Never Understood

The Jesus and Mary Chain

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Never Understood

By: William Reid, Jim Reid

Narrated by: Jim Reid, William Reid

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About this listen

A TELEGRAPH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR
A RESIDENT MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR

In Never Understood, William Jim tell the story of The Jesus and Mary Chain - one of Britain's greatest guitar bands - for the very first time.

A wildly funny and improbably moving chronicle of brotherly strife, feedback, riots, drug and alcohol addiction, eternal outsiders and extreme shyness - and a love letter to the Scottish working-class family - Never Understood is a bona-fide classic of rock 'n' roll literature.

'Here is the story of the Reid brothers' rollercoaster life. Scream if you want to go faster: they'll almost certainly oblige'
Ian Rankin

'Entertaining . . . fraught, funny and occasionally farcical'
The Scotsman©2024 James Reid and William Reid (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Entertainment & Celebrities

Music

Funny

Thought-Provoking

Witty

Alcohol

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Critic reviews

Art ignites in the mind and, in the case of The Jesus and Mary Chain, churns relentlessly on to the centre stage. Perhaps the definitive outcasts-saved-by-rock 'n' roll story (IRVINE WELSH)

An epic story about the Reid brothers' war against the world and themselves. An odyssey of rock 'n' roll, class, addiction, self-crucifixion and resurrection. As diseased and beautiful as their music. I couldn't put it down (BOBBY GILLESPIE)

From the opening line to the last you get it all: addiction, poverty, success, misery, redemption. All told with a brutal, raw honesty and a dry, intoxicating realism (NICKY WIRE)

A wonderful book. Jim and William were outsiders among outsiders and being in a band was life or death for them. Somehow against all the odds they created one of the most iconic bands of all time and easily some of the most sublime music of the 80s (ROISIN MURPHY)

Most relevant

Thank you William & Jim for writing this and reading it for audio. Didn’t want it to end, love how you take it in turns saying your part, love the dry humour, love the rock n’ roll stories, and love the honesty about insecurities and addictions. My favourite band and I am so pleased I now know more about them.