Never Understood

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

A TELEGRAPH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR
A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR
A RESIDENT MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR

In Never Understood, William Jim tell the story of The Jesus and Mary Chain - one of Britain's greatest guitar bands - for the very first time.

A wildly funny and improbably moving chronicle of brotherly strife, feedback, riots, drug and alcohol addiction, eternal outsiders and extreme shyness - and a love letter to the Scottish working-class family - Never Understood is a bona-fide classic of rock 'n' roll literature.

'Here is the story of the Reid brothers' rollercoaster life. Scream if you want to go faster: they'll almost certainly oblige'
Ian Rankin

'Entertaining . . . fraught, funny and occasionally farcical'
The Scotsman

Critics Review

Art ignites in the mind and, in the case of The Jesus and Mary Chain, churns relentlessly on to the centre stage. Perhaps the definitive outcasts-saved-by-rock 'n' roll story
IRVINE WELSH
Forget Phil Spector's wall of sound - The Jesus and Mary Chain didn't know where to stop, and it led to the most exciting sounds to come out of the UK in a generation. Here is the story of the Reid brothers' rollercoaster life. Scream if you want to go faster - they'll almost certainly oblige
IAN RANKIN
In this entertaining autobiography, William and Jim Reid emerge as both expert chroniclers and good company . . . Fraught, funny and occasionally farcical
SCOTSMAN
An epic story about the Reid brothers' war against the world and themselves. An odyssey of rock 'n' roll, class, addiction, self-crucifixion and resurrection. As diseased and beautiful as their music. I couldn't put it down
BOBBY GILLESPIE
From the opening line to the last you get it all: addiction, poverty, success, misery, redemption. All told with a brutal, raw honesty and a dry, intoxicating realism
NICKY WIRE
A wonderful book. Jim and William were outsiders among outsiders and being in a band was life or death for them. Somehow against all the odds they created one of the most iconic bands of all time and easily some of the most sublime music of the 80s
ROISIN MURPHY
Funny and moving
Observer
TELEGRAPH

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
Best book ever
octomoth 10/03/2025

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.