Megatop Phoenix by Big Audio Dynamite

Megatop Phoenix, released on 4 September 1989, was the fourth and last studio album from the original Big Audio Dynamite, and the title is no joke: before the sessions, Mick Jones had spent months in hospital with chickenpox and pneumonia and very nearly didn't come back. He and Bill Price produced it at the Kinks' Konk Studios in Hornsey, London, and the liner notes tip a hat to their hosts.

The ex-Clash guitarist, Don Letts on effects and vocals, Dan Donovan on keyboards, Leo Williams on bass and Greg Roberts on drums throw punk, dance beats, hip-hop, reggae and funk into one pot and let it bubble. "Contact" and "James Brown" are the tracks that stuck. It got to 26 in Britain and 85 in America, and a year later Jones started Big Audio Dynamite II with an all-new lineup; the old name stayed on the shelf until F-Punk in 1995.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.