The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are an alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Scotland in 1984. The band is based on the songs written by brothers Jim and William Reid and has had nineteen different musicians over the years. They have created many albums, singles and EPs. The band began playing in 1984 and stopped in 1999. In 2007 the band reunited and began work on a new album with Scarlett Johannson.[1][2][3]
The Jesus and Mary Chain | |
|---|---|
 The Jesus and Mary Chain performing at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, California on 23 October 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | Alternative rock, shoegazing, post-punk |
| Years active | 1984–1999, 2007–present |
| Labels | Creation, Blanco y Negro, Sub Pop |
| Associated acts | Freeheat, Lazycame, Black Box Recorder, Primal Scream |
| Website | www.thejesusandmarychain.org (offline) |
| Members | Jim Reid William Reid Loz Colbert Mark Crozer Phil King |
| Past members | Murray Dalglish Dave Evans Douglas Hart Bobby Gillespie Ben Lurie Steve Monti John Moore Nick Sanderson Richard Thomas |
History
Early years
The Jesus and Mary Chain was based on the songwriting partnership of its two main members, Jim and William Reid, and bass guitar player Douglas Hart.[1] The bands first career song, "Upside Down", was sold in October 1984 by Creation Records. The melody and lyrics ("Inside I feel so bad/So low I feel so sad/Feels like I'm going mad/Best friend I've ever had.") are similar to 1960s 'wall of sound' pop music such as music by Brill Building and Phil Spector, but "Upside Down" is more noisy with very simple drums and one guitar playing high pitched feedback during most of the song.
The first drummer to play for the band was Murray Dalglish who was replaced by Bobby Gillespie (now a singer for Primal Scream). William Reid claimed that he had played the drums for the first song himself because of Dalglish's lack of ability.[1][3] The single was given pleasing reviews by British music journalists, and the band was given fanatical support by the NME, it was their live shows that started most interest in The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Discography
Studio albums
- Psychocandy (1985)
- Darklands (1987)
- Automatic (1989)
- Honey's Dead (1992)
- Stoned & Dethroned (1994)
- Munki (1998)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jesus and Mary Chain : Interview with Jim Reid Part 1 Archived 2012-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, Penny Black Music
- ↑ Scarlett Johannson to sing with Jesus & Mary Chain? Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine, Yahoo! News
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 members of the mary chain, April Skies (fansite)