[10] The band, who performed "a handful of gigs" consisting of Sex Pistols and Ramones songs, disbanded when Ó Maonlaí left to form Hothouse Flowers.

Shields and Ó Cíosóig later formed A Life in the Day, a post-punk trio, but failed to secure performances with more than a hundred people present.

[8] Following A Life in the Day's dissolution, Shields and Ó Cíosóig formed My Bloody Valentine in early 1983 with bass player Mark Loughlin (nowadays recording as The Engineer) and lead vocalist David Conway.

[11] At the time the band saw the trailer for My Bloody Valentine on a rented VHS movie that they were watching during downtime on a weekend rehearsal at Kevin Shields parents home.

Second guitarist Stephen Ivers also joined the band at this time[12] My Bloody Valentine experienced a number of line-up changes during their initial months.

Shields and Ó Cíosóig overdubbed bass and drum tracks at Litton Lane Studios, and the tape was later used to secure a contract with Tycoon Records.

[9] Around this time, Conway, on the suggestion of Shields, contacted Gavin Friday, the lead vocalist of the post-punk band Virgin Prunes.

"[15] Shields agreed with the advice, commenting in January 1991 that "there was no room for us" in Ireland; Ó Cíosóig explained that the Irish music scene was not receptive to their style.

[17][18] Following their relocation to London in 1985, members of My Bloody Valentine lost contact with each other while looking for accommodation and Tina Durkin, not confident in her abilities as a keyboard player, left the band.

[17] Conway's departure left the band without a lead vocalist, and Shields, Ó Cíosóig and Googe advertised in the local music press for a new singer.

The audition process, which Shields described as "disastrous and excruciating," was unsuccessful because he had mentioned the Smiths in the advertisements "because [he] liked their melodies," attracting a number of vocalists whom he called "fruitballs.

Ecstasy was criticised as the product of "a group who appeared to have run out of money halfway through recording,"[14] which was later confirmed, as the band were funding the studio sessions themselves.

[14] In January 1988, My Bloody Valentine performed in Canterbury, opening for Biff Bang Pow!, a band that featured Creation Records founder Alan McGee.

off the stage," My Bloody Valentine were described as "the Irish equivalent to Hüsker Dü" by McGee,[24] who approached the band after the show and invited them to record and release a single on Creation.

"[27] Following several unproductive months,[28] during which Shields assumed main duties for the musical and technical aspects of the sessions, the band relocated to a total of 19 other studios and hired a number of engineers, including Alan Moulder, Anjali Dutt and Guy Fixsen.

Googe, who briefly worked as a taxi driver following her departure, formed the indie rock supergroup Snowpony with Katharine Gifford, who also performed with Stereolab and Moonshake.

[21] Unable to finalise a third album, Shields isolated himself, and, in his own words, "went crazy," drawing comparisons in the music press to the eccentric behavior of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd.

[36] Shields later became a touring member of Primal Scream, collaborated with a number of artists including Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr. and Le Volume Courbe[45] and recorded songs for the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation.

"[47] In August 2007, reports emerged suggesting that My Bloody Valentine would reunite for the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.

[48] Similar reports had circulated in 2003 stating that Shields, Butcher and Ó Cíosóig were together in Berlin to rerecord five songs originally recorded for Glider that would be included in an upcoming box set.

In March 2012, after a number of reported delays, Sony Music Ireland announced the release of the compilation album EP's 1988–1991—a collection of the band's Creation Records extended plays, singles and unreleased tracks.

[77] In 2022, My Bloody Valentine accused music streaming service Spotify of showing "fake lyrics" which the band called "completely incorrect and insulting".

[81] However, when the band began experimenting with pop melodies on The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (1986), it marked "a vital point in the development of their sound",[82] which was influenced primarily by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

[83] Isn't Anything and its preceding releases were influenced by American bands, most notably the distorted guitar-based noise rock of Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, as well as the experimental dream pop of British group A.R.

[88] In the mid-1990s, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig recorded music influenced by the rapid rhythms of the UK's underground jungle and drum and bass scenes.

[89][90] One of the most recognisable aspects of My Bloody Valentine's music is Shields' electric guitar sound, which "use[s] texture more than technique to create vivid soundscapes.

Shields used a number of alternate and open tunings[15] that together with his tremolo manipulation achieved "a strange warping effect that makes the music wander in and out of focus", according to Rolling Stone.

[100]My Bloody Valentine are regarded by some as the pioneers of the alternative rock subgenre known as shoegaze,[1] a term coined by Sounds journalists in the 1990s to describe certain bands' "motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor".

[106] Other bands and artists that have cited My Bloody Valentine as an influence include American Football,[107] Veruca Salt,[108] Mogwai,[109] Oneohtrix Point Never,[110] Thursday,[111] Naked Giants,[112] and Quicksand.

[113] Actor Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos fame has cited My Bloody Valentine as one of his favorite bands,[114] and described seeing them live as "a very profound experience, very physical and very visceral".