You Made Me Realise

You Made Me Realise
EP by
My Bloody Valentine
Released8 August 1988 (1988-08-08)
RecordedJanuary 1988
Genre
Length17:06
LabelCreation
ProducerMy Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine chronology
Ecstasy
(1987) 		You Made Me Realise
(1988) 		Feed Me with Your Kiss
(1988)
Singles from You Made Me Realise
  1. "You Made Me Realise"
    Released: 8 August 1988

You Made Me Realise (stylized in lowercase) is the third extended play (EP) by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1988. After the troubled production of Ecstasy (1987), the band were invited by record executive Alan McGee to release music under Creation Records. The EP was then recorded within a week in January 1988, during which vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields wrote most of its songs. The band recorded in a small Walthamstow studio provided by McGee and handled production by themselves. The EP blends the shoegaze, noise rock and dream pop genres, which were inspired by musicians Thurston Moore and J Mascis, while Shields was influenced by his smoking cannabis.

You Made Me Realise entered the UK Indie Chart at number two and was praised by the independent music press for My Bloody Valentine developing their sound. One single from the EP was released, "You Made Me Realise", which reached number 107 on the UK singles chart. The success of the record allowed the band to create six more releases for Creation throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Recording

From 1983 to 1986, My Bloody Valentine were signed to four independent record labels underwent several membership changes.[1][2] The band signed with Lazy Records in early 1987 and employed Bilinda Butcher as a replacement vocalist for David Conway, who left the band after becoming disillusioned with music.[3] Butcher began sharing lead vocals with guitarist Kevin Shields and learnt to play guitar.[1][4]

Before My Bloody Valentine could stabilize their new lineup, they faced pressure from Lazy to produce new records. This led to the releases of "Strawberry Wine", a standalone single, and Ecstasy, a mini album, in 1987. Both works received some positive reviews, although Ecstacy was plagued by technical problems and financial limitations.[5] This led to the band leaving Lazy in late 1987, leaving them without a label for the remainder of the year.[6]

In early 1988, the band was noticed by record executive Alan McGee while performing in Canterbury. McGee invited them to record and release music for his label Creation.You Made Me Realise was then conceived and recorded at a studio in Walthamstow in under a week.[7] The model on the cover is a mutual friend of My Bloody Valentine and Lush, who is commonly mistaken as Butcher.[8][9]

Music

You Made Me Realise is a shoegaze record that blends elements of noise rock and dream pop, marking a change in direction from the band's previous releases. Inspirations for the record include Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, who influenced Shields's guitar playing. He also evolved his use of reverse reverb, which he experimented with on "Strawberry Wine" and Ecstasy but "to no great consequence, because I was using it the way it was meant to be used." He also credited starting to smoke cannabis, which he had done for six months prior to the EP's conception, as an influence.[10]

Shields performs lead vocals on the first three songs of You Made Me Realise, and Butcher sings lead on the final two tracks. Shields wrote most of its lyrics with the exception of "Drive It All Over Me", which were penned by Butcher and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig.[11] It includes references to romance, sadomasochism, sexual intercourse and suicide.[12] Its title track "You Made Me Realise" became infamous for its noise section, often referred to as the "holocaust" section.[13]

Release

You Made Me Realise was released by Creation on 8 August 1988. The title track was released as a single that same day, and limited to 1,000 copies. It aided in the success of the EP, reaching 107 on the UK singles chart and five on the UK indie chart.[14] Two promotional music videos were directed by ex-Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart. Without My Bloody Valentine's consent, Mercury reissued You Made Me Realise and the band's following EP Feed Me with Your Kiss as a bundle in 1989. You Made Me Realise was remastered for the compilation album EP's 1988–1991, which was released in 2012.[15][16]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]

You Made Me Realise received positive reviews from critics. Nitsuh Abebe of AllMusic wrote that the EP "made critics stand up and take notice of the brilliant things My Bloody Valentine were up to [...] it developed some of the stunning guitar sounds that would become the band's trademark."[17] Spin's Simon Reynolds called the record "astonishing".[18] Daniel Harrison of Slate said it demonstrated "a massive step-up" for the band.[19] Pitchfork's Mark Richardson opined that You Made Me Realise "is a perennial on any list of the greatest EPs of all time and it vastly improves upon their earlier work. [...] They were finally a real rock band, with pulsing bass and brisk tempos and guitars that sound like guitars."[20] Alexis Petridis included all of the tracks from You Made Me Realise in The Guardian's list of the band's 20 greatest songs, with "You Made Me Realise" ranking highest at number two.[21] Writers at Paste rated it the ninth greatest EP ever made, going so far to say that it was "the best thing" they ever released.[22]

The EP's title track became a staple of My Bloody Valentine's live repertoire. During the band's performances, they repeat a single chord from the holocaust section for as long as they felt bearable, as the song descending into cacophony.[23] It usually lasts around 15 minutes, although there are reports of shows where it went on for well over half an hour.[23][24][25] Peter Kember, then of Spacemen 3, recalled seeing the band play "You Made Me Realise" at a live performance at the Roadmender in Northampton in 1988, after My Bloody Valentine had supported the Pixies on the latter's first European tour: "They’d transformed. I don't know quite what had happened, but sometimes bands hit a certain quantum shift. The noise was overwhelming".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kevin Shields, except where noted.

You Made Me Realise track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
1."You Made Me Realise"  Shields3:46
2."Slow"  Shields3:11
3."Thorn"  Shields3:36
4."Cigarette in Your Bed"  Butcher3:29
5."Drive It All Over Me"Bilinda Butcher, Colm Ó CíosóigShieldsButcher3:04

Notes

  • On some releases, every song's title is stylized in all lowercase letters. Other releases use regular title case for the song titles.

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from You Made Me Realise's liner notes.[11]

My Bloody Valentine

Technical personnel

  • My Bloody Valentine – production

Charts

Chart performance for You Made Me Realise
Chart (1988) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[26] 2

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Brown, Nick (February 1991). "My Bloody Valentine". Spiral Scratch. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  2. ^ Booth, Vachel (1989). "My Bloody Valentine: Weep For You". Underground. No. February 1989. p. 25.
  3. ^ Lazell 1997, p. 157.
  4. ^ Ó Cíosóig, Colm; Shields, Kevin (1988). "Transmission" (Interview). Interviewed by Rachael Davis. Channel 4.
  5. ^ Lazell 1997, p. 155.
  6. ^ Brown, Nick (February 1991). "My Bloody Valentine". Spiral Scratch.
  7. ^ McGonial 2007, p. 26–27.
  8. ^ Berenyi, Miki (16 March 2018). "Obscure shoey fact of the day: Lots of people think it's Billinda on the cover of My Bloody Valentine's You Made Me Realise but it's actually Melanie [...]". Twitter. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  9. ^ "My Bloody Valentine Merchandise Store". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  10. ^ Bonner, Michael (3 November 2017). "Going Blank Again: a history of shoegaze". Uncut. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b You Made Me Realise (Vinyl liner notes). My Bloody Valentine. Creation Records. 1988. CRE 055T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Hannan, Thomas (3 February 2013). "You Made Me Realise: In praise of My Bloody Valentine". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  13. ^ Bryan, Erik (23 September 2008). "The Holocaust section". The Morning News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  14. ^ "My Bloody Valentine | Artist". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  15. ^ Thiessen, Brock (16 April 2008). "My Bloody Valentine Box Set For Sale Through HMV Japan • News". Exclaim!. 1059434 Ontario. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  16. ^ "My Bloody Valentine – New Releases – Friday 4th May". Sony Music Ireland. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  17. ^ a b Abebe, Nitsuh. "You Made Me Realise [Creation] – My Bloody Valentine | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  18. ^ Reynolds, Simon (August 2008). "'It's the Opposite of Rock 'n' Roll'". Spin: 97. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  19. ^ Harrison, Daniel (8 May 2012). "My Bloody Valentine – Isn't Anything / Loveless / EPs 1988-1991". State. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  20. ^ Richardson, Mark (11 May 2012). "My Bloody Valentine: Isn't Anything / Loveless / EPs 1988-1991". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  21. ^ Petridis, Alexis (2 February 2023). "My Bloody Valentine's 20 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  22. ^ "The 100 Greatest EPs of All Time". Paste. 25 September 2024. Archived from the original on 30 January 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  23. ^ a b Lukowski, Andrzej (21 April 2009). "Shoegaze Week: thoughts on My Bloody Valentine's Holocaust". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  24. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (18 May 2008). "Daydream believers". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  25. ^ Ewing, Tom (22 June 2008). "My Bloody Valentine, The Roundhouse, London; 20 June 2008". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  26. ^ Lazell, Barry (2004). Indie Hits: 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.

Bibliography

  • Cavanagh, David (2000). The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0645-9.
  • Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits: 1980–1989: The Complete Guide to UK Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). London: Cherry Red. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
  • McGonial, Mike (2007). Loveless. 33⅓. New York: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-1548-6.
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