Summary
"Upside Down" is the debut single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain.[1] The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was produced by The Jesus and Mary Chain. The b-side is a cover of a Syd Barrett song and was produced by Joe Foster.
| "Upside Down" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Jesus and Mary Chain | ||||
| B-side | "Vegetable Man" | |||
| Released | November 1984 | |||
| Recorded | September 1984, Alaska Studios | |||
| Genre | Noise pop | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Creation | |||
| Songwriter(s) | William Reid, Jim Reid | |||
| Producer(s) | The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joe Foster | |||
| The Jesus and Mary Chain singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative Cover | ||||
 Cover of re-release | ||||
It is the band's only early period release for the Creation Records label.[2] And with about 50,000 copies sold it was the first success for the label.[3]
The sleeves for the first 1.000 copies (in black with red words and an address to write to the band under the credits[4]) were printed by Bobby Gillespie (the next drummer in the band) in Glasgow, and featured handwritten messages from the group. Subsequent copies (without the band address) were produced in several colour variations including red, yellow, blue and pink. In 1985 the single was re-released with a totally different sleeve but the same catalogue number.[5]
Reception edit
Spin wrote, "It's a sheer blast of power that threatens to overtake the big-beat drum and wrest control of the song. It buries Jim Reid's gentle and harmonic vocals, as if he'd sung them for a braking train. Like a synthesizer in hell, or a siren at full wail, the sound of feedback is an instrument in itself."[6]
Track listing edit
- 7" (CRE 012)
- "Upside Down" (Jim Reid, William Reid) – 3:00
- "Vegetable Man" (Syd Barrett) – 3:35
Personnel edit
The Jesus and Mary Chain edit
- Jim Reid – vocals, producer
- William Reid – guitar,[7] producer
- Douglas Hart – bass
- Murray Dalglish – drums
Additional personnel edit
- Alan McGee - producer (track 1)
- Joe Foster - producer (track 2)
References edit
- ^ "The Story of The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Jesus & Mary Chain celebrating 30 years of 'Psychocandy'". Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Upside Down and Creation Records Archived 25 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine"
- ^ www.discogs.com
- ^ "Upside Down / Vegetable Man". Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Andrea Enthal (June 1985). "Underground". Spin. No. 2. p. 34.
- ^ "April skies - the jesus and mary chain".