Page 1069 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

The Jesus and Mary Chain, 1985 (l-r): Douglas Hart, William Reid, Jim Reid and Bobby
Gillespie. Photograph: Icon and Image/Getty Images

The pandemic continues to spit out fascinating accounts of musical lives. Chris Stein –
guitarist and prime mover of the pop/punk band Blondie – has penned the “no-holds-
barred” Under a Rock (Macmillan, 6 June). It promises to be starry, with names such
as Bowie, Warhol and Basquiat. “It’s got a lot of weird-ass stuff that actually happened
even if it might seem made up,” noted Stein on Instagram. Debbie Harry has written the
foreword.

Before the Gallaghers cornered the market in volatile brotherhood, the Reid siblings’
tempestuous relationship formed the crucible for the seminal Scottish noise-pop outfit
the Jesus and Mary Chain. Saturnine guitarist William and only slightly more easygoing
singer Jim have, somehow, co-authored a musical autobiography alongside music
journalist Ben Thompson. Never Understand: The Story of the Jesus and Mary
Chain (Orion, 29 August) promises to be “the story of the band in the first person by the
brothers in alternate, and sometimes conflicting, accounts”. Of course.
Yet all of the Mary Chain gigs that descended into riots struggle to hold a candle to the
madness of 1970s LA. Eccentric rock musician Frank Zappa started the trend for
strange pop star baby names. His daughter Moon Unit Zappa’s frank and funny
memoir, Earth to Moon (Orion, 1 August), offers copious nudity, white magic and
trauma from her hippy upbringing, as well as her own spell as a nepo baby pop star
with her sardonic 1982 hit, Valley Girl. KE

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