The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the band since its formation. They are recognized as key figures in the development of the shoegaze and noise pop subgenres. The band recorded twelve top 40 singles and two top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart throughout their career.
Psychocandy is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released in November 1985 on Blanco y Negro Records. The album is considered a landmark recording: its combination of guitar feedback and noise with traditional pop melody and structure proved influential on the forthcoming shoegazing genre and alternative rock in general.
Barbed Wire Kisses is a compilation album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released on 18 April 1988 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album contains singles, B-sides and rare tracks. Throughout the 1980s the band was known for their prodigious output in these formats, often in limited editions which quickly went out of print. This album collects many of those releases spanning the band's career up to that point.
"Reverence" is a song by Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain, released as the first single from the group's fourth studio album, Honey's Dead (1992). It was released by Blanco y Negro Records on 3 February 1992 and reached number 10 on the UK Single Chart and number 21 in Ireland. BBC TV banned the song from airing due to the lyrics "I want to die just like Jesus Christ / I want to die just like J-F-K", but it was not banned from BBC Radio One.
Darklands is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 31 August 1987 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album is the band's first to use drum machines, replacing live drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a career as the frontman of Primal Scream. Lead vocals are performed by Jim Reid, with the exception of "Darklands", "Nine Million Rainy Days" and "On the Wall", which are sung by William Reid.
"Strange Glue" is a song by Welsh rock group Catatonia. Written by guitarist Owen Powell, it was the band's fourth single to be released from International Velvet and charted at No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. As a solo artist, lead singer Cerys Matthews later sang "Strange Glue" merged with the song "Galway Shawl" in concert.
"Just Like Honey" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the third and final single from the album through Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985. An important milestone in the development of the alternative rock subgenre of noise pop, the song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid. Drummer Bobby Gillespie quotes Hal Blaine's opening drum riff from The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" in the song's intro.
"Road Rage" is a song recorded by Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their second studio album, International Velvet (1998). It was written by band member Mark Roberts, with the production credit given generally to the band. "Road Rage" was released as the third single from the album on 20 April 1998 by Blanco y Negro, following their breakthrough success with the song "Mulder and Scully". The title "Road Rage" was based on the murder of Lee Harvey by his girlfriend Tracie Andrews in December 1996, something for which singer Cerys Matthews later apologised to Harvey's mother.
Some Candy Talking is an extended play (EP) by Scottish rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 14 July 1986 by Blanco y Negro Records. The EP includes an acoustic version of "Taste of Cindy", originally taken from the band's debut studio album, Psychocandy, and a song titled "Psychocandy", which did not appear on that album. The titular song did not appear on the original pressing of Psychocandy, but was featured when the album was released on CD in 1986.
"American Dream" is a song by English DJ Jakatta. The track samples two Thomas Newman pieces from the soundtrack for the 1999 film American Beauty: "American Beauty" and "Dead Already". A spoken-word sample from "Two of Hearts" by Stacey Q also appears on the track. The single peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and also reached the top 40 in Belgium, Ireland, and Spain. A remix of the song was released in mid-2001 and peaked at No. 63 in the UK. The majority of the track is in 6
4 time, which is unusual for dance music, which is typically in 4
4 time.
"Darklands" is a song by Scottish rock band the Jesus & Mary Chain and the third single from their album of the same name. The single was released in October 1987 by Blanco y Negro Records on 7-inch vinyl, 10-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl and as a CD single. The 10-inch and the CD were entitled Darklands E.P.
Sound of Speed is an extended play (EP) by Scottish rock band the Jesus & Mary Chain, released in June 1993. The EP was released by Blanco y Negro Records on 7-inch vinyl, 10-inch vinyl, cassette single, and CD single. It reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. William Reid and Jim Reid produced all the tracks.
"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 produced by The Jesus and Mary Chain. It is considered influential for its use of guitar feedback.
"You Trip Me Up" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the second single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in May 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid.
"Sidewalking" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released as a standalone single in March 1988 and included in the compilation album Barbed Wire Kisses, released in April 1988. The single is also included on their 2002 compilation album. 21 Singles. The track reflected the band's interest in hip hop and samples the drumbeat from the 1984 single "Roxanne's Revenge" by Roxanne Shante as a loop. "Sidewalking" reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, number 20 in Ireland, and number 23 in New Zealand.
"Happy When It Rains" is a song by Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain, released as the second single from their second studio album, Darklands (1987). It was issued through Blanco y Negro Records on 3 August 1987 and reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. It was released across three different formats; the 10-inch single is labelled as an extended play (EP).
"I Hate Rock 'n' Roll" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released as a single on CD and 10-inch vinyl in June 1995 and reached number 61 on the UK Singles Chart. The 10-inch format was numbered and limited to 5,000 copies, although additional copies are rumored to exist. This single was the band's last release on Blanco y Negro Records, for whom they had recorded since 1985.
"Game On" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Catatonia, released as the fifth and final single from their second studio album, International Velvet (1998), in October 1998. It was written by band members Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts and produced by TommyD and the band. Commercially, the song charted on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 33.
"Dead from the Waist Down" is a song by Welsh rock band Catatonia, taken from their third studio album, Equally Cursed and Blessed. It was written by Mark Roberts with Catatonia and produced by the band and TommyD. Released on 29 March 1999, the song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and was the band's only song to chart in New Zealand, where it peaked at number 44.
"Londinium" is a song by Welsh band Catatonia from their third studio album, Equally Cursed and Blessed (1999). It was written by Mark Roberts with Catatonia and produced by TommyD and the band. Released on 12 July 1999, the song reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
