Jesus and Mary Chain's debut single, 'Upside Down', released in 1984, achieved the seemingly impossible, marrying bubblegum tunes with harsh, feedback-drenched distortion. At first listen, their debut album 'Psychocandy' (1985) could be seen to be nothing but white noise and squalling feedback, but peer a little deeper and you'll see loveable, simple pop songs peeking back out at you from underneath the wreckage. Their unique sound had a huge impact on both UK and US music, inspiring everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jnr. The band was centred around two Scottish brothers, William and Jim Reid, along with a cast of supporting characters - most notably Bobby Gillespie on drums, who went on to form Primal Scream. Subsequent albums included 'Darklands' (1987), 'Automatic' (1989) 'Honey's Dead' (1992) and 'Munki' (released on Sub Pop records in 1998). They disbanded in 1999, releasing their Peel sessions in 2000.
