Never Understand

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title: "Never Understand" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["the-jesus-and-mary-chain-songs", "1985-singles", "songs-written-by-jim-reid", "songs-written-by-william-reid-(musician)", "1985-songs", "blanco-y-negro-records-singles", "british-pop-punk-songs"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Understand" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Never Understand
cover	Never Understand.jpg
type	single
artist	The Jesus and Mary Chain
album	Psychocandy
B-side	Suck
released	February 1985
genre
length	2:54
label	Blanco y Negro
writer	William Reid, Jim Reid
producer	The Jesus and Mary Chain
prev_title	Upside Down
prev_year	1984
next_title	You Trip Me Up
next_year	1985
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| name = Never Understand | cover = Never Understand.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = The Jesus and Mary Chain | album = Psychocandy | B-side = Suck | released = February 1985 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = 2:54 | label = Blanco y Negro | writer = William Reid, Jim Reid | producer = The Jesus and Mary Chain | prev_title = Upside Down | prev_year = 1984 | next_title = You Trip Me Up | next_year = 1985 "Never Understand" is the first single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album Psychocandy. It was the band's first release on Blanco y Negro Records and was released through them in February 1985. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was produced by The Jesus and Mary Chain. It is considered influential for its use of guitar feedback.

Chart performance

The single reached number 47 on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

The song was ranked number 1 among the "Tracks of the Year" for 1985 by NME.

Spin wrote, "On "Never Understand" the feedback shrieks like the zealous adolescent screams that drowned out the Beatles on every live record." John Leland added, "The effect is striking, but it has no depth and doesn't go anywhere after the first few seconds. In Hüsker Dü's music, the buzzing guitar and pop hooks enhance one another; Jesus and Mary Chain never puts the two together."

Track listing

All tracks written by Jim Reid and William Reid, except where noted.

;7" (NEG 8)

1. "Never Understand" – 2:54
2. "Suck" – 2:07

;12" (NEG 8T)

1. "Never Understand" – 2:54
2. "Suck" – 2:07
3. "Ambition" (Vic Godard) – 3:31

Personnel

The Jesus and Mary Chain

• Jim Reid – vocals, producer
• William Reid – guitar, producer
• Douglas Hart – bass, producer
• Bobby Gillespie – drums, producer

References

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "Taste of Cindy by The Jesus and Mary Chain - Track Info". [[AllMusic]].
2. Marszalek, Julian. (8 November 2011). "Brown Acid Black Leather: The Story Of The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy".
3. Kretsch, Ron. (28 April 2015). "Trent Reznor and Robert Smith talk about the Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Psychocandy'".
4. "[https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/It%20Ain%27t%20Fair Never Understand]". Chart Stats. Retrieved on 9 December 2008.
5. (10 October 2016). "Albums and Tracks of the Year".
6. Andrea Enthal. (June 1985). "Underground".
7. John Leland. (July 1985). "Singles".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::