"Big Audio Dynamite" Unisex T-Shirt (Limited Edition)
Regular price $34.99Mick Jones Got Fired From the Clash in 1983. He Made Something Better.
In September 1983, Joe Strummer and manager Bernie Rhodes voted Mick Jones out of the Clash. The band he had co-founded, co-written, and co-defined was gone. Jones could have sulked, toured on nostalgia, or formed a Clash-adjacent pub rock outfit. Instead he called Don Letts.
Letts was not just a music video director. He had been the DJ at the Roxy Club during the original 1977 punk season — the man who played dub and reggae between punk sets and, in doing so, planted the sonic seeds of what would eventually become Big Audio Dynamite. He was a filmmaker, a sound-system culture devotee, and a genuine co-creator. Jones brought the punk guitar and the pop instinct. Letts brought the reggae, the dub basslines, the sample culture, and an understanding of how film and music could be woven together. The debut album, This Is Big Audio Dynamite, came out in 1985. "E=MC²" sampled dialogue from the Nicolas Roeg film Performance and a Sergio Leone Western. In 1985, that was not something rock bands did.
The follow-up, No. 10, Upping St. (1986), was co-written with Joe Strummer — the man who had fired Jones three years earlier. They reconciled. They made a record together. That is a detail the history books tend to underplay. B.A.D. continued through multiple lineups and configurations into the 1990s, influencing acts from Primal Scream to the Chemical Brothers to anyone who thought rock music and dance culture belonged in the same room.
Also in the collection: The Clash at Bond's International Casino tee — 80s New Wave collection
Premium Quality
- Bella + Canvas 3001 — Premium unisex tee, true to size
- Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton — Exceptionally soft from the first wear
- Classic unisex fit — Relaxed, versatile, works for everyone
- Tear-away label — Clean comfort, all day
Made to Order
For environmental and quality reasons, this tee is made specifically for you after you order. Please allow approximately one week for production. Tracking information will be sent as soon as it ships.