The Jesus and Mary Chain’s debut 7″ “Upside Down” reissued by Third Man for 40th anniversary
The Jesus and Mary Chain‘s iconic and very noisy debut single, “Upside Down,” turned 40 this month and to celebrate Third Man Records has reissued it as a vinyl 7″ single. Third Man has made a color variation of the original artwork and it comes with their cover of Syd Barrett’s “Vegetable Man” as the b-side. Order yours.
“Upside Down” not only introduced the band to the world via a squall of feedback, it also turned Creation Records into one of the coolest indie labels in the UK almost overnight. There are conflicting stories as to how it came about, but originally the song was more of a traditional guitar pop song, but they had recorded pure feedback and noise on a spare track, which someone (Creation boss Alan McGee? The band?) suggested they turn all the way up in the mix. History was made. Whoever’s idea it was, the song is a classic and it’s hard to imagine shoegaze happening in quite the same way without it. Listen below.
The Jesus and Mary wrapped up their tour with The Psychedelic Furs last month.
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