under contract with CBS. He recruited Dan Donovan, Leo Williams, Greg
Roberts and film-maker (and non-musician) Don Letts. Although their
1985 debut single The Bottom Line soon became a favorite it
narrowly missed out on a chart placing. The follow-up single, E=MC2,
gave them a close brush with the Top 10 the following year,
resurrecting sales of the critically acclaimed but commercially
disastrous album This Is . . .
Mick's unique punk-ish vocals
with the funky band sound was not unlike a danceable version of The
Clash. The follow-up single, Medicine Show, went Top 30. A
second album, No. 10 Upping Street (1986) was even more
ambitious, featuring contributions from Jones' former mucker, Joe
Strummer.
The following two years saw
the band struggling as Jones survived a near-fatal bout of pneumonia,
and the albums Tighten Up Vol. 88 (1988) and Megatop Phoenix
(1989) bravely attempted to further push the boundaries between
different genres of music (mixing up reggae, hip-hop and even
country). By the end of the decade, the B.A.D blueprint was being more
successfully and inventively interpreted by a new wave of white kids
armed with samples, drum machines and an attitude - enter EMF, Jesus
Jones etc . . .
The original line-up split at
the turn of the decade although Jones recruited new players for Big
Audio Dynamite II - namely Nick Hawkins, Gary Stoneage and Chris
Kavanagh (ex-Sigue Sigue Sputnik). The revamped band recorded a
further couple of critically and commercially underwhelming albums, Kool-Aid
(1990) and The Globe (1991) - with DJ Zonka adding his
turntable skills to the latter.
Though Jones continued working
under the B.A.D name into the 90s, his output was largely confined to
a cult following.
| The
Band |
Mick Jones
Vocals, guitar
Don Letts
Effects
Dan Donovan
Keyboards |
Leo Williams
Bass
Greg Roberts
Drums
Nick Hawkins
Guitar |
Gary Stoneage
Bass
Chris Kavanagh
Drums
DJ Zonka
DJ
André Shapps
Keyboards |
|
|