Jesus and Mary Chain

In early 1984, The Jesus and Mary Chain was formed by the two brothers Jim (vocals/guitar) and William (vocals/guitar) Reid hailing from East Kilbride, Scotland. A year prior to the band’s formation, the two brothers were recording two-man demos but (for some unknown reason) failed to impress any record companies. Fed up with the music of the early 1980’s, the Reid brothers decided to do something about it and, as a result, they recruited Douglas Hart (bass) and Murray Dalglish (drums); The Jesus and Mary Chain was a reality!

The band moved to London in the summer of 1984 and ran into Alan McGee (the owner of Creation Records) who was so impressed with one of the band’s demo tapes that he invited them to play their first gig in the English capital. The venue was called ‘The Living Room’ and was opened by McGee himself as a means to give “new” music a chance. McGee signed the band and they released their debut Upside Down. The debut did well in the independent charts and clearly manifested the group’s main trademark: feedback. In November 1984, Bobby Gillespie, singer of Primal Scream, replaced Dalglish on drums and due to a great amount of violence when the band performed live, The Jesus and Mary Chain attracted a great deal of media attention – consequently, they got banned from a number of venues!

Early 1985, the band signed to the WEA/Rough Trade label, Blanco Y Negro, while the Reid brothers’ use of amphetamine sulphate became known to the public. The band’s live performances seldom lasted longer than 20 minutes which lead to hostility and dissatisfaction among some of the audience who felt short-changed. Only a month prior to the release of the band’s debut album, Psychocandy, Gillespie departed and rejoined his former group. Psychocandy was out in November 1985 and was by many critics considered one of rock’s greatest debuts. Packed with distortion, feedback, and dark melodies, the debut’s a prime example of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s characteristic style.

August 1986 saw the release of Some Candy Talking which reached the UK Top 20. However, when it was claimed that the subject matter of Some Candy Talking was heroin, it received a reduced radio play. At the same time, The Jesus and Mary Chain parted from their manager, McGee, and also, they recruited a new drummer, John Moore. The band released two singles, April Skies and Happy When It Rains, which the press loved. The two singles preceded the band’s second album, Darklands released in 1987. The release of Darklands was followed by a turbulent tour of the States and Canada during which one of the Reid brothers was briefly arrested then declared innocent on a charge of assaulting a fan.

The band’s first compilation album, Barbed Wire Kisses was put out in spring 1988 and it included a number of the band’s out-takes. Two years later, the anticipated album Arrival was released and was actually done by the two Reid brothers only (plus programmed synth drums). The Jesus and Mary Chain were back in the charts in 1992 with the powerful lead single Reverence taken from the album Honey’s Death.

Another compilation album, Sound Of Speed was released in 1993 after which the brothers took a whole new approach to their music. The outcome was Stoned & Dethroned, from 1994, on which an acoustic, singer/songwriter mode was favoured as opposed to the feedback so characteristic of their previous work. Self-produced and recorded at home, Stoned & Dethroned also included guest appearances from Hope Sandoval (of Mazzy Star; see picture to the left) and Shane McGowan who appeared on Sometimes Always and God Help Me, respectively. At the end of 1997, The Jesus and Mary Chain rejoined Creation Records and issued the single Cracking Up in March the following year. The single was followed by the album Munki, on which the Reid brothers experimented with a motley collection of different styles and yet again, a guest appearance was made by Hope Sandoval. Sadly, the Jesus and Mary Chain have now split up due to disagreements between the Reid brothers.