"Blues from a Gun" is a Modern Rock number-one hit from

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they re ...

's album '' Automatic'' from 1989. It was released in four different formats, including a 3"

Mini CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

in a paper gatefold sleeve. It is one of the few singles by the band featuring lead vocals from

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, as opposed to

Jim Reid James McLeish Reid (born 29 December 1961) is a Scottish singer/songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid in 1983. Career The Jes ...

Chart performance

The single reached number 32 in the

UK single charts The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top- ...

, and three weeks at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart which listed the most played songs on alternative radio.

Track listing

All tracks written by

and William Reid, except where noted www.discogs.com
Retrieved 24 October 2015. ;7" (NEG41) # "Blues from a Gun" - 4:43 # "Shimmer" - 2:45 ;10" (NEG41TE) Gatefold # "Blues from a Gun" - 4:43 # "Shimmer" - 2:45 # "Penetration" - 2:46 # "Break Me Down" - 2:23 ;12" (NEG41T) # "Blues from a Gun" - 4:43 # "Shimmer" - 2:45 # "Penetration" - 2:46 # "Subway" - 2:04 ;CD3 (NEG41CD) # "Blues from a Gun" - 4:43 # "Shimmer" - 2:45 # "Penetration" - 2:46 # " My Girl" ( Smokey Robinson,

Ronald White Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

) - 2:31

Personnel

The Jesus and Mary Chain

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, synthesizer,

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

, producer * William Reid –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, guitar, synthesizer, drum programming, producer

Additional personnel

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music fro ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

(track 1) *Andrew Catlin –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

Charts

References

{{authority control The Jesus and Mary Chain songs 1989 singles Songs written by Jim Reid Songs written by William Reid (musician) 1989 songs Blanco y Negro Records singles