The Jesus and Mary Chain

Jesus and Mary Chain is a group of music Rock Britannique which existed of 1984 with 1999. The principal members were the brothers composer-songwriters Jim and William Reid, originating in East Kilbride in Scotland. They regularly left many individual albums and , of their first individual in 1984 until the separation of the group in 1999.

History of the group

Beginnings

Just like the group The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain was built around two type-setters. To set up their group, the Reid brothers recruited the bass player Douglas Binder and the beater Murray Galglish. This last was quickly replaced by Bobby Gillespie. The group recorded its first individual, Upside Down , left in October 1984, for the label Creation Records. In spite of an eulogistic reception of the first individual one by the British musical press and even if the group were encensé by the magazine New Musical Express train, these were especially the scenic services which caused the attention.

The hour of glory

The first appearances of Jesus and Mary Chain become the object of a legend in the medium of the independent rock'n'roll (also called " indé"). While playing in front of a public very few, Jesus and Mary Chain gains his notoriety with very short sets. Some do not last more than 10 minutes and consist of a wall of noise constant compound of Larsen and of distortion, others consist in playing back with the public while refusing of him to speak. Several concerts culminate with the Reid brothers destroying their material, which was often followed by riots of the public. All this enchanted the manager and owner of the label Creation Records, Alan McGee, which obviously found that the group could easily draw the attention. He wanted simply that the journalists of the musical press are present when these events occurred naturally, to ensure themselves to make the cover of the musical magazines.

The violence which followed each action of the group reached its top at the time of an event which forms part of the independent folklore now. March 15th, 1985, Jesus and Mary Chain played North London Polytechnic in front of one of their larger crowd. The first part Meat Whiplash had created agitation while returning towards the public a bottle which had been thrown to them. At the time when Jesus and Mary Chain begins his concert, the very overheated audience already starts a riot much more important and savage that all those which the group knew so far. The musical press was present this evening and this event was called thereafter " The riot Jesus and Mary Chain".

The same year, the group signs with the label Blanco Y Negro and leaves individual the You Trip Me Up and Never Understand which will be followed soon by their first Psychocandy album. This album mixes the two principal influences of the brothers Reid, his India of the guitars of the Velvet Underground with the pop tendencies of the Sixties of Phil Spector and of the Beach Boys. It will be noted that the group was amateur of drug LSD and that the drug influenced its borer-tympanum and squeaking Larsen which will become later their trademark. The disc accepted criticisms unanimously positive and is regarded today as a recording of reference.

Jesus and Mary Chain was returned of his label after a combat burst in Germany with for consequence the arrest of Reid for possession of amphetamine. That their was worth a disgracieuse comparison with the Sex Pistols by the British press and led them to appear in several tabloïds. As it was the case in the concerts Anarchy of Sex Pistols, in the concerts of Jesus and Mary Chain were prohibited in Plymouth, Birmingham, Sheffield and remove in a concert of Glasgow to have blasphemy on scene. The last date in concert took place in Brighton with a public of 600 people and an impressive army of police force. There no was fixing.

Two months later, the company of pressing of disc of the label WEA refused the production of individual the You Trip Me Up because part of its personnel regarded as obscene the piece of the face B of the individual one, Jesus suck . Even if the group in the beginning wished had called the piece Jesus Fucks , it were forced to off replace it by Just Out Reach .

After Psychocandy

After the Psychocandy album, the group records and leaves wrongly individual the Some Candy Talking , interpreted like speaking about use of heroin. In an interview published in 2005 in Filter Magazine, Jim Reid declares that " Some Candy Talking had nothing to do with drug. This idea was spread by the DJ of a radio and the title was then banished of all the radio operators of the Kingdom-Uni". Following the exit of Nap Candy Talking , Bobby Gillespie will leave the group to become the leader of Primal Scream full-time. It will be replaced by John Moore, who will leave to him also the group at the time of the exit of the second album, Darklands , in September 1987 (it will form Black Box then To retie with Luke Haines). Moore will be replaced by Dave Evans, former sound engineer of the group and bass player of the group Biff Bang Pow! (also including/understanding Alan McGee and Dick Green de Creation Records). Of a more melody sound, the album is recorded almost entirely by the Reid brothers themselves, replacing the battery by a box at rate/rhythm. It receives criticisms very positive by the British musical press.

The concerts of the group being hitherto regarded as the strong element of the group and the primary reason of their success, is now eclipse by their albums. In 1987 and 1988, they make their round without beater, a " roadie " having the load of a cassette playing the battery parts. The services are poorly received and they return quickly towards a beater, by recruiting Richard Thomas for two years, replaced thereafter by Steve Monti in 1990. Perpetual change of the musicians of Jesus and Mary Chain continuous through all their career, with a renewal of beaters, bass players and guitarists recruited with the liking of the tele appearances and concerts when that proves to be necessary, the only constant proving to be the Reid brothers.

The dangerous reputation of the group culminated curiously with a concert with club RPM in Toronto in November 1987, when Jim Reid struck with his support with microphone two fans who would have spit to him above. Jim was stopped and spent one night in prison. He later obtained a payment after having agreed to give 500 pounds to the Salvation Army.

Following the compilation of rare pieces Barbed Wire Kisses left in 1988 and with a round, the album Automatic leaves in September 1989. Asserting a synthetic basic intensive use and keyboards, the album is not as well received as the precedents. It contains individual the Head One and Dylan ode , Blues From has Gun . The violence usually associated with the music of the group is practically non-existent there and the Reid brothers become less antagonistic and aggressifs in general. It seems that they were calmed…

The Nineties

After one calmer period, the group contradicts its detractors with their individual following, Reverence . Spitting a bile again Punk rock'n'roll in all the directions, the piece was censured with the radio and it video censured on television because of words considered to be potentially offensive: " I wanna die just like J.F.K., I wanna die in the U.S.A." (which is translated: I want to die like J.F.K., I want to die in the U.S.A.). The individual one was followed by the exit of the album Honey' S Dead in 1992, considered as a return in strength: it preserves their his characteristic boring the tympanums while mixing with the influences of the British scene Dance of the moment. After the promotional tour of the album and the exit of another compilation of rare pieces, The Sound off speed , they turned over in studio to record their fifth album, the very acoustic Stoned & Dethroned which will leave in 1994.

Munki (1998)

After the last album of the trilogy of the scarcities, Haste Rock'n'roll Roll in 1995, Jesus and Mary Chain has separated from Blanco Y Negro, their label for more than ten years, and signs with the label " indé" American Pop Sub. It records there the album Munki in 1998, which will be their last before their separation the following year. The album often is regarded as musicalement divided because of the surging relations of the Reid brothers. Jim Reid remembers: " William and me we did not hear very well. The last year we hardly spoke each other. Munki is one of my favorite albums, but it was very divided. William was going to record in studio with the remainder of the group when I was not there and I went there when it was not là."

September 12th, 1998, William off has an argument with the guitarist Ben Lurie in the bus of the round before a concert with closed counters with famous the House Blues of Los Angeles. Jim and William dispute then during 15 minutes in full concert, with like consequence the departure of William of the group after this concert. The concert is regarded as one of worst group. William had left and Jim remembers to have been completely drunk. One considered the concert so bad that the public was refunded. The group finishes then its Japanese and American dates without William. From this moment, it was clear that the life of the group was finished.

After-separation

Immediately after separation, William Reid began a career solo under the name Lazycame and Jim Reid founded Freeheat, though none never received any attention or met success. In October 2005, it was announced that the Reid brothers were again brought together. The piece of Jim Song for has secret left into individual with the piece Cannot Stop The Rock of Sister Vanilla, writing and produced by William and the benjamine of the phratry, Linda. The individual one was published by the label Transitor Records on October 17th. Jim Reid made the promotion of his piece at the time of a service in London Sonic Cathedral club for the homage to John Peel, on October 13rd, 2005. He finished this exceptional service with traditional of the Jesus and Mary Chain, Never Understand .

In 2005, six years after the separation of the group, their piece Heat , of compilation Sound off Speed , was used in an advertizing campaign on television for the beer Coor' S in England.

John Moore formed Black Box To retie.

Influences

Jesus and Mary Chain is among the independent groups which had the most influence. Their first album Psychocandy , with the image of Cocteau Twins, largely influenced the movement Shoegaze of end of the year 80, just like many other American groups. One can as note as groups like My Bloody Valentine and Stone Roses quote Jesus and Mary Chain like influences major. The influence of Jesus and Mary Chain remains today still an influence which is confirmed by many resumptions of songs of the group (in particular by the Pixies). Contemporary groups like The Raveonettes and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are very indebted influence of Jesus and Mary Chain. Nevertheless, one can say that the greatest contribution of Jesus and Mary Chain was to have understood that the noise of the punk industrial rock'n'roll was not diametrically opposed to the melody of the pop, that both could weave a much better music together.

Discography

Individual and EPs

Upside Down (11/1984, Records Creation)
Never Understand (02/1985, Blanco there Negro)
You Trip Me Up (05/1985, Blanco there Negro)
Just Like Honey (09/1985, Blanco there Negro)
Some Candy Talking (07/1986, Blanco there Negro)
April Ski (04/1987, Blanco Y Negro)
Happy When It Rains (08/1987, Blanco Y Negro)
Darklands EP (10/1987, Blanco Y Negro)
Sidewalking (03/1988, Blanco Y Negro)
Blues From has Gun (09/1989, Blanco Y Negro)
Head One (11/1989, Blanco Y Negro)
Rollercoaster (09/1990, Blanco Y Negro)
Reverence (02/1992, Blanco Y Negro)
Far Gone and Out (04/1992, Blanco Y Negro)
Almost Gold (1992, Blanco Y Negro)
Sound Of Speed (1992, Blanco Y Negro)
Sometimes Always (1994, American Recordings)
Cracking Up (04/1998)
I Coil Rock-and-roll (05/1998)

Albums

Psychocandy (11/1985, Blanco there Negro)
Darklands (09/1987, Blanco there Negro)
Automatic (09/1989, Blanco there Negro)
Honey' S Dead (03/1992, Blanco there Negro)
Stoned & Dethroned (1994, Blanco there Negro)
Munki (06/1998, Pop Sub Records)

Compilations and various

Barbed Wire Kisses (B-Sides And More) (04/1988, Blanco there Negro)
Sound off Speed (1993, Blanco there Negro)
I Hastens Rock'n'roll Roll (05/1995, American Recordings)
The Complete John Peel Sessions (2000)
21 Individual (05/2002, Rhino Entertainment)
Live in Concert (2003)

External bonds

not-official site

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