"E=MC²" is a 1986 single by English band

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

, released as the second single from their debut studio album ''

This Is Big Audio Dynamite ''This Is Big Audio Dynamite'' is the debut studio 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 on 1 November 1985 by Columbia Records. The album peake ...

'' (1985). The song was the band's first Top 40 hit on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at number 11. Additionally, it peaked at number 37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States. The song features prominent dialogue samples from the 1970 film ''

Performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

''. The song is also played during the opening titles of the French movie ''

Forces spéciales ''Forces spéciales'' ( en, Special Forces) is a 2011 French war adventure film directed by Stéphane Rybojad and starring Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou, Denis Ménochet, Benoît Magimel, Mehdi Nebbou, and Tchéky Karyo. Filmed on location in Franc ...

'' (2011).

History

This song was inspired by the films of

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing '' Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...

, including ''

'' (1970; written and co-directed by

Donald Cammell Donald Seton Cammell (17 January 1934 – 24 April 1996) was a Scottish painter, screenwriter, and film director. He has a cult reputation largely due to his debut film ''Performance'', which he wrote the screenplay for and co-directed wi ...

), ''

Walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...

'' (1971), ''

Don't Look Now ''Don't Look Now'' ( it, A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit=In Venice... a shocking red December) is a 1973 English-language film in the thriller genre directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Mauri ...

'' (1973), ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...

'' (1976), and '' Insignificance'' (1985). Its lyrics refer directly to many of them. For example: *The last four lines of the first verse "Man dies first reel / People ask what's the deal? / This ain't how it's supposed to be / Don't like no Aborigine" are a reference to the 1971 film ''

'', which begins with an adult character committing suicide, which then leaves two children to survive a trek across the Australian outback, aided by a young Aborigine male. * The second verse (from "Took a trip to Powis Square" to "Insanity Bohemian style") refers to the two main characters in ''Performance'' (1970): a retired rock star (played by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

) and a gangster on the run (played by

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', ''The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performanc ...

) * "King of brains" – refers to

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

, a lead character in ''Insignificance'' (1985) * "Queen of the sack" – refers to

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, a lead character in ''Insignificance'' (1985) * "Hall of fame baseball" – refers to

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

, a lead character in ''Insignificance'' (1985) * "Senator's a hoodlum" – refers to

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

, a lead character in ''Insignificance'' (1985) * "Space guy fell from the sky" – refers to ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976) starring

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

* The second verse (from "Met a dwarf who was no good" to "Gets to take the funeral ride") describes ''

'' (1973), starring

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films ''Citizen X'' (1995) an ...

. Included throughout the song are dialogue samples from ''Performance'' (1970).

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song (directed by

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

) features clips from films made by

, coupled with scenes of the band performing in a mine.

Mick Jones and Hard-Fi

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Hard-Fi Hard-Fi are an English indie rock band, formed in 2003 in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. The band's most recent lineup before going on hiatus consisted of Richard Archer (lead vocals and guitar), Kai Stephens (bass guitar and backing vocals) and S ...

have performed "E=MC²" live, being joined by Big Audio Dynamite's lead vocalist Mick Jones on occasion. One such performance was at the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

on 15 May 2006, a gig at which

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

and

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

also appeared.Hard-Fi team up with very special guest , News , NME.COM
/ref> On 18 May 2006, Hard-Fi were again joined onstage by Jones one song into their three-song encore for their final performance of "E=MC²".

Track listing

7" CBS / A 6963 (UK) # "E=MC²" – 4:30 # "This Is Big Audio Dynamite" – 3:39 7" Columbia / 38-06053 (US) # "E=MC²" – 4:30 # "A Party" – 4:44 12" CBS / TA 6963 (UK) # "E=MC² (Extended Remix)" – 6:18 (remixed by Paul 'Groucho' Smykle) # "This Is Big Audio Dynamite" – 5:53 12" Columbia / 44-05909 (US) # "E=MC² (Extended Remix)" – 5:33 (remixed by Bert Bevans) # "A Party" – 10:15 (remixed by Paul 'Groucho' Smykle)

Chart positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:E=Mc2 (Song) 1985 songs 1986 singles Big Audio Dynamite songs Songs written by Mick Jones (The Clash) Song recordings produced by Mick Jones (The Clash) CBS Records singles Songs written by Don Letts Songs based on speech samples