Head On (song)
1989 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain
"Head On" is a song written by Jim Reid and William Reid of the Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain. It was originally recorded for the group's 1989 album Automatic and was released as a single in November 1989.
Background
In the UK, it was released in seven different formats, including four 7" singles. One 7" single was released per week, and one of them included a cardboard box to house the full set.
The single reached #57 in the UK. In the US, it was broadcast a lot on Alternative radio, so it reached #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart which listed the most played songs on college radios. In Australia, the single peaked at #102 on the ARIA singles chart.
The song has been covered by several other groups, most notably the American alternative rock band Pixies on their fourth studio album, Trompe Le Monde. The melody and lyrics of the chorus are also quoted by Liz Phair in "Slave," the fourth song from the Sooty tape of her self-produced Girly-Sound tapes.
"Head On" appeared in the Superman & Lois episode of the same name when Kyle requests the song at the Valentine's Day dance.
Musical style
Denise Sullivan of AllMusic described the song as "blueprint post-punk in the tradition of Joy Division/New Order." The song relies on a synth bass and a drum machine, latter of which provides a pop-influenced new wave beat.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Head On (song)” as 1989 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1989 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5689204. The first chronological checks are 1989.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Head On (song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.