Music

The Mary Chain were formed in East Kilbride in 1983 by brothers William and Jim Reid, along with rudimentary drummer Bobby Gillespie (later of Primal Scream). Their demo found its way to Alan McGee who, as well as managing the band, released their debut single ‘Upside Down’ on his Creation label. When they arrived for their biggest gig to date on March 15 1985, their reputation – partly fact, partly fiction invented by McGee – preceded them. The promoters had oversold the venue, so tensions were high and scuffles broke out in the overcrowded hall. Stephen McLean, of support band Meat Whiplash, didn’t help matters by throwing an empty wine bottle from the stage. Feature continues

Next band The Jasmine Minks took no chances and armed themselves with hammers. There was a wait of an hour before the Mary Chain took to the stage and played for no longer than 20 minutes. That was it: the scuffles turned into a full-scale trashing of the venue and the PA system, resulting in four people being taken to hospital and over £8,000 worth of damage. McGee described the evening’s events as ‘art as terrorism’, but despite releasing ‘Psychocandy’ – one of the era’s defining albums – the Mary Chain split in 1998, frustrated at being the scourge of promoters and having to dodge a flurry of bottles every time they played.