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03.1992
03.1992
J&MC, Valentines, Blur and Dinosaur Jr -- All For 12 pounds 50!
The two key words for The Jesus & Mary Chain this year are 'reverence' and 'rollercoaster'. 'Reverence' is the name of the comeback single that experts are already calling "a big, bruising wall of gore and feedback." It's a song that successfully holds true to the classic Mary Chain sound, while embracing dancier rhythms. 'Rollercoaster', meanwhile, sees the legendary Scots soundsmiths embark on a real old cavalcade of a UK tour (starting March 24), with My Bloody Valentine, Blur and Dinosaur Jr -- serious division one noise bands all -- playing sets every night. The idea, as Mary Chain guitarist William Reid laconically admits, was inspired by Jane's Addiction's pigeonhole-busting Lollapalooza tour of the US last year with Siouxsie And The Banshees, Ice-T, Nine Inch Nails and Living Color. And the presence of the other three bands should jack Rollercoaster's expected thrill-count up by several hundred per cent. Also, tickets are going for 12 pounds 50 -- pretty reasonable when you consider that seeing these bands on their own would set you back around 35 pounds.
"Basically," says William, "we thought a tour like this would be more exciting, both for the audience and for ourselves. We chose bands which we thought would offer diversity for the audience. I suppose My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. have pretty much the same audience as us. Not so much Blur, perhaps. Maybe there'll be people who come to see them and find the other three bands really good too."
So let's see. That's Jim and William Reid of the Mary Chain, Kevin Shields of the Valentines, Damon Albarn of Blur and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr ... who's likely to be the first casualty to exit bleeding from this battle of the egos?
"There's not been any problem with billing," says William firmly. "Each band will play 45 minutes and each'll get a 45 minute soundcheck. We play last every night, and the other three bands rotate the order each time. It's not your traditional headline/support group line-up. Originally we wanted seven or eight bands but it was too complicated with the venues we're playing and bands' schedules, etc."
The more churlish among us, of course, would point out that the Mary Chain's two-year silence has hardly kept them in the news, and that 'Rollercoaster' smells like a blatant attempt to get back in the public's hearts on the coat-tails of three currently more cred bands.
"We're very aware that we may have been left behind," William concedes.
"It's two and a half years since we last had a record out and things have changed so much since then. The Stone Roses hadn't really been heard of much at that time. Primal Scream have metamorphosed into a completely different band."
And a bigger one than the Mary Chain at that. Has the success of one-time Mary Chain drummer Bobby Gillespie surprised his former employers at all?
"It doesn't surprise me, no. They've always been a good band -- right from the start they've made some great records. Now they're getting the recognition they've always deserved. The dance thing has been the major thing, obviously."
And what about yourselves? 'Reverence' sounds like you've been paying attention ...
"We've been influenced by all these things," says William. "It's not something that you do in a contrived way, but you can't help hearing the stuff that's around and being influenced by it. People who've heard the album say it sounds like us but it's very different -- which is what we were aiming for. It's called 'Honey's Dead', a reference to 'Just Like Honey' (J&MC single from 1985) -- the idea that the old Mary Chain has been left behind and we've moved on."
So how come this album took so long to make? A Valentines-style
campaign-under-cover-of-darkness? A drought of ideas? An inter-personnel falling-out of G'N'R proportions? William explains it was nothing so convoluted.
"There's no point in making the same record every time you come to do an album. That's why it's taken so long, really. You have to wait for the songs to come, songs that are worthwhile. When you do an album you're, like, spent. All your energy and your ideas go into that record. You can't just do another one straight away. It takes time."
'Honey's Dead' will be released on blanco y negro at the end of March.
The two key words for The Jesus & Mary Chain this year are 'reverence' and 'rollercoaster'. 'Reverence' is the name of the comeback single that experts are already calling "a big, bruising wall of gore and feedback." It's a song that successfully holds true to the classic Mary Chain sound, while embracing dancier rhythms. 'Rollercoaster', meanwhile, sees the legendary Scots soundsmiths embark on a real old cavalcade of a UK tour (starting March 24), with My Bloody Valentine, Blur and Dinosaur Jr -- serious division one noise bands all -- playing sets every night. The idea, as Mary Chain guitarist William Reid laconically admits, was inspired by Jane's Addiction's pigeonhole-busting Lollapalooza tour of the US last year with Siouxsie And The Banshees, Ice-T, Nine Inch Nails and Living Color. And the presence of the other three bands should jack Rollercoaster's expected thrill-count up by several hundred per cent. Also, tickets are going for 12 pounds 50 -- pretty reasonable when you consider that seeing these bands on their own would set you back around 35 pounds.
"Basically," says William, "we thought a tour like this would be more exciting, both for the audience and for ourselves. We chose bands which we thought would offer diversity for the audience. I suppose My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. have pretty much the same audience as us. Not so much Blur, perhaps. Maybe there'll be people who come to see them and find the other three bands really good too."
So let's see. That's Jim and William Reid of the Mary Chain, Kevin Shields of the Valentines, Damon Albarn of Blur and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr ... who's likely to be the first casualty to exit bleeding from this battle of the egos?
"There's not been any problem with billing," says William firmly. "Each band will play 45 minutes and each'll get a 45 minute soundcheck. We play last every night, and the other three bands rotate the order each time. It's not your traditional headline/support group line-up. Originally we wanted seven or eight bands but it was too complicated with the venues we're playing and bands' schedules, etc."
The more churlish among us, of course, would point out that the Mary Chain's two-year silence has hardly kept them in the news, and that 'Rollercoaster' smells like a blatant attempt to get back in the public's hearts on the coat-tails of three currently more cred bands.
"We're very aware that we may have been left behind," William concedes.
"It's two and a half years since we last had a record out and things have changed so much since then. The Stone Roses hadn't really been heard of much at that time. Primal Scream have metamorphosed into a completely different band."
And a bigger one than the Mary Chain at that. Has the success of one-time Mary Chain drummer Bobby Gillespie surprised his former employers at all?
"It doesn't surprise me, no. They've always been a good band -- right from the start they've made some great records. Now they're getting the recognition they've always deserved. The dance thing has been the major thing, obviously."
And what about yourselves? 'Reverence' sounds like you've been paying attention ...
"We've been influenced by all these things," says William. "It's not something that you do in a contrived way, but you can't help hearing the stuff that's around and being influenced by it. People who've heard the album say it sounds like us but it's very different -- which is what we were aiming for. It's called 'Honey's Dead', a reference to 'Just Like Honey' (J&MC single from 1985) -- the idea that the old Mary Chain has been left behind and we've moved on."
So how come this album took so long to make? A Valentines-style
campaign-under-cover-of-darkness? A drought of ideas? An inter-personnel falling-out of G'N'R proportions? William explains it was nothing so convoluted.
"There's no point in making the same record every time you come to do an album. That's why it's taken so long, really. You have to wait for the songs to come, songs that are worthwhile. When you do an album you're, like, spent. All your energy and your ideas go into that record. You can't just do another one straight away. It takes time."
'Honey's Dead' will be released on blanco y negro at the end of March.
