This Is Big Audio Dynamite is the debutstudio 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 in October 1985 by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 27 on the UK Albums Chart and at No. 103 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the BPI. Three singles were released from the album, all of which charted in the UK. "The Bottom Line" barely made the Top 100, peaking at No. 97, becoming their lowest charting single, whereas its follow-up single "E=MC²" became their only Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 11, and becoming their best-selling single. The last single from the album, "Medicine Show", became their last single to chart within the Top 40, peaking at No. 29. The music video for "Medicine Show" featured two other former members of the Clash, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon as police officers as well as John Lydon of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. A remastered Legacy Edition was released in 2010 with a second disc composed of alternate mixes and versions. In 2016, independent vinyl reissue label Intervention Records reissued the album on 180-gram vinyl.
Album cover
The album's cover depicts most of the band dressed in cowboy clothing as a four piece band, minus keyboardist Dan Donovan who took and designed the photo.
Medicine Show Sampled liberally throughout this song are sound bites from four motion pictures, three of them Spaghetti Westerns. This list is based on order of appearance.
"Get three coffins ready."
"Who the hell is that? One bastard goes in and another comes out....I'm innocent of everything!"
"You makin' some kinda joke?"
"I don't think it's nice, you laughin'."
"Wanted in fourteen counties of this State, the condemned is found guilty of crimes of murder, armed robbery of citizens, state banks and post offices, the theft of sacred objects, arson in a state prison, perjury, bigamy, deserting his wife and children, inciting prostitution, kidnapping, extortion, receiving stolen goods, selling stolen goods, passing counterfeit money, and contrary to the laws of this State, the condemned is guilty of using marked cards...Therefore, according to the powers vested in us, we sentence the accused here before us, Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez and any other aliases he might have, to hang by the neck until dead. May God have mercy on his soul. Proceed."
Joe Strummer crowing from The Clash song "London Calling"
E=MC²
Several samples from the cult filmPerformance directed by Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg. The music video mirrors the reference by using clips from several of Roeg's films, including Don't Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth.
