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 have had twelve top 40 entries and two top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart in the course of their career.
Robert Gillespie is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the lead singer, founding member, primary lyricist, and sole continuous member of the alternative rock band Primal Scream. He was the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain in the mid-1980s, leaving after the release of the band's debut album Psychocandy, and was once the bassist for The Wake.
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 shoegaze 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.
Honey's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, released in 1992 on Blanco y Negro Records. It marked a return to a more abrasive sound for the group, as well as incorporating elements of alternative dance. 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.
"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, reaching 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 Scottish rock band 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.
Automatic is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 9 October 1989 by Blanco y Negro Records. The group on this record consists of the core duo of brothers William and Jim Reid, with a drum machine providing percussion and synthesised bass. The only other credited musician was Richard Thomas, who joined the touring version of the Jesus and Mary Chain as a drummer. Thomas drummed on "Gimme Hell" and was a former member of Dif Juz. He also made appearances on Cocteau Twins' 1986 album Victorialand and This Mortal Coil's 1986 album Filigree & Shadow.
Stoned & Dethroned is the fifth studio album by the Scottish alternative rock 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. For the first time since Psychocandy, JAMC recorded with a full band with Steve Monti from Curve playing drums and touring bassist Ben Lurie. The recording took longer than planned, lasting the better part of a year. The album also features lead vocals from guests Shane MacGowan from The Pogues on "God Help Me" and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, singing a duet with Jim Reid on "Sometimes Always", which was the album's first single.
The Complete John Peel Sessions is an album released by Scottish alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain.
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.
"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.
"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.
"Sometimes Always" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain and the first single from the group's album Stoned & Dethroned. Written by William Reid, the song is a duet between Jim Reid and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. The song was a moderate commercial hit in the UK while also making some noise on the alternative circuit in the US. It has since seen critical acclaim as one of the best songs from the Stoned & Dethroned album.
"Upside Down" is the debut single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was produced by The Jesus and Mary Chain. The b-side is a cover of a Syd Barrett song and was produced by Joe Foster.
"Far Gone and Out" is a song by Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain, released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Honey's Dead (1992). It was released by Blanco y Negro Records in March 1992 and reached number 23 on the UK Single Chart. "Far Gone and Out" also peaked at number 88 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart in May 1992.
"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.
"April Skies" is a song by Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain and the first single from the group's second studio album, Darklands (1987). The song was released by Blanco y Negro Records in April 1987, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 6 in Ireland, and No. 16 in New Zealand, making it the band's highest-charting single in all three countries.
The Peel Sessions is an extended play (EP) by the Scottish rock band The Jesus & Mary Chain, released in September 1991 by Strange Fruit. It contains recordings the band made for John Peel's Radio 1 show. It was re-released in 2000 as part of a compilation containing all of the band's Peel sessions.
