Editing The Jesus and Mary Chain (section)

===''Darklands'' and ''Automatic''===
In September 1986, the band parted ways with manager Alan McGee, and came close to splitting up later in the year, with Jim Reid suffering from "exhaustion".{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=73}} John Moore had become an established member, but moved to rhythm guitar, with former [[The Redskins|Redskins]] member Martin Hewes joining the band briefly (although he strongly denies ever joining) and former [[Dead Can Dance]] percussionist James Pinker taking over on drums.{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=73}}{{sfn|Thompson|2000|p=436}} Blanco y Negro manager [[Geoff Travis]] took over management duties, and the band returned in December with two gigs at the National Ballroom in [[Kilburn, London]] where they premiered new songs including "April Skies" and "Hit".{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=74}} Early in 1987, they entered the studio to record their second album. The first fruits of these sessions were released on the "[[April Skies]]" single in April, which saw the band have their first top ten hit.{{sfn|Strong|2003|p=383}} The Beach Boys influence was evident on the B-side, which included "Kill Surf City", a reworking of Brian Wilson's "[[Surf City (song)|Surf City]]".{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=76}} The various formats released also included a cover of [[Bo Diddley]]'s "Who Do You Love?", a tribute to him with "Bo Diddley is Jesus", and a live version of [[Can (band)|Can]]'s "[[Mushroom (song)|Mushroom]]".{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=77}} "[[Happy When It Rains]]" was the second pre-album single, strongly influenced by [[Smokey Robinson]]'s "My Girl", but it failed to match the success of "April Skies", only reaching number twenty-five.{{sfn|Robertson|1988|pp=80–81}} The band set out on another UK tour, this time with sets stretching to 45 minutes, although to a mixed reaction from the music press.{{sfn|Robertson|1988|pp=82–83}} They toured without a drummer, instead using a drum machine.{{sfn|Robertson|1988|pp=82–83}}

The band's second album, ''[[Darklands (album)|Darklands]]'', was released during the tour, in September, described by writer Steve Taylor as "the definitive blend of light and shade".{{sfn|Taylor|2004|p=129}} Featuring a more melodic sound, the album was recorded almost entirely by the Reids themselves,{{sfn|Taylor|2004|p=129}} replacing live drums with a drum machine, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews by the British music press.{{citation needed|date=February 2009}} The album's title track was released as a single in October, and the band were thrown off the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] music show ''[[The Roxy (TV series)|The Roxy]]'' when they failed to mime well enough to it.{{sfn|Thompson|2000|p=436}}

The band's dangerous reputation culminated at a gig at the RPM club in [[Toronto]] in November 1987, when after being heckled throughout the gig by a group in the audience, Jim Reid thrust his microphone stand towards them, hitting one on the head.{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=89}} Jim was arrested and spent a night in jail, before being bailed to return the following February. He was subsequently given an [[absolute discharge]] after agreeing to give around £500 to a [[Salvation Army]] charity and apologise to the complainant.{{sfn|Robertson|1988|p=89}}

With the court case hanging over the band, they compiled a collection of B-sides and rarities for release in April 1988 as ''[[Barbed Wire Kisses]]''. They also selected live tracks from a Detroit concert the previous November for release while they planned further studio work. Dave Evans, former Mary Chain soundman and bass player with [[Biff Bang Pow!]] (which also featured Alan McGee and Dick Green of Creation Records) was recruited in September 1987 to replace Moore, who formed John Moore and the Expressway. Richard Thomas joined on drums in early 1988. The band had been using drum tapes on tour before Thomas.{{sfn|Thompson|2000|p=436}}{{sfn|Strong|2003|p=384}} Their next release was the new recording "[[Sidewalking]]", released in March 1988, and backed by some of the live tracks, followed a month later by ''Barbed Wire Kisses''.{{sfn|Strong|2003|p=384}} Later that year, they did a remix for the single "[[Birthday (The Sugarcubes song)|Birthday]]" by [[The Sugarcubes]].

In September 1989, The band provided backing vocals for the [[Erasure (duo)|Erasure]] single "[[Drama!]]".

The band's third studio album ''[[Automatic (The Jesus and Mary Chain album)|Automatic]]'' was released in October 1989, by which time Evans had been replaced by [[Ben Lurie]].{{sfn|Thompson|2000|p=436}} Boasting heavy use of synthesized bass and [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]], the album was not received quite as well as its predecessors. It contained the singles "[[Head On (song)|Head On]]" and "[[Blues from a Gun]]". By this time, the violence that was originally associated with the band was practically non-existent and the Reid brothers were less antagonistic and aggressive in general. The ''Rollercoaster'' EP (August 1990) would be their last release for over a year, the band undertaking [[Rollercoaster Tour|a tour of the same name]] with [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]], [[Dinosaur Jr.]], and [[Blur (band)|Blur]].{{sfn|Strong|2003|p=383}}