Group
The Jesus and Mary Chain
- From
- East Kilbride, United Kingdom
- Since
- 1984–present
- Rating
- ★ 4
- Releases
- 76
- alternative rock
- noise pop
- post-punk
- shoegaze
- indie rock
- rock
About
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the band since its formation. They are recognized as key figures in the development of the noise pop and shoegaze subgenres. The band have had twelve top 40 entries and two top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart in the course of their career.
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The Reid brothers recruited Douglas Hart on bass and Murray Dalglish on drums as their initial lineup. After signing to the independent label Creation Records, they released their first single "Upside Down" in 1984. Bobby Gillespie replaced Dalglish on drums, and their debut album, Psychocandy, was released to critical acclaim in 1985 on the major label WEA. After its release, Gillespie left the band to work on his own band Primal Scream. The band's biggest commercial success domestically was their second album Darklands, which reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart in 1987 and spawned the hit single "April Skies", peaking at No. 8 in the UK. The band released their third album, Automatic, in 1989, which spawned their first charting singles in the US, "Blues from a Gun" and "Head On", which were heavily played on alternative rock radio stations. Hart departed from the band two years later.
The Jesus and Mary Chain then released the albums Honey's Dead in 1992 and Stoned & Dethroned in 1994, both of which continued their popularity in the US. "Sometimes Always", taken from Stoned & Dethroned, became the band's most commercially successful single in the US as it peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band departed from WEA after ten years, and then signed with Sub Pop Records in the US and re-signed with Creation Records in the UK for the release of the album Munki in 1998. The band broke up the following year as a result of an onstage altercation the year prior; William Reid prematurely left a tour after fighting with an intoxicated Jim Reid. They eventually reunited in 2007, and in 2017, they released Damage and Joy, their first studio album in 19 years and seventh overall. Their next album, Glasgow Eyes, was released in 2024 and became the band's first top 10 album in the UK since 1988.
Members
-
Douglas Hart bass
-
David Evans guitar
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
-
Pop Seeds Apple Music
-
Chemical Animal
-
Girl 71
-
jamcod
-
Ono Yoko
-
Just Like Honey (2021 EL Inocente version) Apple Music
-
The Two of Us
-
Amputation
-
All Things Must Pass
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Lost in Translation
-
Cracking Up
-
I Love Rock ’n’ Roll
-
Birthday
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I Hate Rock ’n’ Roll
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Come On
-
Sometimes Always
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Who is Who / Heat
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Far Gone and Out Apple Music
-
Almost Gold Apple Music
-
Reverence
-
Head On
-
Surfin’ USA
-
Sidewalking Apple Music
-
Mouthcrazy
-
April Skies Apple Music
-
Blues From a Gun
-
You Trip Me Up
-
Never Understand Apple Music
-
Just Like Honey Apple Music
-
Upside Down
Live
-
Sunset 666
-
Live at the Fox Theatre in Detroit
-
Barrowlands Live
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2007-04-28: The Glasshouse, Pomona, CA
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2007-04-27: Coachella Festival, Indio CA
-
Live in Concert
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The Complete John Peel Sessions
-
’98 Tour EP
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Vengeance
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Live in Heaven 1987
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The Peel Sessions
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Live
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Riot
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1985-12-23: Live At The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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1987-04-10: U4 Club, Vienna, Austria
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1990-09-11: The Ritz, Manchester, England, UK
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1984-09-15: London, UK
Compilations
Other
Links
Social
Concerts
Buy
Also known as
JAMC · Jesus & Mary Chain · Jesus and Mary Chain · The Jesus & Mary Chain · The Jesus And Mary Chain · The Jesus And Marychain
Tags
- scottish
- creation records
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- e938a15c-b17e-4e7a-9f68-ff0d536cab44
- ISNI
- 0000000121796341
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 9 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.