JAMC's early gigs have become the stuff of legend in underground circles. Playing in front of small audiences, the band earned their notoriety by playing very short gigs, some lasting no more than ten minutes and consisting of a constant wall of feedback and distortion. The group became know as well for playing with their backs to the audience and refusing to speak to them. Many shows culminated with the Reids trashing their equipment, which was often followed by the audience rioting. All of this delighted manager and Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who obviously found it very easy to get attention for the band, as well as aliened more commercially-minded music business figures.
Their debut single, "Upside Down", came out in 1984 on Creation, but they signed to the WEA-backed Blanco y Negro the following year. Said label released their debut album, titled 'Psychocandy', which fused together the Reid's two primary influences, the guitar noise and avant-garde rock of The Velvet Underground with the 60s pop leanings of Phil Spector and The Beach Boys. It included songs such as the indie sensation "Just Like Honey". The record divided many music fans due to its deliberately abrasive sound yet still received positive critical reviews and is now considered a landmark recording in the history of alternative music.
Gillespie left the band before the next album, 'Darklands, came out, going on to front Primal Scream. He was briefly replaced by John Moore (later of Black Box Recorder), before former Biff Bang Pow! drummer Dave Evans. The aforementioned 'Darklands' also received supportive reviews, and it showed a less noisy and more contemplative sound that was welcomed by both many post-punk fans and many mainstream rock fans. Notable songs from that period include "April Skies" and "Happy When It Rains".
Albums
# Psychocandy (November 1985)
# Darklands (September 1987)
# Automatic (September 1989)
# Honey's Dead (March 1992)
# Stoned & Dethroned (1994)
# Munki (June 1998)
# Damage and Joy (2017)
Plus the following - (sessions, singles, b-sides, live recordings et cetera)
# Barbed Wire Kisses (April 1988)
# The Sound of Speed (1993)
# Hate Rock N' Roll (1995)
# 21 Singles (2002)
# BBC Live in Concert (2003)
# The Complete John Peel Sessions (2003)
# The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities (2008)
For the iconic indie label Sub Pop, the band recorded 1998's 'Munki' album, which would turn out to be their last before splitting the following year. The album is often thought of as sounding 'divided' due to the Reids' crumbling relationship. Jim Reid has recalled: "Me and William weren't really getting along at all. That last year we barely even spoke. 'Munki' is one of my favorite albums, but it was really divided. William would go into the studio with the rest of the band and record while I wasn't there, and then I'd go in with them when William wasn't there."
William Reid then recorded as the artist Lazycame. Brother Jim formed the band Freeheat, which disbanded in 2003. Jim Reid is currently recording solo material and he has, to date, recorded and released one single Song For A Secret which was released on Transistor Records.
Like some of their influences such as Dee Dee Ramone, Lee Hazelwood, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, throughout their career the boys were rumored to have ongoing substance abuse issues, which may have contributed to their notoriety. They reportedly dabbled in regular use of things like amphetamines and heroin, which made for lyrical reference in songs like Some Candy Talking and the album title Stoned & Dethroned.
Despite not having huge commercial success, they've gone on to influence a range of other music groups such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Butthole Surfers, My Bloody Valentine, and Spacemen 3.
The Jesus and Mary Chain reunited to play at the Coachella Festival on April 27, 2007, followed by two more shows in Spain at the Summercase Festival. More shows followed in late 2007 and early 2008 in London.
Calling themselves 'Sister Vanilla' an LP, Little Pop Rock, was released in 2007 and reunites the brothers along with their sister, Linda, singing on most tracks.
Damage And Joy is the brand new studio album by The Jesus And Mary Chain, released on March 24th, 2017.
Other personnel;
Richard Thomas (drums 1988-1990)
Ben Lurie (bass/rhythm guitar/backing vocals 1989-1998)
Steve Monti (drums 1990-1995)
Matthew Parkin (bass 1992)
Barry Blackler (drums 1992)
Nick Sanderson (drums 1993-1998)
Mark Crozer (rhythm guitar 2007-now)
Loz Colbert (drums 2007-now)
JAMC singer Jim Reid is name-checked in the 2017 song "Lollipop (Ode to Jim)" by Canadian band Alvvays which begins "I saw Jim Reid in the corridor.." and contains other allusions to JAMC themes.
http://thejesusandmarychain.uk.com/
Taste of Cindy
The Jesus and Mary Chain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cindy's movin' on
Talkin' Cindy to everyone
'Til she's had her fun
She & me
Betwixt the sun and sea
Still she's talkin' to everyone
Though I've heard it before
Still I need more and more
But I just can't get away
Cindy kills me every day
oh oh oh, oh oh oh
oh oh oh, oh oh oh
And I've tried and I've tried but she looked right through me
Love's in my head when she talks so sweetly
Knife in my head when I think of Cindy
Knife in my hand it's a taste of Cindy oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh
The song "Taste of Cindy" by The Jesus and Mary Chain depicts the relationship between the singer and a woman named Cindy. The song starts off talking about Cindy moving on at the crack of dawn and talking to everyone until she's had her fun. The singer feels like he's in between the sun and the sea with Cindy, but she's still talking to everyone. The chorus talks about how the singer has heard it before, but he still needs more and more. However, he just can't get away from Cindy. Cindy kills the singer every day, yet he still can't escape her.
The lyrics seem to convey a sense of obsession or addiction. The singer can't get enough of Cindy, even though he's aware that she might not be good for him. He's drawn to her "sweet" talk, but there's also a "knife in his head" when he thinks of her. This could possibly suggest that Cindy's words are like a drug to him, leaving him with a sense of pleasure and pain. Overall, the song has a melancholic tone with the repetitive lyrics and guitar riffs, which add to the overall feeling of obsession.
Line by Line Meaning
Crack of dawn
The moment when dawn breaks
Cindy's movin' on
Cindy is leaving or moving on to a new place or phase in her life
Talkin' Cindy to everyone
Cindy is spreading gossip or stories about herself to anyone who will listen
'Til she's had her fun
Cindy keeps talking about herself until she feels satisfied or bored
She & me
The artist and Cindy are together
Betwixt the sun and sea
The singer and Cindy are in a location where the boundaries of the sky and sea are blurred
Still she's talkin' to everyone
Cindy continues to talk about herself to anyone who will listen, even while with the singer
Cindy's had her fun
Cindy is satisfied with her actions or words, and is ready to move on to something else
Though I've heard it before
The artist has heard Cindy's stories or gossip about herself before
Still I need more and more
Despite hearing it before, the artist has a desire to hear more from Cindy
But I just can't get away
The singer feels trapped by Cindy's hold on them, and cannot escape her influence
Cindy kills me every day
Cindy's actions or words cause the artist emotional pain or distress on a daily basis
Knife in my head when I think of Cindy
The singer feels a sharp pain or discomfort when they think about Cindy
Knife in my hand it's a taste of Cindy oh
The singer feels a desire to harm Cindy, or has already done so, and associates it with the 'taste' of Cindy
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@final58fant58
Crack of dawn
Cindy's moving on
Talking Cindy to everyone
Till she's had her fun
She and me
We twist the sun and sea
Still, she's talking to everyone
Cindy's had her fun
Though I've heard it before
Still, I need it more and more
But I just can't get away
Cindy kills me every day
And I tried and I tried but she looked right through me
Knife to my head when she talks so sweetly
Knife in my head when I think of Cindy
Knife in my head is the taste of Cindy
@thecitizenjoan
I like that there's no intro it just kinda gets right to it
@dinoramone6761
I always thought listening to anything off Psychocandy was like revisiting the history of rock'n'roll - The Stooges, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground, the '60s girl groups, the Ramones, Subway Sect - it's all there.....
@chrysiyfanti6810
Spot on!
@MrBooYa-yd5er
Yeah it is!
@wormwood3118
it is meta in a way. i always thought that this was the band that put the final nail in the coffin of rock n roll
@dimashadiwardani
yeah they was get influence by them
@bobux1987
Deffo Velvet Underground too. Feedback City all pedals blazing.
@stephenparis9595
This would definitely be on my mixtape of my top 20 songs ever. Possibly around 9. Such a headcleaner.
@williamnajera1173
Skywave and all its later subsidiaries like Ceremony and A Place To Bury Strangers all really began at this album, there are parts of Echodrone directly lifted from melodies on Psychocandy
@69ninesixty69
there's never too much bloody distorsion with jesus and the marychain...