Ecstasy (My Bloody Valentine album)
album by My Bloody Valentine
Ecstasy is the second mini album by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 23 November 1987 on Lazy Records. Released in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, it was the band's final release for Lazy Records and second to feature vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher, who was recruited in April 1987 following the departure of original My Bloody Valentine vocalist David Conway. Ecstasy followed the noise pop and twee pop standards set by My Bloody Valentine's earlier releases for the label, drawing influence from various artists including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and The Byrds, and the album distanced the band further from their earlier post-punk and gothic rock sound.
The album experienced several technical and financial problems during its recording sessions, including errors in the mastering process, and the band were dissatisfied with its outcome; although upon its release, Ecstasy received moderate critical acclaim and peaked at number 12 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. The album was later combined with My Bloody Valentine's preceding single, "Strawberry Wine", and reissued on the compilation album Ecstasy and Wine (1989), which was released on Lazy Records without the band's consent.
Background
Following minor success on the underground scene after the release of The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (1986) and 1987's "Sunny Sundae Smile", original My Bloody Valentine vocalist David Conway left the band due to a gastric illness, disillusionment with music and his ambitions to become a writer. The remaining members—guitarist Kevin Shields, drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig and bassist Debbie Googe—considered splitting up and forming a new band under a different name. However, the band placed advertisements for a vocalist in the local music press in London, which Shields referred to later as "pointless, … disastrous and excrutiating [sic]" due to the advertisements attracting a number of Morrissey inspired vocalists who he referred to as "fruitballs". Through mutual friends the band recruited two vocalists, Joe Byfield and Bilinda Butcher. After performing one show in April 1987 with both on vocals, My Bloody Valentine considered Byfield "unsuitable" for the band and he was subsequently fired.
“Ecstasy (My Bloody Valentine album)” enters the record as album by My Bloody Valentine. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ecstasy, Bloody and Valentine can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3718770. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987, 1989 and 1986.
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