The Next Big Thing - Jesus Jones

What this video is

Released in 1997 during a significant cultural shift in British music, 'The Next Big Thing' arrived as Britpop and grunge had displaced the dance-rock hybrid sound that Jesus Jones had pioneered. Formed in 1988 and riding the wave of their 1991 breakthrough with 'Right Here, Right Now,' the band represented a fusion of rock energy, sampling, and electronic music. By 1997, their fourth album Already — and this lead…

Why it matters

A document of the British alternative-dance movement's late-phase commercialism, this video captures Jesus Jones' attempts to remain relevant amid the Britpop hegemony of 1996–1997. It also constitutes an early archival artifact of Chris Cunningham's directorial voice before his Aphex Twin and…

The director

English music video director and video artist born in Reading, Berkshire in 1970. Early career included comic book illustration, prosthetic makeup, and model-making for films including Nightbreed. Headhunted by Stanley Kubrick to design animatronic…