Synopsis

Big Audio Dynamite perform in an underground mine while the video intercuts their appearance with fragments from Nicolas Roeg's films. The imagery moves between surreal landscapes, uneasy encounters, science-fiction visions, and psychologically charged scenes, creating a fast-moving visual collage rather than a conventional narrative. The film clips mirror the song's references to Roeg's work, while dialogue samples and abrupt edits give the whole piece the feel of a cinematic mixtape.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made for the song's 1986 single release, although the track first appeared on the band's 1985 debut album, This Is Big Audio Dynamite.

• Its central concept is a tribute to Nicolas Roeg's cinema. Clips from films including Performance, Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Insignificance are combined with footage of the band.

• The song itself uses dialogue from Performance, the 1970 film associated with Roeg and co-director Donald Cammell. Mick Jagger starred in the movie, giving the sample-heavy track an especially strong connection to British rock culture.

• Several lines in the lyrics refer to characters, images, and ideas from Roeg's films, including Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, and David Bowie's alien character in The Man Who Fell to Earth.

• "E=MC2" became Big Audio Dynamite's first UK Top 40 hit, reaching No. 11 and remaining the band's best-known commercial single.

• The mine setting adds a stark physical contrast to the borrowed film footage. Instead of attempting to recreate Roeg's scenes, the video places the band inside a rough, industrial environment and lets the cinematic references collide around them.