Song · The Jesus and Mary Chain
“Never Understand” by The Jesus and Mary Chain
From the album Psychocandy (1985)
“Never Understand” by The Jesus and Mary Chain appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 1985. It was first released in 1985 on the album Psychocandy. Its best result is #1 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #37 alternative song of 1985 and #446 of the '80s.
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"Never Understand" was the first single from Psychocandy, the Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album, and their first record for Blanco y Negro, out in February 1985. William and Jim Reid wrote it and sing it, play the guitars and bury a sweet pop tune under a squall of feedback, with Douglas Hart on bass and Bobby Gillespie on drums. The band produced it themselves, with John Loder engineering.
It only got to 47 on the UK singles chart, but NME named it the top track of 1985, and the feedback is why it's still talked about as an influence. Not everyone was sold at the time: Spin likened the shriek to the screaming girls on Beatles live records, and John Leland thought the effect wore off after a few seconds, never fusing noise and hooks the way Hüsker Dü did.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 1 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1985 | 50 |
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