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Barbed Wire Kisses

Barbed Wire Kisses

£7.99

Barbed Wire Kisses—The Jesus and Mary Chain Story

Feedback, fighting and perfectly crafted pop: the fierce, frank story of one of music's most vital bands.


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About the Ebook

Musically, culturally and in terms of sheer attitude, The Jesus and Mary Chain stand alone. Their seminal debut album Psychocandy changed the course of popular music with its iconic blend of psychotic white noise, darkly surreal lyrics and pop sensibility, and the band continue to enchant and confound. This fierce, frank and often funny tale begins in the faceless new town of East Kilbride, near Glasgow, at the dawn of the 1980s with two chronically shy brothers, Jim and William Reid, listening to music in their shared bedroom. What follows charts the formation of The Jesus and Mary Chain, their incendiary live performances, their relationship with Alan McGee's Creation Records and those famous fraternal tensions that prepared McGee for the onslaught of the Gallaghers, with plenty of feedback, fighting and, most importantly, perfectly crafted pop along the way. It is time this vastly influential group and sometime 'public enemy' had their say.

Why You'll Love This Ebook

  • Told in the words of the band members and their associates for the first time
  • Charts The Jesus and Mary Chain's rise from East Kilbride to musical infamy
  • Features rare and unseen images alongside a vivid account of 1980s indie and pop
  • Read another celebrated title from Polygon - an imprint of Birlinn Ltd

Reviews

'Barbed Wire Kisses adroitly charts the Mary Chain's career from their pre-Creation Portastudio demos through to their alcohol-fuelled implosion on 1998's ill-fated Munki tour.' Record Collector

'Bucking the biographical trend, pleasingly filled more with anecdotes than footnotes.' The Quietus

'Pretty Scottish boys surfing a wave of doom and gloom and enjoying every moment of it.' Rolling Stone


About the Author

Zoë Howe is a music writer, biographer, broadcaster and visual artist. Her renowned biographies include Typical Girls? The Story of The Slits, Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams & Rumours, Lee Brilleaux: Rock 'n' Roll Gentleman, Wilko Johnson: Looking Back at Me and Dayglo, a book about the life and work of X-Ray Spex singer Poly Styrene. Her novel Shine On, Marquee Moon was shortlisted for the Virginia Prize in 2016. She lives in Essex with her husband Dylan.

Publication Details

Publisher: Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd)

Publication Date: 16 April 2015

Print Length: 334 pages (Ebook edition)

ISBN (Ebook): 9780857906656

Format: Ebook


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