THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN – Benchmark Debut LP ‘PSYCHOCANDY’ Came Out 40 Years Ago Today

Significant longplayers from the past

18 November 2025

Scottish post-punk pop heroes THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (1983–1999, 2007–present),
formed by Jim and William Reid, released their benchmark debut LP PSYCHOCANDY on
18 November 1985, today 40 years ago.

Its combination of guitar feedback and noise with traditional pop melody and structure proved influential on the forthcoming shoegaze genre and alternative rock in general.

Critics have noted the influence of classic 1960s pop groups, such
as The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones, alongside the work of legends
like The Stooges,  The Velvet Underground, and Suicide.

It peaked at #37 in the UK and became a long-time selling LP.

NME said: “A great searing citadel of beauty whose wall of noise,
once scaled, offers access to endless vistas of melody and emotion.”

Singles: Never Understand / You Trip Me Up / Just Like Honey

– NEVER UNDERSTAND –

– YOU TRIP ME UP –

– JUST LIKE HONEY –

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BIG BLASTS FROM THE PAST – 10 Classic Albums Turning 40 In 2025

Back in time

24 December 2024

Band: NEW ORDER
Album: Low Life
Their 3rd one,
#7 in the UK.

Melody Maker said: “The album boasts the most articulate sound
since The Cocteaus’ Treasure, elevating depression to ecstasy.”

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Band: THE POGUES
Album: Rum Sodomy & The Lash
2nd LP, #13 in the UK.

The album’s title is taken from a quotation attributed to Winston Churchill:
“Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.”

NME wrote: “A collection of free-ranging stuff to be sure. It’s never
sentimental, it’s rarely polite, and it’s certainly not ordinary.”

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Artist: TOM WAITS
Album: Rain Dogs
9th LP,
#188 in the US,
#29 in the UK.

The Village Voice wrote: “Waits worked out a unique and identifiable lounge-lizard
sound that suits his status as the poet of America’s non-nine-to-fivers.”

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Band: THE FALL
Album: This Nation’s Saving Grace
8th longplayer.

AllMusic: “This collection is ample proof of the pure confidence the group had
at this time. The Fall sound mysterious, down-to-earth, and hilarious all at the
same time.”

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Band: THE CURE
Album: The Head On The Door
6th one, #7 in the UK.

Pitchfork: “Their most focused
pop album. A tight, terrific package.”

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Artist: BRIAN ENO
Album: Thursday Afternoon

AllMusic: “Thursday Afternoon is an hour-long, uninterrupted ambient piece
created in Eno’s “holographic” compositional style, in which even the most brief
snippet of music is representative of the performance as a whole.”

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Band: TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS
Album: Southern Accents
Their 6th LP,
#7 in the US.

AllMusic: “An ambitious album, attempting to incorporate touches of soul,
psychedelia, and country into a loose concept about the modern South.”


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Band: THE CULT
Album: Love
Their second LP,
# in the UK.

AllMusic: “Considering the musical schizophrenia that would plague each
subsequent Cult release, Love just may be the band’s purest moment.”

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Band: THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
Album: Psychocandy

NME said: “A great searing citadel of beauty whose wall of noise,
once scaled, offers access to endless vistas of melody and emotion.”

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Band: HÜSKER DÜ
Album: Flip Your Wig
4th longplayer
#1 Indie charts UK

AllMusic: “Flip Your Wig would be a remarkable record on its own terms, but the fact that it followed New Day Rising by a matter of months and Zen Arcade by just over a year is simply astonishing.”

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THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN Smashing Belgian Studio While Performing ‘NEVER UNDERSTAND’

Memorable live moments

Watch THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN smashing it up, with Bobby Gillespie (later becoming frontman of Primal Scream ) starting by trashing his drum, in a Belgian studio in 1985 while performing ‘NEVER UNDERSTAND’ from their brilliant debut LP ‘Psychocandy‘.

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN: Facebook