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“E=MC2” by Big Audio Dynamite

“E=MC2” by Big Audio Dynamite appears on 30 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 1986 and 2023. Its best result is #40 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #65 alternative song of 1986, #857 alternative song of all time and #327 of the '80s.

30countdowns
11stations
#40best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1986–2023years charted

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Big Audio Dynamite - E=MC2

Video from YouTube (bigaudiodynamiteVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"E=MC2" was the second single pulled from This Is Big Audio Dynamite, the English band's 1985 debut, and when it came out on CBS in 1986 it gave them their first UK Top 40 hit, climbing to number 11; in America it reached 37 on Billboard's dance club chart.

It's a love letter to the films of Nicolas Roeg, inspired by Performance, Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Eureka and Insignificance, and its lyrics point straight at many of them. Performance, the crime drama Donald Cammell wrote and co-directed with Roeg, gets more than a mention: its dialogue is sampled up front in the mix. Decades later it found its way onto the big screen, playing over the opening titles of the French film Forces spéciales.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1986 82 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1986 107
1986 40 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 185 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 289 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 46 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 43 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 1989) 101
1991 160 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 961 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1999 279 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 465 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 677 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1608 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 236 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1608 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1608 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1600 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 684 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1596 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 264 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1596 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1595 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 852 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 800 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 813 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 832 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 859 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 835 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 782 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 417 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2023 206 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Also listed as: = E=MC2; E = Mc2; E=mc2; E=Mc2; E = mc2.

Charting alongside it in 1986

Best songs of 1986 →
  1. 1PanicThe Smiths
  2. 2AskThe Smiths
  3. 3Bigmouth Strikes AgainThe Smiths
  4. 4SledgehammerPeter Gabriel
  5. 5Wild Wild LifeTalking Heads
  6. 6Don't Get Me WrongThe Pretenders

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