The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain formed in East Kilbride in 1983, brothers Jim and William Reid developing a sound that nobody had quite heard before. Signed to Creation Records by Alan McGee after a legendary gig at the Living Room in London, they released 'Upside Down' in 1984 — a single of extraordinary noise and melody that announced a band who knew exactly what they were doing.

'Psychocandy' (1985) is one of the most important albums ever made. The concept was simple and radical: take the sweetest pop melodies imaginable and bury them in walls of feedback and distortion. The result was something that sounded simultaneously like the past and the future — the Beach Boys filtered through white noise. It influenced everyone who heard it.

'Darklands' (1987) stripped back the noise and revealed the melodies more clearly. 'Honey Dead Hand', 'April Skies', 'Happy When It Rains' — the songs were extraordinary. 'Automatic' (1992) and 'Honey's Dead' (1992) continued to develop the sound, adding drum machines and a harder electronic edge. The Reid brothers' relationship was always volatile, and the band split in 1999.

The reunion in 2007 was greeted with enormous enthusiasm, and the band have continued to tour and record. 'Damage and Joy' (2017) was their first album in eighteen years — a strong return that showed the Reid brothers' chemistry was still intact. Their influence on British music is incalculable: without the Jesus and Mary Chain, there is no shoegaze, no Britpop, and arguably no Primal Scream.