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Cover of Darklands by The Jesus and Mary Chain
Cover: Darklands

Song · The Jesus and Mary Chain

“April Skies” by The Jesus and Mary Chain

From the album Darklands (1987)

“April Skies” by The Jesus and Mary Chain appears on 22 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1987 and 2023. It was first released in 1987 on the album Darklands. Its best result is #16 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #30 alternative song of 1987, #1,784 alternative song of all time and #225 of the '80s.

22countdowns
7stations
#16best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1987–2023years charted

Watch

The Jesus And Mary Chain - April Skies (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (UPROXX Indie Mixtape). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"April Skies" came out in April 1987 as the first taste of Darklands, the Jesus and Mary Chain's second album, and it's a dark, stately pop song draped in echo. Jim and William Reid wrote it, Jim sings it in a cool, bruised murmur, and Bill Price produced, giving the guitars a big, ringing sheen that still hides a snarl underneath.

It turned out to be the Scottish band's highest-charting single in Britain, Ireland and New Zealand alike. The B-side was "Kill Surf City", and the 12-inch stretched the A-side into a long version and tacked on "Who Do You Love?" for good measure.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1987 60 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987 91
1987 22 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 105
1987 16 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987 50

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 190 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1999 1935 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 1929 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1994 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1976 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 472 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1898 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 841 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1898 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1891 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 985 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 930 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 946 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 976 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1007 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1011 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1023 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 518 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2023 667 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Charting alongside it in 1987

Best songs of 1987 →
  1. 1Girlfriend in a ComaThe Smiths
  2. 2With or Without YouU2
  3. 3Dear GodXTC
  4. 4Why Can't I Be You?The Cure
  5. 5StrangeloveDepeche Mode
  6. 6Lips Like SugarEcho and the Bunnymen

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