‘Some Candy Talking’ – The Jesus And Mary Chain (1986)

“But it’s too much for a young heart to take,

'cause hearts are the easiest thing you could break."

Happy birthday! To this blog. One year old today. (“Oh, this is getting all very self-congratulatory, Michael – you’ve only been back two days.”) It’s not by chance it was conceived on 4^th May. But that’s for another post on another day. (Yes, narrative arc. Ooh.)

We began with my most favourite album ever: the Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy’ – celebrating it’s 25^th anniversary last year. And I can confirm that a year on it remains my most favourite album ever. And it seems fitting that we toast today with another Mary Chain gem celebrating 25 years: ‘Some Candy Talking’. (Can you guess next year’s anniversary record already, folks?).

Lots of the usual drug-related outrage from Radio One around this single (shown here in its limited edition, gatefold double 7-inch EP version, including acoustic Peel sessions – I can see you’re impressed). I always liked to think it was about one penny shrimps and fizzy cola bottles from the Woolies pick ‘n’ mix.

What I remember most from the time was the fringe-tastic Jim and William actually gracing the cover of Smash Hits, which also printed the lyrics and some wonderfully juxtaposed photos of the brothers in a field of blooming flowers that spent the year fading on my teenage bedroom walls. I’d love to find that copy of Smash Hits again. In fact, I’m off to track it down now as a birthday present to my blog – I’ll let you know how I get on. Probably.

Spotify linky:

The Jesus And Mary Chain – Some Candy Talking

'Curse Amazon and its open-all-hours trading policy'

Yes, a new (regular?) column to mark the birthday celebrations. Think of it as my present to you. (‘Thank you’ letters to the usual address.) Basically, it’s just a look at the CDs and stuff that arrived in the post today – a snapshot of what I’m consuming at the moment.

‘A Kiss In The Dreamhouse’ and ‘Tinderbox’ – Siouxsie and the Banshees

I’ve become rather smitten again with the Banshees over the past month (far more than I probably was back in my goth days) and these reissues from a couple of years back were today’s crimped hair fix.

‘Very Best Of’ – Morrissey

What a dreadful title. And yes, I’m buying all these songs for about the fifth time just to get one previously unreleased track. This is why you must never fall in love with Morrissey, kids.

‘In A Special Place’ – The Waterboys

Piano demos for 1985’s ‘This Is The Sea’. Including ‘The Whole Of The Moon’. ‘Nuff said.

‘Darkness & Light – The Complete BBC Recordings’ – The Only Ones

Had their radio sessions on vinyl from 20-odd years back and often wondered if they’d ever be released on CD. And now they are. It’s this sort of thing that makes me happy. Has inspired a future blog post. Now I know you’ll be back.

‘Lowside Of The Road – A Life Of Tom Waits’ – Barney Hoskins

Usually I avoid books disowned by singers (yes, Johnny Rogan, I’m looking at you). But this has got such good reviews and I really want to learn just what it is he’s actually singing about.

'Psychocandy' - The Jesus & Mary Chain (1985)

“Walking back to you
Is the hardest thing that
I can do”

My mum once asked me for the defining moment in my life. My reply was ‘Psychocandy’.

The day it came out I was 14 and couldn’t afford it. So I convinced my friend Christopher to buy it down Our Price that weekend, claiming that it was the greatest thing he was ever going to hear. This was a lie as he was very much the school’s King of Funkadelica. But he went with my recommendation. And hated it. And sold it to me a day later for 50 pence.

I’ve since bought it again many times over in every format, but that very first vinyl copy remains a treasure to me. How many teenage hours were spent looking at that sleeve while the songs rattled and screeched through my tinny, tiny speakers? You weren’t there, so can’t possibly answer that, but you get the idea. It was lots.

Here were four scraggly men. In black. With the most wonderful fringes. Look! That’s me. In my New Town home. Thinking I’m not alone. And the songs all burst into life on a squeal of feedback, spat out only half-intelligible thoughts about tripping people up, and then crashed to an end. All in two minutes. Why wasn’t Nik Kershaw doing stuff like this?

I’m quite sure ‘Taste of Cindy’ was the first song I heard from the album – on a free Record Mirror (or somesuch) flexi-disc that my older cousin Grant played me – so I have a huge soft spot for it. But my favourite remains ‘Just Like Honey’. I always imagined using it in the climax of a film. What? Oh.

I’m feeling bad about Christopher now. Don’t worry, I’ll pay him back properly next time I see him.

Spotify linky:

The Jesus And Mary Chain – Just Like Honey