Big Audio Dynamite II: Class Of ’92

For the BAD times.

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The angry disbelief which greeted Mick Jones’ sacking from The Clash in 1983 turned to whooping delight when he triumphantly returned with BAD’s multi-hued, inner city skank ‘n‘ roll.

The original group had splintered by the end of the decade, replaced by guitarist Nick Hawkins, bassist Gary Stonadge and drummer Chris Kavanagh as BAD II, but Jones continued absorbing happening street movements, embracing post-acid house sensibility with Micky Custance’s onstage turntable links, while out to rock on new tunes such as Rush and The Globe.

Taken from Central TV, this vibrant set also revisits early faves including Medicine Show, E=MC2 and The Bottom Line, highlighting a lesser-feted phase in the wayward path of the mercurial Jones, whose between song patter adds to the celebratory atmosphere, climaxing with their ever-defiant take on Prince‘s 1999. Nostalgia for some, but also a priceless document of Jonesy pursuing the agendas he set for The Clash.

Kris Needs

Kris Needs is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. Previously secretary of the Mott The Hoople fan club, he became editor of ZigZag in 1977 and has written biographies of stars including Primal Scream, Joe Strummer and Keith Richards. He's also written for MOJO, Record Collector, Classic Rock, Prog, Electronic Sound, Vive Le Rock and Shindig!