The Jesus and Mary Chain
Encyclopedia
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock
band formed in East Kilbride
, Glasgow
in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim
and William Reid
. They released a string of albums, singles and EPs between their 1983 formation and their 1999 breakup, and gained notoriety in their early days for short sets and violence that became common at their live shows. In 2007, the band reunited.
, but it would be the early Eighties before they actually formed their own. William stated, "It was perfect timing because there weren't any guitar bands. Everybody was making this electronic pop music." Before forming the band, the brothers had spent five years on the dole
, and in those five years they wrote and recorded songs at home and worked out the sound and image of the band. Originally called The Poppy Seeds, and then Death of Joey, they initially told journalists that they had taken their eventual name from a line in a Bing Crosby
film, although six months later they admitted that this wasn't true. Other accounts suggest that the name derived from an offer on a breakfast cereal packet, where customers could send off for a gold Jesus & Mary chain.
The brothers started recording and sending demos to record companies in 1983, and by early 1984 they had recruited bass player Douglas Hart
and teenage drummer Murray Dalglish
. Early influences included The Velvet Underground
, The Stooges
, and The Shangri-Las
, William stating in 1985, "We all love The Shangri-Las, and one day we're going to make Shangri-Las records." Early demos displayed a similarity to the Ramones
, prompting the brothers to add another element to their sound, in William's words: "That's why we started using noise and feedback. We want to make records that sound different." They began playing live in Spring 1984. In the early days Jim Reid's guitar would be left out of tune, while Dalglish's drum kit was limited to two drums, and Hart's bass guitar only had three strings, down to two by 1985; In Hart's words "that's the two I use, I mean what's the fucking point spending money on another two? Two is enough."
Struggling to get gigs, the band took to turning up at venues claiming to be the support band, playing their short set and making a quick exit. After failing to generate any interest from concert promoters and record labels in Scotland, the band relocated to Fulham
, London, in May 1984, and soon afterwards their demo tape was passed to fellow Scot Alan McGee
by Bobby Gillespie
, McGee subsequently promoting a gig for the band at the Living Room in London in June 1984. On the strength of hearing the band sound check, McGee signed them to his Creation Records
label on a one-off deal, and McGee also became the band's manager. The debut single, "Upside Down", was recorded in October and released in November that year. The sessions were produced by Joe Foster, but McGee, unsatisfied with Foster's work, remixed the A-side, although the B-side, a cover version
of Syd Barrett
's "Vegetable Man", remained credited to Foster. The band were gaining increasing attention from the music press at this time with Neil Taylor of the NME
describing them as "the best band in the world".
Dalglish left in November 1984 after a dispute over money and was replaced shortly afterwards by Bobby Gillespie
from Primal Scream
. In December the band were arrested for possession of amphetamine
s, and Jim Reid also confessed to using LSD
. "Upside Down" topped the UK Indie Chart
in February 1985 and then again in March and stayed on the chart for 76 weeks, selling around 35,000 copies in total, making it one of the biggest-selling indie singles of the 1980s.
Playing in front of small audiences, during early shows the Mary Chain performed very short gigs, typically fuelled by amphetamines and lasting around 20 minutes, and played with their backs to the audience, refusing to speak to them. In late December 1984, the band performed as part of the ICA
Rock Week. During their performance, bottles were thrown on stage, with press reports exaggerating events and claiming that there had been a riot, and national newspaper The Sun
running a story on the band concentrating on violence and drugs, the band attracting the tag "The new Sex Pistols". This led several local councils to ban the band from performing in their area.
which signed the group in early 1985. The group released the single "Never Understand
" in February which reached number forty-seven in the UK Singles Chart
. The label had initially refused to press the single due to its B-side, "Suck", but went ahead given the alternative put forward by the band, a song called "Jesus Fuck". The band were eager to get "Jesus Fuck" released, and Alan McGee got as far as producing test pressings of a re-issue of "Upside Down" with the song on the B-side, before the band insisted that Blanco y Negro include the track on their next single. The follow-up, "You Trip Me Up", was delayed due to staff at the pressing plant refusing to press it due to the presence of the song, now re-titled "Jesus Suck"; The single was released in June 1985 with a new B-side, "Just Out of Reach". John Peel
got the band to record a second session for his BBC Radio 1
show in February 1985 (the first was only a few months earlier), and the band also made a TV appearance on Whistle Test in March and The Tube
the same year. The third single for Blanco y Negro, "Just Like Honey", released in October, gave them their biggest hit to date, reaching #45.
Eager to avoid the violence of earlier gigs and to give an opportunity for their songs to be heard without distortion and feedback, the band planned to perform several unannounced acoustic sets supporting Sonic Youth
, but this was abandoned when the plans were leaked. Their debut album Psychocandy
followed in November that year. The album fused together the Reids' two primary influences, the guitar noise of The Stooges
and The Velvet Underground
with The Beach Boys
, The Shangri-Las
and Phil Spector
; In fact, the album's opening song, "Just Like Honey," borrows Hal Blaine
's famous drum intro from The Ronettes
1963 classic, "Be My Baby
", produced and co-written by Spector. The record received unanimously positive reviews and is now considered a landmark recording. Drummer Gillespie announced his departure from the band in October 1985, to concentrate on Primal Scream. He had recorded most of the drums on Psychocandy, with John Moore filling in when Gillespie was unavailable, eventually joining the band to replace him. John Loder also acted as a stand-in drummer when Gillespie was unavailable for live performances.
When the band signed to WEA
subsidiary Blanco y Negro
in January 1985, there were stories reporting that they had stolen money from managing Director Rob Dickens' jacket and destroyed his office, all untrue but seen as good publicity by manager McGee. In a performance on Belgian television in March 1985, the band did smash the set and the audio equipment, but this was at the request of the TV producer. Such behaviour became expected of the band and many shows culminated with the Reids trashing their equipment, which was often followed by the audience throwing projectiles onto the stage and damaging equipment.
On 15 March 1985, the Jesus and Mary Chain played a gig at the North London Polytechnic
in front of one of their largest crowds up to that point. The organizers had overbooked the venue, leaving hundreds of fans locked outside. When Gillespie and Hart attempted to break the locks, the police were called. Support band Meat Whiplash
had stirred up violence before the Mary Chain even set foot onto the stage when singer Paul McDermott threw an empty wine bottle into the audience, prompting four members of the crowd to attack him, leading to their set being abandoned. Second act The Jasmine Minks
got through their set without incident, but the Jesus and Mary Chain then kept the audience waiting for over an hour before taking the stage, and then left the stage after playing for less than twenty minutes. Members of the audience began throwing cans at where the band were hiding behind the stage curtains, before mounting the stage to smash the equipment that remained there. The violence continued for some time before police eventually took control. The venue blamed the band's late appearance and two equipment breakdowns, while McGee issued a statement saying that "the audience were not smashing up the hall, they were smashing up pop music", going on to say "This is truly art as terrorism". The violence soon started to become a hindrance to the band, with people attending concerts simply for the violence rather than the music, William commenting "I hate it, I despise it. It gets in the way in terms of getting more gigs, and it gets in the way of our image". Many performances were cancelled during the remainder of 1985, with promoters or local councils not prepared to risk a riot. The violence flared up again at a performance at the Electric Ballroom
in Camden Town
in September, with bottles thrown at the band while they played, and a section of the audience smashing up the amplification equipment and smashing the lights afterwards, with several people injured by flying glass. A major factor in the audience reaction was the length of the band's sets at the time, which lasted less than twenty-five minutes, Jim explaining this with "there's never been a group good enough to play any longer". Lack of songs was also a factor, according to Jim: "We've only got enough songs to play for that long".
After the success of the album in the UK, the band embarked on a tour of the United States in late 1985 and 1986, followed by a tour of Japan. On returning to the UK they toured the UK, this time without the trouble that had marred earlier performances. The band revived their acoustic intentions with a stripped-down session for John Peel in November 1985, which included "Psychocandy", the original album title track that was omitted from the release, and "Some Candy Talking", a song which they had been performing for over a year, but had left off the album. A second version of "Some Candy Talking" was issued on a free EP
issued with the NME in January 1986, and the song was released as the band's next single in July. It reached number thirteen in the UK Singles Chart
, but attracted controversy when BBC Radio 1
DJ Mike Smith
decided that the song was a paean to illegal drugs (denied by the band at the time, but admitted by William a year later) and convinced the station to ban it from being played.
member Martin Hewes joining the band briefly and former Dead Can Dance
percussionist James Pinker taking over on drums. Blanco y Negro manager Geoff Travis
took over management duties, and the band returned in December with two gigs at the National Ballroom in Kilburn, where they premiered new songs including "April Skies" and "Don't Get Hit". Early in 1987, they entered the studio to record their second album. The first fruits of these sessions were released on the "April Skies" single in April, which saw the band have their first top ten hit. The Beach Boys influence was evident on the B-side, which included "Kill Surf City", a reworking of Brian Wilson's "Surf City". The various formats released also included a cover of Bo Diddley
's "Who Do You Love?", a tribute to him with "Bo Diddley is Jesus", and a live version of Can
's "Mushroom". "Happy When It Rains" was the second pre-album single, strongly influenced by Smokey Robinson
's "My Girl", but it failed to match the success of "April Skies", only reaching number twenty-five. The band set out on another UK tour, this time with sets stretching to 45 minutes, although to a mixed reaction from the music press. They toured without a drummer, instead using a drum machine.
The band's second album, Darklands
, was released during the tour, in September 1987, described by writer Steve Taylor as "the definitive blend of light and shade". Featuring a more melodic sound, the album was recorded almost entirely by the Reids themselves, replacing live drums with a drum machine, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews by the British music press. The album's title track was released as a single in October, and the band were thrown off the ITV
music show The Roxy when they failed to mime well enough to it.
The band's dangerous reputation culminated at a gig at the RPM club in Toronto in November 1987, when after being heckled throughout the gig by a group in the audience, Jim Reid thrust his microphone stand towards them, hitting one on the head and slashing another on the arm. Jim was arrested and spent a night in jail, before being bailed to return the following February. He was subsequently given an absolute discharge after agreeing to give around £500 to a Salvation Army
charity and apologise to the complainants.
With the court case hanging over the band, they compiled a collection of B-sides and rarities for release in April 1988 as Barbed Wire Kisses
. They also selected live tracks from a Detroit concert the previous November for release while they planned further studio work. Dave Evans, former Mary Chain soundman and bass player with Biff Bang Pow!
(which also featured Alan McGee and Dick Green of Creation Records) and Richard Thomas, were recruited in early 1988 to replace Moore, who formed John Moore and the Expressway, and Pinker. Their next release was the new recording "Sidewalking", released in March 1988, and backed by some the live tracks, followed a month later by Barbed Wire Kisses.
The band's third studio album Automatic
was released in October 1989, by which time Evans had been replaced by Ben Lurie
. Boasting heavy use of synthesized bass and keyboards
, the album was not received quite as well as its predecessors. It contained the singles "Head On" and "Blues From A Gun". By this time, the violence that was originally associated with the band was practically non-existent and the Reid brothers were less antagonistic and aggressive in general. The Rollercoaster EP
(August 1990) would be their last release for over a year, the band undertaking a tour with My Bloody Valentine and Blur
.
, Le Volume Courbe
and Cristine. Thomas also quit the band to join Renegade Soundwave
. The fluid nature of the Mary Chain's line up continued throughout their entire career, with a revolving door of drummers, bassists and guitarists being recruited for TV appearances and gigs whenever they were required, the only constants being the Reid brothers. The Reid brothers recruited former Starlings
rhythm section Matthew Parkin and Barry Blacker to replace Hart and Thomas.
The brothers bought their own recording studio in 1991 in Elephant & Castle in South London
, which they dubbed The Drugstore, and they returned in February 1992 with the first fruits of the new studio, their next single, "Reverence", which gave them their biggest hit single in almost five years, reaching #10 in the UK. Spitting feedback and punk rock
bile in every direction, the track was banned from being played on BBC Radio 1
and from Top of the Pops
, due to its potentially offensive lyrics ('I wanna die just like JFK
, I wanna die in the USA'...'I wanna die just like Jesus Christ
, I wanna die on a bed of spikes'). The single was followed by the release of the album Honey's Dead
(1992), which received mixed reviews. Following the Rollercoaster tour to support the album, the band concentrated on cracking the United States, with an appearance on David Letterman
's show, and a tour as part of the Lollapalooza
line-up, which William later described as "the worst experience of our lives," followed by their own headlining tour. In December 1992, the Reids again lost their rhythm section, with Ben Lurie returning and Steve Monti joining on drums. Another compilation was released in 1993, The Sound of Speed
, before they returned to the studio to record their fifth album proper, Stoned & Dethroned
which would see release in 1994, and featured guest appearances from Shane MacGowan
and William's then-girlfriend Hope Sandoval
. The album was originally planned as an acoustic album, but this idea was abandoned because, in Jim's words, "We couldn't do enough interesting things with acoustic guitars to make an album".
Following the release of the 1995 compilation Hate Rock 'N' Roll
, the Mary Chain parted ways with Blanco y Negro, their record label of over a decade, and re-signed to their original label Creation Records
, and Sub Pop
in America. The band now included former Lush
bassist Phil King. They then recorded 1998's Munki
album, which would turn out to be their last before splitting the following year. Munki was commercially the least successful album the band released, peaking at number forty-seven in the UK Album Chart. The album featured the Reid's sister Linda, who sang on the track "Mo Tucker" as well as vocals from Hope Sandoval on "Perfume".
Though it was not until October 1999 that the split was made official, on 12 September 1998, William had a falling out in the tour bus with guitarist Ben Lurie before they were to play a sold out performance at the famous Los Angeles House of Blues
. Jim appeared onstage apparently drunk and barely able to stand or sing. William walked offstage about 15 minutes into their set, and the show ended. The audience was later refunded the price of their tickets. The band finished up their U.S. and Japanese dates without William, but from that point, it was clear that the band was at its end. Jim Reid said in 2006 of the tension between himself and William: "After each tour we wanted to kill each other, and after the final tour we tried".
along with Lurie and ex-Gun Club bassist Romi Mori and Earl Brutus
drummer Nick Sanderson
, although neither act received much attention or found any success. In October 2005, it was announced that the Reids were reunited; Jim Reid's track "Song For A Secret" a duet with his wife Julie Barber, was released as a single, paired up with Sister Vanilla's "Can't Stop The Rock", which was written and produced by William Reid and the brothers' younger sibling, Linda. The single was released by Transistor Records on 17 October. Jim Reid promoted his side of the single with a very rare solo gig at London's Sonic Cathedral club on John Peel Day , Thursday 13 October 2005. He finished this rare live appearance with a performance of the early Mary Chain classic "Never Understand". Jim Reid also performed new material at low-key gigs with a new band comprising Phil King on guitar, Loz Colbert (Ride
) on drums and bassist Mark Crozer
(International Jetsetters).
In 2006 five albums were reissued through Rhino Records: Psychocandy, Darklands, Automatic, Honey's Dead and Stoned & Dethroned on 11 July 2006. Each album was released with a DVD
containing three promo videos from that particular album.
for "Just Like Honey" as part of their 27 April 2007 main-stage performance. At the warm up gig on 26 April 2007, in Pomona, California
, they were instead joined by Annie Hardy
of Giant Drag. The band's first UK performance since reforming was at the Meltdown
festival in June 2007.
In an interview to Uncut magazine, Jim Reid
announced that a new album by the band is in the works. In March 2008, the band released a studio recording of "All Things Must Pass" on the soundtrack album to the NBC
television drama Heroes
. It is the first new song to be released by the Jesus and Mary Chain since 1998.
In September 2008, Rhino Records released a 4 CD box set entitled The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities
. The box set consists of material from the Barbed Wire Kisses
, The Sound of Speed
and The Jesus And Mary Chain Hate Rock 'n' Roll
compilations, alongside unreleased tracks and rarities from throughout their career; including early performances, unheard demos, re-mixes, alternate versions of some songs and bootleg recordings.
with:
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band formed in East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim
Jim Reid
Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
and William Reid
William Reid (musician)
William Adam Reid is a guitarist, composer and, at times, singer for the Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
. They released a string of albums, singles and EPs between their 1983 formation and their 1999 breakup, and gained notoriety in their early days for short sets and violence that became common at their live shows. In 2007, the band reunited.
Early years
Brothers Jim and William Reid had been inspired to form a band as far back as 1977, having heard groups such as the Sex PistolsSex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, but it would be the early Eighties before they actually formed their own. William stated, "It was perfect timing because there weren't any guitar bands. Everybody was making this electronic pop music." Before forming the band, the brothers had spent five years on the dole
Jobseeker's Allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance is a United Kingdom benefit, colloquially known as the dole . It is a form of unemployment benefit paid by the government to people who are unemployed and seeking work. It is part of the social security benefits system and is intended to cover living expenses while the...
, and in those five years they wrote and recorded songs at home and worked out the sound and image of the band. Originally called The Poppy Seeds, and then Death of Joey, they initially told journalists that they had taken their eventual name from a line in a Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
film, although six months later they admitted that this wasn't true. Other accounts suggest that the name derived from an offer on a breakfast cereal packet, where customers could send off for a gold Jesus & Mary chain.
The brothers started recording and sending demos to record companies in 1983, and by early 1984 they had recruited bass player Douglas Hart
Douglas Hart
Douglas Hart is a British musician and music video director.-Biography:Hart was the first bassist and founding member of the Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain, and played with the group from 1984 to 1991...
and teenage drummer Murray Dalglish
Murray Dalglish
Murray Dalglish was the original drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain from their formation in early 1984 until November 1984 when he was replaced by Bobby Gillespie. Aged 16 when he joined the band, Daglish played a two-piece drum kit, which he did whilst standing up; this style would later be...
. Early influences included The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, and The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
, William stating in 1985, "We all love The Shangri-Las, and one day we're going to make Shangri-Las records." Early demos displayed a similarity to the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
, prompting the brothers to add another element to their sound, in William's words: "That's why we started using noise and feedback. We want to make records that sound different." They began playing live in Spring 1984. In the early days Jim Reid's guitar would be left out of tune, while Dalglish's drum kit was limited to two drums, and Hart's bass guitar only had three strings, down to two by 1985; In Hart's words "that's the two I use, I mean what's the fucking point spending money on another two? Two is enough."
Struggling to get gigs, the band took to turning up at venues claiming to be the support band, playing their short set and making a quick exit. After failing to generate any interest from concert promoters and record labels in Scotland, the band relocated to Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London, in May 1984, and soon afterwards their demo tape was passed to fellow Scot Alan McGee
Alan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
by Bobby Gillespie
Bobby Gillespie
Robert Bernard Andrew "Bobby" Gillespie is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and founding member of the alternative rock band, Primal Scream. He was also the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain in the mid-1980s.- Early life :Born and raised in the south side district of Mount Florida in...
, McGee subsequently promoting a gig for the band at the Living Room in London in June 1984. On the strength of hearing the band sound check, McGee signed them to his Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
label on a one-off deal, and McGee also became the band's manager. The debut single, "Upside Down", was recorded in October and released in November that year. The sessions were produced by Joe Foster, but McGee, unsatisfied with Foster's work, remixed the A-side, although the B-side, a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
's "Vegetable Man", remained credited to Foster. The band were gaining increasing attention from the music press at this time with Neil Taylor of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
describing them as "the best band in the world".
Dalglish left in November 1984 after a dispute over money and was replaced shortly afterwards by Bobby Gillespie
Bobby Gillespie
Robert Bernard Andrew "Bobby" Gillespie is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and founding member of the alternative rock band, Primal Scream. He was also the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain in the mid-1980s.- Early life :Born and raised in the south side district of Mount Florida in...
from Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
. In December the band were arrested for possession of amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
s, and Jim Reid also confessed to using LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. "Upside Down" topped the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
in February 1985 and then again in March and stayed on the chart for 76 weeks, selling around 35,000 copies in total, making it one of the biggest-selling indie singles of the 1980s.
Playing in front of small audiences, during early shows the Mary Chain performed very short gigs, typically fuelled by amphetamines and lasting around 20 minutes, and played with their backs to the audience, refusing to speak to them. In late December 1984, the band performed as part of the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
Rock Week. During their performance, bottles were thrown on stage, with press reports exaggerating events and claiming that there had been a riot, and national newspaper The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
running a story on the band concentrating on violence and drugs, the band attracting the tag "The new Sex Pistols". This led several local councils to ban the band from performing in their area.
Psychocandy
The success of "Upside Down" led to interest from WEA-subsidiary Blanco y Negro RecordsBlanco y Negro Records
Blanco y Negro Records, a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records.Blanco y Negro was home to such artists as Bananarama, Everything But the Girl, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Dream Academy, Dinosaur Jr., Bernthøler, A House, Catatonia, The...
which signed the group in early 1985. The group released the single "Never Understand
Never Understand
"Never Understand" is the first single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album Psychocandy. It was the band's first release on Blanco y Negro Records and was released through them in February 1985. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was...
" in February which reached number forty-seven in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The label had initially refused to press the single due to its B-side, "Suck", but went ahead given the alternative put forward by the band, a song called "Jesus Fuck". The band were eager to get "Jesus Fuck" released, and Alan McGee got as far as producing test pressings of a re-issue of "Upside Down" with the song on the B-side, before the band insisted that Blanco y Negro include the track on their next single. The follow-up, "You Trip Me Up", was delayed due to staff at the pressing plant refusing to press it due to the presence of the song, now re-titled "Jesus Suck"; The single was released in June 1985 with a new B-side, "Just Out of Reach". John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
got the band to record a second session for his BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show in February 1985 (the first was only a few months earlier), and the band also made a TV appearance on Whistle Test in March and The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
the same year. The third single for Blanco y Negro, "Just Like Honey", released in October, gave them their biggest hit to date, reaching #45.
Eager to avoid the violence of earlier gigs and to give an opportunity for their songs to be heard without distortion and feedback, the band planned to perform several unannounced acoustic sets supporting Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, but this was abandoned when the plans were leaked. Their debut album Psychocandy
Psychocandy
Psychocandy is the debut album by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, released in November 1985. Psychocandy combined the concepts of pop songs and searing guitar chords....
followed in November that year. The album fused together the Reids' two primary influences, the guitar noise of The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
with The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
and Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
; In fact, the album's opening song, "Just Like Honey," borrows Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
's famous drum intro from The Ronettes
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...
1963 classic, "Be My Baby
Be My Baby
"Be My Baby" is a 1963 single written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, performed by The Ronettes and produced by Spector. When released as a single, the song reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart and #4 on the UK's Record Retailer...
", produced and co-written by Spector. The record received unanimously positive reviews and is now considered a landmark recording. Drummer Gillespie announced his departure from the band in October 1985, to concentrate on Primal Scream. He had recorded most of the drums on Psychocandy, with John Moore filling in when Gillespie was unavailable, eventually joining the band to replace him. John Loder also acted as a stand-in drummer when Gillespie was unavailable for live performances.
When the band signed to WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
subsidiary Blanco y Negro
Blanco y Negro Records
Blanco y Negro Records, a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records.Blanco y Negro was home to such artists as Bananarama, Everything But the Girl, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Dream Academy, Dinosaur Jr., Bernthøler, A House, Catatonia, The...
in January 1985, there were stories reporting that they had stolen money from managing Director Rob Dickens' jacket and destroyed his office, all untrue but seen as good publicity by manager McGee. In a performance on Belgian television in March 1985, the band did smash the set and the audio equipment, but this was at the request of the TV producer. Such behaviour became expected of the band and many shows culminated with the Reids trashing their equipment, which was often followed by the audience throwing projectiles onto the stage and damaging equipment.
On 15 March 1985, the Jesus and Mary Chain played a gig at the North London Polytechnic
University of North London
The University of North London was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002. On 1 August 2002, it merged with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University. The former University of North London premises now form the new university's north campus, situated on...
in front of one of their largest crowds up to that point. The organizers had overbooked the venue, leaving hundreds of fans locked outside. When Gillespie and Hart attempted to break the locks, the police were called. Support band Meat Whiplash
Meat Whiplash
Meat Whiplash was an alternative rock band from East Kilbride, Scotland, that were amongst the first to be signed to Creation Records.The line-up was Paul McDermott , Stephen McLean , Edward Connelly and Michael Kerr . They took their name from a B-side track by The Fire Engines...
had stirred up violence before the Mary Chain even set foot onto the stage when singer Paul McDermott threw an empty wine bottle into the audience, prompting four members of the crowd to attack him, leading to their set being abandoned. Second act The Jasmine Minks
The Jasmine Minks
The Jasmine Minks are a British indie band, whose early singles were amongst the first releases by Creation Records.-History:Formed in Aberdeen in 1983, the band were initially a quartet of Jim Shepherd , Adam Sanderson , Martin Keena, and Tom Reid...
got through their set without incident, but the Jesus and Mary Chain then kept the audience waiting for over an hour before taking the stage, and then left the stage after playing for less than twenty minutes. Members of the audience began throwing cans at where the band were hiding behind the stage curtains, before mounting the stage to smash the equipment that remained there. The violence continued for some time before police eventually took control. The venue blamed the band's late appearance and two equipment breakdowns, while McGee issued a statement saying that "the audience were not smashing up the hall, they were smashing up pop music", going on to say "This is truly art as terrorism". The violence soon started to become a hindrance to the band, with people attending concerts simply for the violence rather than the music, William commenting "I hate it, I despise it. It gets in the way in terms of getting more gigs, and it gets in the way of our image". Many performances were cancelled during the remainder of 1985, with promoters or local councils not prepared to risk a riot. The violence flared up again at a performance at the Electric Ballroom
Electric Ballroom
The Electric Ballroom is a performance venue and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London . The Electric Ballroom has been in operation for over seventy years, during which time it has been used in many different ways.The two storey building has two dance floors and...
in Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
in September, with bottles thrown at the band while they played, and a section of the audience smashing up the amplification equipment and smashing the lights afterwards, with several people injured by flying glass. A major factor in the audience reaction was the length of the band's sets at the time, which lasted less than twenty-five minutes, Jim explaining this with "there's never been a group good enough to play any longer". Lack of songs was also a factor, according to Jim: "We've only got enough songs to play for that long".
After the success of the album in the UK, the band embarked on a tour of the United States in late 1985 and 1986, followed by a tour of Japan. On returning to the UK they toured the UK, this time without the trouble that had marred earlier performances. The band revived their acoustic intentions with a stripped-down session for John Peel in November 1985, which included "Psychocandy", the original album title track that was omitted from the release, and "Some Candy Talking", a song which they had been performing for over a year, but had left off the album. A second version of "Some Candy Talking" was issued on a free EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
issued with the NME in January 1986, and the song was released as the band's next single in July. It reached number thirteen in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, but attracted controversy when BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ Mike Smith
Mike Smith (television presenter)
Mike Smith is a British television, radio presenter, racing driver, pilot, and businessman.-Radio career:...
decided that the song was a paean to illegal drugs (denied by the band at the time, but admitted by William a year later) and convinced the station to ban it from being played.
Darklands and Automatic
In September 1986, the band parted ways with manager Alan McGee, and came close to splitting up later in the year, with Jim Reid suffering from "exhaustion". John Moore had become an established member, but moved to rhythm guitar, with former RedskinsThe Redskins
The Redskins were a 1980s English band, notable for their left-wing politics and catchy, danceable songs. Their music combined influences from soul, rockabilly, pop and punk rock.- History :...
member Martin Hewes joining the band briefly and former Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...
percussionist James Pinker taking over on drums. Blanco y Negro manager Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978.-Biography:...
took over management duties, and the band returned in December with two gigs at the National Ballroom in Kilburn, where they premiered new songs including "April Skies" and "Don't Get Hit". Early in 1987, they entered the studio to record their second album. The first fruits of these sessions were released on the "April Skies" single in April, which saw the band have their first top ten hit. The Beach Boys influence was evident on the B-side, which included "Kill Surf City", a reworking of Brian Wilson's "Surf City". The various formats released also included a cover of Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's "Who Do You Love?", a tribute to him with "Bo Diddley is Jesus", and a live version of Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
's "Mushroom". "Happy When It Rains" was the second pre-album single, strongly influenced by Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
's "My Girl", but it failed to match the success of "April Skies", only reaching number twenty-five. The band set out on another UK tour, this time with sets stretching to 45 minutes, although to a mixed reaction from the music press. They toured without a drummer, instead using a drum machine.
The band's second album, Darklands
Darklands (album)
Darklands is the second album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. Unlike their previous album, drum machines were used in place of drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a successful career as the frontman with Primal Scream...
, was released during the tour, in September 1987, described by writer Steve Taylor as "the definitive blend of light and shade". Featuring a more melodic sound, the album was recorded almost entirely by the Reids themselves, replacing live drums with a drum machine, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews by the British music press. The album's title track was released as a single in October, and the band were thrown off the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
music show The Roxy when they failed to mime well enough to it.
The band's dangerous reputation culminated at a gig at the RPM club in Toronto in November 1987, when after being heckled throughout the gig by a group in the audience, Jim Reid thrust his microphone stand towards them, hitting one on the head and slashing another on the arm. Jim was arrested and spent a night in jail, before being bailed to return the following February. He was subsequently given an absolute discharge after agreeing to give around £500 to a Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
charity and apologise to the complainants.
With the court case hanging over the band, they compiled a collection of B-sides and rarities for release in April 1988 as Barbed Wire Kisses
Barbed Wire Kisses
Barbed Wire Kisses is a compilation of singles, b-sides and rare tracks by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. Throughout the 1980s the band was known for their prodigious output in these formats, often in limited editions which quickly went out of print...
. They also selected live tracks from a Detroit concert the previous November for release while they planned further studio work. Dave Evans, former Mary Chain soundman and bass player with Biff Bang Pow!
Biff Bang Pow!
Biff Bang Pow! were an indie pop band from London, England, active between 1983 and 1991, centering around Creation Records boss Alan McGee.-History:...
(which also featured Alan McGee and Dick Green of Creation Records) and Richard Thomas, were recruited in early 1988 to replace Moore, who formed John Moore and the Expressway, and Pinker. Their next release was the new recording "Sidewalking", released in March 1988, and backed by some the live tracks, followed a month later by Barbed Wire Kisses.
The band's third studio album Automatic
Automatic (The Jesus and Mary Chain album)
Automatic is the third album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Mary Chain on this record is basically the core duo of brothers William and Jim Reid, with a drum machine providing percussion, and even a synthesizer filling in on bass guitar. The only other credited...
was released in October 1989, by which time Evans had been replaced by Ben Lurie
Ben Lurie
Ben Lurie is an Australian musician, best known as a member of the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from 1989 to 1998.-Biography:...
. Boasting heavy use of synthesized bass and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, the album was not received quite as well as its predecessors. It contained the singles "Head On" and "Blues From A Gun". By this time, the violence that was originally associated with the band was practically non-existent and the Reid brothers were less antagonistic and aggressive in general. The Rollercoaster EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(August 1990) would be their last release for over a year, the band undertaking a tour with My Bloody Valentine and Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
.
The 1990s
Douglas Hart had moonlighted with the Acid Angels in 1988, and left the band in 1991, to have a successful career in film making, before picking up his bass again in 2006, playing with the Sian Alice GroupSian Alice Group
Sian Alice Group is an English post-rock band with roots in experimental music and the avant-garde.The group was founded in 2006 and began working on their debut album 59.59 shortly thereafter. Recorded at Grays Inn Road, Clervaux’s London studio, 59.59 spans exactly 59 minutes and 59 seconds. As...
, Le Volume Courbe
Le Volume Courbe
Le Volume Courbe is a band by French-born, London-based singer/songwriter, Charlotte Marionneau. "Le Volume Courbe" was a name of a sculpture by a friend of Marionneau's....
and Cristine. Thomas also quit the band to join Renegade Soundwave
Renegade Soundwave
Renegade Soundwave was an electronic music group. Formed in London in 1986, the group originally consisted of Gary Asquith, Carl Bonnie and Danny Briottet.-History:...
. The fluid nature of the Mary Chain's line up continued throughout their entire career, with a revolving door of drummers, bassists and guitarists being recruited for TV appearances and gigs whenever they were required, the only constants being the Reid brothers. The Reid brothers recruited former Starlings
The Starlings
Starlings were an alternative rock band from London, England, formed in 1989, acting as a vehicle for New Zealand-born singer/guitarist Chris Sheehan . The group released two albums before splitting up in 1994...
rhythm section Matthew Parkin and Barry Blacker to replace Hart and Thomas.
The brothers bought their own recording studio in 1991 in Elephant & Castle in South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, which they dubbed The Drugstore, and they returned in February 1992 with the first fruits of the new studio, their next single, "Reverence", which gave them their biggest hit single in almost five years, reaching #10 in the UK. Spitting feedback and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bile in every direction, the track was banned from being played on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and from Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, due to its potentially offensive lyrics ('I wanna die just like JFK
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, I wanna die in the USA'...'I wanna die just like Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, I wanna die on a bed of spikes'). The single was followed by the release of the album Honey's Dead
Honey's Dead
Released in 1992, Honey's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Scottish rock group The Jesus and Mary Chain on Blanco y Negro Records. The title refers to one of the band's early hits, "Just Like Honey", and is intended to demonstrate a complete departure from their earlier musical style.The...
(1992), which received mixed reviews. Following the Rollercoaster tour to support the album, the band concentrated on cracking the United States, with an appearance on David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
's show, and a tour as part of the Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
line-up, which William later described as "the worst experience of our lives," followed by their own headlining tour. In December 1992, the Reids again lost their rhythm section, with Ben Lurie returning and Steve Monti joining on drums. Another compilation was released in 1993, The Sound of Speed
The Sound of Speed
The Sound of Speed is a compilation of singles and rare tracks by British Indie rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The tracklisting below is for the version released in most of the world - the Japanese version dropped "Snakedriver", "Something I Can't Have", "Write Record Release Blues", "Tower...
, before they returned to the studio to record their fifth album proper, Stoned & Dethroned
Stoned & Dethroned
Stoned & Dethroned is the fifth album by the Scottish alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain. After spending most of 1992 touring, including a slot on that year's Lollapalooza tour, the band went into the studio during January 1993 with the notion of recording an acoustic album...
which would see release in 1994, and featured guest appearances from Shane MacGowan
Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish musician and singer, best known as the original singer and songwriter of The Pogues.-History:...
and William's then-girlfriend Hope Sandoval
Hope Sandoval
Hope Sandoval is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer for Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions....
. The album was originally planned as an acoustic album, but this idea was abandoned because, in Jim's words, "We couldn't do enough interesting things with acoustic guitars to make an album".
Following the release of the 1995 compilation Hate Rock 'N' Roll
Hate Rock 'N' Roll
Hate Rock 'N' Roll is the third compilation of B-sides and rare tracks by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain.-Track listing:All songs written by Jim Reid and William Reid, except where noted.CD...
, the Mary Chain parted ways with Blanco y Negro, their record label of over a decade, and re-signed to their original label Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
, and Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
in America. The band now included former Lush
Lush (band)
Lush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label...
bassist Phil King. They then recorded 1998's Munki
Munki
Munki is the final studio album released by The Jesus and Mary Chain. After leaving Blanco y Negro, the Reid brothers signed to Sub Pop in the U.S. and Creation, who had released their debut single "Upside Down" in 1984, in the UK. After hearing the rough mixes to half of the songs on what would...
album, which would turn out to be their last before splitting the following year. Munki was commercially the least successful album the band released, peaking at number forty-seven in the UK Album Chart. The album featured the Reid's sister Linda, who sang on the track "Mo Tucker" as well as vocals from Hope Sandoval on "Perfume".
Though it was not until October 1999 that the split was made official, on 12 September 1998, William had a falling out in the tour bus with guitarist Ben Lurie before they were to play a sold out performance at the famous Los Angeles House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
. Jim appeared onstage apparently drunk and barely able to stand or sing. William walked offstage about 15 minutes into their set, and the show ended. The audience was later refunded the price of their tickets. The band finished up their U.S. and Japanese dates without William, but from that point, it was clear that the band was at its end. Jim Reid said in 2006 of the tension between himself and William: "After each tour we wanted to kill each other, and after the final tour we tried".
Post-split
Immediately after the split, William Reid went solo as Lazycame—having already released a solo EP in April 1998—and Jim Reid founded FreeheatFreeheat
Freeheat are a British Indie rock band formed by Jim Reid and Ben Lurie of The Jesus and Mary Chain and Romi Mori and Nick Sanderson of The Gun Club....
along with Lurie and ex-Gun Club bassist Romi Mori and Earl Brutus
Earl Brutus
Earl Brutus was a British indie rock band that emerged in the 1990s. It was formed in 1993 by Rob Marche, Jamie Fry, Nick Sanderson and Stuart Borman...
drummer Nick Sanderson
Nick Sanderson (musician)
Nick Sanderson was an English musician, most famous for being the front man in Earl Brutus, and a short-term member of the critically acclaimed Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-Musical career:...
, although neither act received much attention or found any success. In October 2005, it was announced that the Reids were reunited; Jim Reid's track "Song For A Secret" a duet with his wife Julie Barber, was released as a single, paired up with Sister Vanilla's "Can't Stop The Rock", which was written and produced by William Reid and the brothers' younger sibling, Linda. The single was released by Transistor Records on 17 October. Jim Reid promoted his side of the single with a very rare solo gig at London's Sonic Cathedral club on John Peel Day , Thursday 13 October 2005. He finished this rare live appearance with a performance of the early Mary Chain classic "Never Understand". Jim Reid also performed new material at low-key gigs with a new band comprising Phil King on guitar, Loz Colbert (Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
) on drums and bassist Mark Crozer
Mark Crozer
Mark Crozer is a British musician and current member of critically acclaimed Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain.-Musical career:...
(International Jetsetters).
In 2006 five albums were reissued through Rhino Records: Psychocandy, Darklands, Automatic, Honey's Dead and Stoned & Dethroned on 11 July 2006. Each album was released with a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
containing three promo videos from that particular album.
Reunion
On 22 January 2007, the band was confirmed as one of the acts for Coachella 2007. They were joined on stage by actress Scarlett JohanssonScarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
for "Just Like Honey" as part of their 27 April 2007 main-stage performance. At the warm up gig on 26 April 2007, in Pomona, California
Pomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
, they were instead joined by Annie Hardy
Annie Hardy
Annie-Summer Hardy is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the American rock act Giant Drag.Previously signed to Interscope Records, she was voted one of NMEs "50 Coolest People," and has received major news coverage in NME, Spin, MTV News and Rolling Stone, among others.She is known...
of Giant Drag. The band's first UK performance since reforming was at the Meltdown
Meltdown (festival)
Meltdown is an annual, English festival, held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Hayward...
festival in June 2007.
In an interview to Uncut magazine, Jim Reid
Jim Reid
Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
announced that a new album by the band is in the works. In March 2008, the band released a studio recording of "All Things Must Pass" on the soundtrack album to the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television drama Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
. It is the first new song to be released by the Jesus and Mary Chain since 1998.
In September 2008, Rhino Records released a 4 CD box set entitled The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities
The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities
-Personnel:* Vanessa Atkins - Editorial Supervision* Glenn A. Baker - Photography* Paul Barber - Project Assistant* Barry Blacker - Drums* P.G...
. The box set consists of material from the Barbed Wire Kisses
Barbed Wire Kisses
Barbed Wire Kisses is a compilation of singles, b-sides and rare tracks by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. Throughout the 1980s the band was known for their prodigious output in these formats, often in limited editions which quickly went out of print...
, The Sound of Speed
The Sound of Speed
The Sound of Speed is a compilation of singles and rare tracks by British Indie rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The tracklisting below is for the version released in most of the world - the Japanese version dropped "Snakedriver", "Something I Can't Have", "Write Record Release Blues", "Tower...
and The Jesus And Mary Chain Hate Rock 'n' Roll
Hate Rock 'N' Roll
Hate Rock 'N' Roll is the third compilation of B-sides and rare tracks by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain.-Track listing:All songs written by Jim Reid and William Reid, except where noted.CD...
compilations, alongside unreleased tracks and rarities from throughout their career; including early performances, unheard demos, re-mixes, alternate versions of some songs and bootleg recordings.
Discography
- PsychocandyPsychocandyPsychocandy is the debut album by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, released in November 1985. Psychocandy combined the concepts of pop songs and searing guitar chords....
(1985) - DarklandsDarklands (album)Darklands is the second album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. Unlike their previous album, drum machines were used in place of drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a successful career as the frontman with Primal Scream...
(1987) - AutomaticAutomatic (The Jesus and Mary Chain album)Automatic is the third album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Mary Chain on this record is basically the core duo of brothers William and Jim Reid, with a drum machine providing percussion, and even a synthesizer filling in on bass guitar. The only other credited...
(1989) - Honey's DeadHoney's DeadReleased in 1992, Honey's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Scottish rock group The Jesus and Mary Chain on Blanco y Negro Records. The title refers to one of the band's early hits, "Just Like Honey", and is intended to demonstrate a complete departure from their earlier musical style.The...
(1992) - Stoned & DethronedStoned & DethronedStoned & Dethroned is the fifth album by the Scottish alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain. After spending most of 1992 touring, including a slot on that year's Lollapalooza tour, the band went into the studio during January 1993 with the notion of recording an acoustic album...
(1994) - MunkiMunkiMunki is the final studio album released by The Jesus and Mary Chain. After leaving Blanco y Negro, the Reid brothers signed to Sub Pop in the U.S. and Creation, who had released their debut single "Upside Down" in 1984, in the UK. After hearing the rough mixes to half of the songs on what would...
(1998)
Band members
- Jim Reid (vocals, guitar)
- William Reid (guitar, vocals)
with:
- Douglas Hart (bass guitar, 1984–1991)
- Murray Dalglish (drums, 1984)
- Bobby Gillespie (drums, 1984–1985)
- John Moore (drums, guitar, 1985–1987)
- Martin Hewes (bass guitar, 1986)
- James Pinker (drums, 1986–1987)
- Dave Evans (rhythm guitar, 1987–1989)
- Richard Thomas (drums, 1988–1991)
- Ben Lurie (rhythm guitar, 1989–1998)
- Matthew Parkin (bass guitar, 1991–1992)
- Barry Blacker (drums, 1991–1992)
- Steve Monti (drums, 1992–1998)
- Nick Sanderson (drums, 1998)
- Phil King (bass guitar) (1998, 2007–present)
- Loz Colbert (drums, 2007–present)
- Mark Crozer (guitar, 2007–present)
External links
- theartsdesk Q&A: Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain (20 November 2010)