The Jesus And Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain were formed in Scotland in 1983 by the Reid brothers William and Jim. Their drummer, Booby Gillespie, was to leave after the first album and would later form Primal Scream. Soon after forming they moved to London and signed to Alan McGhee's Creation label in 1984. After a handful of critically acclaimed singles their first album 'Psychcandy' was released in October 1984. Although failing to reach the UK top 30 it was a hit with the critics (especially NME) with its mix of pop melodies covered in feedback and white noise. The issues dealt with in the songs were typical of the garage rock bands that influnced their style (see Velvet Underground, Stooges etc.) centring on girls and drugs.

Their second album, 1986's 'Darklands' was more popular with the record buying public, propelled into the charts by the single 'April Skies'. The 1989 album 'Automatic' saw the Reid brothers enlist external musicians as and when needed while they remained the creative centre of the band.