"Head On"
Single bythe Jesus and Mary Chain
from the albumAutomatic
Released	November 1989
Genre	Post-punk[1] noise pop[2]
Length	4:11
Label	Blanco y Negro
Songwriters	William Reid,Jim Reid
Producers	Jim Reid,William Reid
The Jesus and Mary Chain singles chronology
"Blues from a Gun" (1989) "Head On" (1989) "Reverence" (1992)
Alternative Cover
Cover of 7" number 2
Alternative Cover
Cover of 7" number 3
Alternative Cover
Cover of 7" number 4

"Head On" is a song written byJim Reid andWilliam Reid of the Scottishalternative rock bandthe Jesus and Mary Chain. It was originally recorded for the group's 1989 albumAutomatic and was released as a single in November 1989.

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.^[3] In the US, it was broadcast a lot on Alternative radio, so it reached #2 on theBillboardModern Rock chart which listed the most played songs on college radios. In Australia, the single peaked at #102 on theARIA singles chart.^[4]

The song has been covered by several other groups, most notably the American alternative rock bandPixies on their fourth studio album,Trompe Le Monde. The melody and lyrics of the chorus are also quoted byLiz Phair in "Slave," the fourth song from theSooty tape of her self-producedGirly-Sound tapes.

"Head On" appeared in theSuperman & Lois episode of the same name when Kyle requests the song at the Valentine's Day dance.

Denise Sullivan ofAllMusic described the song as "blueprintpost-punk in the tradition ofJoy Division/New Order."^[1] The song relies on asynth bass and adrum machine,^[2] latter of which provides apop-influencednew wave beat.^[1] While the song lacks the layers ofguitar feedback of the band's previous works, it features a "1950s-style riff," provided byWilliam Reid.^[2] The song's style was also compared to the sound of theBeach Boys.^[1]

All tracks written byJim Reid andWilliam Reid, except where noted.

7" (NEG42)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "In The Black" - 2:59

7" (NEG42XB)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "Terminal Beach" - 2:25

7" (NEG42Y)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "Deviant Slice" - 3:00

7" (NEG42Z)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "I'm Glad I Never" (Lee Hazlewood) - 1:31

12" (NEG42TE)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "In The Black" - 2:59
3. "Terminal Beach" - 2:25

CD3 (NEG42CD)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "In The Black" - 2:59
3. "Drop(Acoustic Remix)" - 1:52
4. "Break Me Down" - 2:29

Cassette (NEG42C)

1. "Head On" - 4:11
2. "In The Black" - 2:59

• Jim Reid -vocals,guitar,synthesizer,drum programming,producer
• William Reid - guitar, synthesizer, drum programming, producer

• Alan Moulder -engineer ("Head On", "Drop")

"Head On"
Single byPixies
from the albumTrompe le Monde
A-side	"Head On" (Single Mix)
B-side	"Planet of Sound" (Live) "Tame" (Live) "Debaser" (Live)
Released	1991 (1991)
Recorded	1991
Studio	Master Control,Burbank Pacifique, Burbank Studio des dames, Paris Blackwing, London
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	2:14
Label	Elektra
Songwriters	Jim Reid,William Reid
Producer	Gil Norton
Pixies singles chronology
"Letter to Memphis" (1991) "Head On" (1991) "Debaser" (1997)

"Head On" wascovered by the Americanalternative rock bandPixies for their 1991 albumTrompe le Monde. Pixies' version was released as asingle in 1991.

The band chose to cover the song because Pixies frontmanBlack Francis liked the song.J Mascis ofDinosaur Jr. commented, "He [Francis] wasn't that hip when it came to modern music. He heard 'Head On' and just loved it. The Pixies were a strange band."^[7]

By 1991, Pixies refused to filmmusic videos for their singles. After a long debate withElektra Records, their record company in the United States, the band relented and agreed to film a video, as long as the song was done completely live. Peter Lubin, the A&R representative of Elektra at the time, later explained the situation:^[8]

By completely live that means full band, vocals, cameras roll, video's done by the end of two minutes and 13 seconds. One take, that's it. So those became the ground rules, that was the only way you were going to get a Pixies video for 'Head On' or anything else.

Lubin then came up with the idea for the video. Twelve cameras would be placed, "dividing" each band member into three blocks. FrontmanBlack Francis was happy with this idea, soScott Litt was then hired to produce the video.^[9] After the video had been filmed, Elektra invited the "whole decision-making team fromMTV" to view it. The video was added to MTV's rotation, later receiving the "Breakthrough Video" award.^[9]

All songs written byBlack Francis, except where otherwise noted.

1. "Head On" (Single Mix) (Jim Reid and William Reid) – 2:20
2. "Planet of Sound" (Live atBrixton Academy, 26 July 1991) – 2:26
3. "Tame" (Live at Brixton Academy, 26 July 1991) – 2:27
4. "Debaser" (Live in Chicago, 9 August 1989) – 2:41

• Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. "Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies." Virgin Books, 2005.ISBN 0-312-34007-9.

• "Head On" lyrics
• "Head On" atLast.fm
• "Head On" at Google Music

• 1989 songs
• 1989 singles
• 1991 singles
• The Jesus and Mary Chain songs
• Pixies (band) songs
• Elektra Records singles
• Songs written by Jim Reid
• Songs written by William Reid (musician)
• Blanco y Negro Records singles
• British post-punk songs
• Song recordings produced by Gil Norton

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from June 2014
• Use British English from June 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Articles with hAudio microformats
• Single chart usages for UKsinglesbyname
• Single chart called without song
• Single chart usages for Billboardalternativesongs