With a new reissue due this month, the two key figures in Big Audio Dynamite — former Clash member Mick Jones and DJ/filmmaker Don Letts — have broached the idea of reuniting their groundbreaking ’80s cross-genre act, Letts tells Billboard in an interview posted yesterday (via Consequence of Sound).
While compiling tracks for the This is Big Audio Dynamite: Legacy Edition — a 2CD set due out April 27 that includes a disc of remixes and outtakes, plus the previously unreleased “Electric Vandal” — Letts said he and Jones began discussing a possible reunion.
Noting that Jones and Clash bandmate Paul Simonon are touring with Damon Albarn’s cartoon-fronted Gorillaz this year, Letts told Billboard, “I could lie to you and say, ‘Not in a million years,’ but… if Mick wasn’t tied up with Gorillaz it might happen this year. (Jones) has looked at me and said, ‘Maybe next year,’ but who knows.”
Letts added:
“I’ve got to admit that in the past I’m not a great one for reformations; I always think if you’re lucky in life, you get a window of opportunity, use it to the best of your ability and then fuck off and let someone else have their turn. But here I am 25 years down the line considering the thing. Isn’t that a bitch?!”
While Jones has not weighed in on the issue, Slicing Up Eyeballs interviewed former Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts yesterday for a Q&A to be posted in advance of the reissue’s release, and while he didn’t reveal any reunion discussions, he noted he’s worked with nearly all of BAD’s original lineup in his current act Dreadzone.
“When we started Dreadzone, Don Letts, he was there at the beginning, and he supplied some ideas. (Bassist) Leo (‘E. Zee Kill’ Williams) obviously has been with the band all of the time. (Keyboardist) Dan Donovan was involved. The only person who wasn’t involved with Dreadzone was Mick. One day, you never know. Mick’s out there doing the Gorillaz at the moment.”
For more information, including a full tracklist, on the This Is Big Audio Dynamite: Legacy Edition, go here. And keep an eye on Slicing Up Eyeballs in the coming weeks for our interview with BAD’s Roberts about the 1985 album.
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- ‘This Is Big Audio Dynamite’ reissue to include outtake ‘Electric Vandal’
- Mick Jones’ Carbon/Silicon gives away ‘Carbon Bubble’ as free download
- ‘This Is Big Audio Dynamite’ reissue due in February
- Billy Bragg reunites The Clash’s Mick Jones, Topper Headon
- Quick Spins: Big Audio Dynamite, Bad Lieutenant, The Cult, Sonic Youth
- Quick Spins: Big Audio Dynamite, Dinosaur Jr, Joy Division
