Never Understood cover art

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)
All stars
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.

Fantastic listen!

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Uncompromising and never dull. Fascinating insights into the workings of this one of a kind band. I couldn't turn it off.

The best audiobook I've ever listened to

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Brilliant listening to Reid brothers talk about their lives and career. A big early JMC fan...was great to go down memory lane with them.

Jim and Williams different perspectives

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I always liked the Mary Chain and recognised how important their music is to many of my fave bands but I never fully loved them - now I think I do. Beautiful and painful and honest and heartfelt and funny and beautiful again. Treat yourself and listen to this.

Beautiful tone to the reading by both Jim and William.

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I’m a big j&mc fan, so I’m likely biased, but I really, really enjoyed this ramble through the Reids’ memories. Both Jim and William display a laconic sense of humour, alongside rueful embarrassment at past misdemeanours/mistakes. Moreover there’s a tangible sense of glee in the retelling of gossipy asides that makes the audiobook funnier than you might expect.

Candy was their dog?!

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