Complete List Of Big Audio Dynamite Albums And Songs

Feature Photo: swimfinfan from Chicago, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Big Audio Dynamite was formed in London in 1984 by former Clash guitarist, singer, and songwriter Mick Jones. Working with filmmaker and DJ Don Letts, Jones built a band that combined rock, reggae, punk, funk, hip-hop, electronic dance music, movie dialogue, and extensive sampling. The result sounded radically different from most guitar bands of the mid-1980s.

The original lineup featured Jones on vocals and guitar, Letts on samples and vocals, Dan Donovan on keyboards, Leo Williams on bass, and Greg Roberts on drums. That lineup made four albums before Jones assembled Big Audio Dynamite II in 1990. Later releases appeared under the shortened name Big Audio before Jones restored the Big Audio Dynamite name.

Across those different identities, the group created nine studio projects, including the regional release Kool-Aid and the online album Entering a New Ride. Songs such as “E=MC²,” “C’mon Every Beatbox,” “Contact,” “Rush,” and “The Globe” demonstrated how effectively Jones could combine pop songwriting with samples, programmed rhythms, and found sound. The original lineup reunited for concerts in 2011, but the reunion did not produce another studio album.

This Is Big Audio Dynamite

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Released: November 1, 1985

This Is Big Audio Dynamite introduced the band’s collage-based approach to rock music. Mick Jones produced the album and wrote compact pop songs that left room for Don Letts’ samples, dialogue, effects, and rhythmic interruptions. Dan Donovan’s keyboards, Leo Williams’ bass, and Greg Roberts’ drums helped connect punk and reggae to the emerging sounds of hip-hop and electronic dance music.

The album included “The Bottom Line,” “Medicine Show,” and “E=MC²”. Its use of film dialogue and sampled sound was central to the music rather than an added novelty, establishing the method Big Audio Dynamite would continue developing throughout the decade.

CD Track Listings:

“Medicine Show” – 6:32
“Sony” – 4:30
“E=MC²” – 5:55
“The Bottom Line” – 4:38
“A Party” – 6:41
“Sudden Impact!” – 5:03
“Stone Thames” – 4:10
“BAD” – 5:54

No. 10, Upping St.

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Released: October 27, 1986

No. 10, Upping St. temporarily reunited Mick Jones with his former Clash bandmate Joe Strummer. Strummer co-produced the album and shared writing credit on several songs, including “Beyond the Pale,” “Limbo the Law,” “V. Thirteen,” “Ticket,” and “Sightsee M.C.!” The collaboration retained the debut’s samples and dance rhythms while bringing a stronger melodic and lyrical focus to the material.

The expanded CD edition included twelve tracks, adding material beyond the original nine-song LP sequence.

CD Track Listings:

“C’mon Every Beatbox” – 5:26
“Beyond the Pale” – 4:41
“Limbo the Law” – 4:44
“Sambadrome” – 4:48
“V. Thirteen” – 4:54
“Ticket” – 3:28
“Hollywood Boulevard” – 4:29
“Dial a Hitman” – 5:04
“Sightsee M.C.!” – 4:55
“Ice Cool Killer” – 5:33
“The Big V” – 4:48
“Badrock City” – 7:00

Tighten Up, Vol. 88

Tighten Up Vol. '88

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Released: June 27, 1988

Tighten Up, Vol. 88 was the third Big Audio Dynamite album and the first produced by Mick Jones without Joe Strummer’s participation. The title paid tribute to Trojan Records’ Tighten Up compilation series, while the cover was designed by former Clash bassist Paul Simonon.

The record moved toward a more streamlined dance-rock sound without abandoning the band’s humor, samples, and unusual cultural references. “Other 99,” “Applecart,” “The Battle of All Saints Road,” and “Just Play Music!” were among the highlights.

CD Track Listings:

“Rock Non Stop (All Night Long)”
“Other 99”
“Funny Names”
“Applecart”
“Esquerita”
“Champagne”
“Mr. Walker Said”
“The Battle of All Saints Road”
“Hip, Neck & Thigh”
“2000 Shoes”
“Tighten Up, Vol. 88”
“Just Play Music!”

Megatop Phoenix

Megatop Phoenix by Big Audio Dynamite (1989-05-03)

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Released: September 4, 1989

Megatop Phoenix was the fourth and final studio album made by Big Audio Dynamite’s original lineup. The title referred to Mick Jones’ recovery from a serious illness involving chickenpox and pneumonia. Jones and Bill Price produced the album at Konk Studios in London.

The record plays like a continuous broadcast, using short linking pieces to connect songs including “Contact,” “Dragon Town,” “James Brown,” and “London Bridge.” Its blend of acid-house rhythms, rock guitar, spoken samples, reggae, and pop melody made it one of the band’s most ambitious releases.

CD Track Listings:

“Start” – 1:02
“Rewind” – 4:03
“All Mink & No Manners” – 1:07
“Union, Jack” – 4:56
“Contact” – 4:12
“Dragon Town” – 3:38
“Baby, Don’t Apologise” – 3:58
“Is Yours Working Yet?” – 1:02
“Around the Girl in 80 Ways” – 3:30
“James Brown” – 5:08
“Everybody Needs a Holiday” – 5:30
“Mick’s a Hippie Burning” – 4:23
“House Arrest” – 3:57
“The Green Lady” – 4:34
“London Bridge” – 3:54
“Stalag 123” – 3:28
“End” – 0:36

Kool-Aid

KOOL AID

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Released: October 22, 1990

Kool-Aid was the first album credited to Big Audio Dynamite II. Mick Jones remained the leader, but the new lineup featured guitarist Nick Hawkins, bassist Gary Stonadge, and drummer Chris Kavanagh. The album received a limited release in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia rather than a full worldwide campaign.

Several ideas from Kool-Aid were reworked for The Globe. “Change of Atmosphere” developed into “Rush,” while new versions of “Can’t Wait,” “Innocent Child,” “Kool-Aid,” “In My Dreams,” and “When the Time Comes” appeared during the next phase of the band.

CD Track Listings:

“Change of Atmosphere” – 7:57
“Can’t Wait” – 4:49
“Kickin’ In” – 6:20
“Innocent Child” – 6:53
“On One” – 4:52
“Kool-Aid” – 5:30
“In My Dreams” – 8:26
“When the Time Comes” – 7:13

The Globe

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Released: July 16, 1991

The Globe brought Big Audio Dynamite II its greatest commercial success in the United States. “Rush” became a major alternative and pop hit, while the title track also received substantial radio and club play. Jones was the only member carried over from the original Big Audio Dynamite lineup.

The album featured Jones on vocals and guitar, Nick Hawkins on guitar, Gary Stonadge on bass, and Chris Kavanagh on drums. André Shapps contributed production and programming. Several tracks revised material first heard on Kool-Aid, but the new versions were designed for a wider international release.

CD Track Listings:

“Rush” – 4:17
“Can’t Wait/Live” – 4:37
“I Don’t Know” – 5:59
“The Globe” – 6:04
“Innocent Child” – 5:58
“Green Grass” – 5:24
“Kool-Aid” – 4:05
“In My Dreams” – 4:04
“When the Time Comes” – 6:32
“The Tea Party” – 3:37

Higher Power

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Released: November 8, 1994

Higher Power was released under the shortened band name Big Audio. Mick Jones, Nick Hawkins, Gary Stonadge, Chris Kavanagh, André Shapps, and DJ Mickey Custance continued the combination of rock, dance beats, samples, and pop songwriting established on The Globe.

“Looking for a Song” became the album’s principal single. The full thirteen-track sequence also included “Harrow Road,” “Slender Loris,” “Modern Stoneage Blues,” “Melancholy Maybe,” and “Light Up My Life.”

CD Track Listings:

“Got to Wake Up” – 4:51
“Harrow Road” – 5:26
“Looking for a Song” – 3:47
“Some People” – 4:55
“Slender Loris” – 6:10
“Modern Stoneage Blues” – 3:45
“Melancholy Maybe” – 5:43
“Over the Rise” – 4:57
“Why Is It?” – 5:00
“Moon” – 6:27
“Lucan” – 5:49
“Light Up My Life” – 4:35
“Hope” – 5:38

F-Punk

F-Punk by Big Audio Dynamite (1995) Audio CD

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Released: June 20, 1995

Mick Jones restored the Big Audio Dynamite name for F-Punk, the band’s first album for Radioactive Records. The title played with both punk and George Clinton’s P-Funk terminology, although the record continued the group’s established mixture of rock, funk, programmed beats, samples, and electronic production.

The lineup remained Jones, Nick Hawkins, Gary Stonadge, Chris Kavanagh, and André Shapps. “I Turned Out a Punk” led the album, which also included “Vitamin C,” “Psycho Wing,” “Push Those Blues Away,” and “Gonna Try.”

CD Track Listings:

“I Turned Out a Punk” – 5:24
“Vitamin C” – 5:27
“Psycho Wing” – 7:12
“Push Those Blues Away” – 6:07
“Gonna Try” – 3:54
“It’s a Jungle Out There” – 5:18
“Got to Set Her Free” – 3:51
“Get It All from My TV” – 4:04
“Singapore” – 5:24
“I Can’t Go on Like This” – 5:53
“What About Love?” – 9:43

Entering a New Ride

Recorded: 1997; released online by the band in 2001

Entering a New Ride was created as the follow-up to F-Punk, but Radioactive Records declined to release it. The band later made the music available through its website, turning the project into an early example of a major rock act distributing a full album online.

The lineup included Mick Jones, Ranking Roger, Nick Hawkins, André Shapps, Daryl Fulstow, Bob Wond, Michael Custance, and Joe Attard. The core album consisted of eleven tracks, while additional remixes and extended versions circulated with the online material.