Musically, culturally and even in terms of sheer attitude, the Jesus and Mary Chain stand alone. Their seminal debut album Psychocandy changed the course of popular music, and their iconic blend of psychotic white noise and darkly surreal lyrics that presaged the shoegaze movement continues to enchant and confound.

Zoë Howe's biography is the fierce, frank and funny tale of the Jesus and Mary Chain, told by the band members and their associates for the very first time. The story begins in the faceless town of East Kilbride, near Glasgow, at the dawn of the 1980s with two intense, chronically shy brothers, Jim and William Reid, listening to music in their shared bedroom. What follows charts an unforgettable journey complete with incendiary live performances, their pivotal relationship with Alan McGee's Creation Records and those famous fraternal tensions—with plenty of feedback, fighting, and crafting perfect pop music along the way.
It is high time this vastly influential group and sometime public enemy had their say.

Zoë Howe’s books include Typical Girls?: The Story of the Slits and How’s Your Dad: Living in the Shadow of a Rock Star Parent. Her writing has appeared in BBC Music, NME, The Quietus, Holy Moly, and Classic Rock and she has made music radio series for stations including Resonance FM. Zoë can be heard talking about rock’n’roll from time to time on BBC 6 Music, BBC London, E4 and Planet Rock.