Never Understood by William Reid, Paperback, 9781399604123 | Buy online at The Nile
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Never Understood

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Author: William Reid and Jim Reid  

Never Understood
Paperback

The story of The Jesus and Mary Chain by the two founding members

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Pre order release date
13th October 2025
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$27.30
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13th October 2025
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Paperback

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

The story of The Jesus and Mary Chain by the two founding members

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Description

A TELEGRAPH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

AN UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

A RESIDENT MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

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

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

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Critic Reviews

Art ignites in the mind and, in the case of the mary chain, churns relentlessly on to the centre stage. perhaps the definitive outcasts-saved-by-rock 'n' roll story Irvine Welsh
Forget Phil Spector's wall of sound - The Jesus and Mary Chain didn't know where to stop, and it led to the most exciting sounds to come out of the UK in a generation. here is the story of the Reid brothers' rollercoaster life. scream if you want to go faster - they'll almost certainly oblige Ian Rankin
In this entertaining autobiography, William and Jim Reid emerge as both expert chroniclers and good company... Entertaining... fraught, funny and occasionally farcical The Scotsman
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
Funny and moving Observer
★★★★ The Telegraph

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About the Author

Brothers William and Jim Reid are founding members of The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Many revere them as true rock 'n' roll anti-heroes.

Ben Thompson is a critic, ghost writer, and radio host.

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Product Details

Publisher
Orion Publishing Co | White Rabbit
Published
10th July 2025
Pages
304
ISBN
9781399604123

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Pre order release date
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Check delivery options
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