Jesus And Mary Chain Then: Brothers Jim and William Reid formed the Jesus and Mary Chain in Scotland in 1983. Bassist Douglas Hart and drummer Murray Dagleish rounded out the band with the Reid's shared vocal and guitar duties. The group moved to London and released the single "Upside Down" which tops the U.K. Independent charts. They are quickly signed to the Warner Bros. subsidiary Blanco y Negro. On their well received 1985 debut, Psychocandy, Dageish was replaced on drums by Primal Scream vocalist Bobby Gillespie. The overall presence of guitar feedback was an important part of JaMC's sound and their debut was no different with singles like "Never Understand" and "Just Like Honey." Again they lost a drummber when Gillespie decided to spend more time with Primal Scream and John Loder was hired as a replacement. They hit the charts with another pair of singles, "Some Candy Talking" (controversial with its drug references) and the U.K. Top 10 hit "April Skies" before releasing their second album, Darklands in 1987. After replacing Loder with John Moore, the Reid brothers and Hart decided to just bring in session musicians when needed. A collection of rarities and B-sides called Barbed Wire Kisses followed a year later. The Jesus And Mary Chain ended the decade with Automatic, a bluesier outing that did well on the U.S. college charts spawning a hit single with "Head On" (later to be covered by the Pixies). Now: "Blues From A Gun" from Automatic debuts at #1 on the U.S. Modern Rock survey for two straight weeks. In 1991, Hart departs from the band. The Reids returned from the blues with Honey's Dead in 1992. The singles "Reverence" and "Far Gone And Out" (U.K.#10/U.K.#23) received heavy radio airplay and the album earned them a slot on Lollapalooza II. In 1994, they added a more acoustic feel to Stoned and Dethroned which included guest vocals from ex-Pogue Shane MacGowan and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval (who was William's girlfriend). "Sometimes Always" featuring Sandoval debuts at it's U.K.#23 peak. After a four-year studio hiatus, the band jumped to Sub Pop to release 1998's Munki. However, the after releasing two singles and a lot of thought they disbanded at the end of '98. Jim Reid and Ben Lurie are working on new material. William Reid recently recorded and released an EP titled Taster and an album, Fin Begin, on his Hottam record label.