Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers are a rock band from Blackwood, United Kingdom, formed in 1986 and still active. They are commonly called the Manics. Their core lineup is James Dean Bradfield on vocals and guitars, Nicky Wire on bass and occasional vocals, and Sean Moore on drums, backing vocals and occasional trumpet. The band also includes Jenny Watkins-Isnardi, Flicker, and the former member Richey James Edwards.

Formation and early years

The group begins in Blackwood in 1986, when James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore and rhythm guitarist Flicker form a band called Betty Blue. Two years later, Flicker leaves and Richey Edwards, previously the group’s driver and a friend of Nicky Wire, joins in his place. Their early work is shaped by the town they come from, by the closure of the mines, and by the political atmosphere around Thatcher-era Britain. Their lyrics take on overtly angry and politicised themes from the start.

Their first single, the self-financed Suicide Alley, makes little impact. After moving to London, they attract attention from Bob Stanley, who at the time is a freelancer for Melody Maker and later joins St Etienne. Stanley releases a collection of their demos as the New Art Riot EP in 1990, and publicist and co-manager Philip Hall then becomes involved. Heavenly releases Motown Junk in 1991, followed later that year by You Love Us.

Image, controversy and early albums

The band develops a distinctive image built around androgynous glam punk style, outspoken rhetoric and songs about culture, alienation, boredom and despair. That image often draws more attention than the music. Richey Edwards becomes notorious after carving the words “4 REAL” into his arm with a razor blade during an argument about the band’s authenticity, an act that requires seventeen stitches. He suffers from depression for many years, and self-mutilation becomes increasingly common.

Manic Street Preachers release their debut album, Generation Terrorists, in 1992. It sells 250,000 copies worldwide and polarises opinion, with some hearing a new force in rock and others dismissing the band as contrived. The album includes songs such as Slash ’N’ Burn and Motorcycle Emptiness. Their second album, Gold Against The Soul, appears in 1993 and is described as more overproduced and less passionate, but it includes La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) and From Despair To Where.

The 1994 album The Holy Bible is their darkest record and reflects the deterioration of Richey Edwards’ mental state. He returns for later European tours and a run of shows at the London Astoria, where the band destroy equipment at the end of the final night. That is their last live appearance as a four-piece.

Richey Edwards and the band’s continuation

On 1 February 1995, Richey Edwards disappears after leaving the Embassy Hotel in London. His passport and money are later found in his Cardiff Bay flat, and his car is discovered near the Severn Bridge. He is declared presumed deceased in November 2008. The file on his disappearance remains open. After waiting and considering what to do, the remaining members continue as a trio.

Before resuming full activity, the band records a cover of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head for the War Child album Help. They then work on their comeback album Everything Must Go, released in 1996. The album goes double platinum and produces four top ten singles: A Design For Life, the title track, Kevin Carter and Australia. Its sound combines the heavier approach of Gold Against The Soul with a less aggressive style that leans towards Britpop.

Commercial success and later releases

The band continues to find chart success, reaching number one three times. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours reaches number one in 1998, and its single If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next becomes their first number one single. The Masses Against The Classes also reaches number one in 2000. Overall, they achieve eight top ten albums and fifteen top ten singles.

They win Best British Album and Best British Group at the BRIT Awards in 1997 and 1999, and receive lifetime achievement recognition from the NME in 2008. Their later work includes the 2001 album Know Your Enemy, the greatest-hits set Forever Delayed in 2002, the covers-and-outtakes collection Lipstick Traces in 2003, and Lifeblood in 2004. Lifeblood includes the singles The Love Of Richard Nixon and Empty Souls, both of which enter the chart at number two.

Projects, collaborations and compilation releases

In 2005 the band releases the free-download EP God Save The Manics and also contributes the track Leviathan to the War Child album Help: A Day in the Life, becoming one of the few acts to contribute to both War Child releases. In 2006, James Dean Bradfield releases the solo album The Great Western and Nicky Wire releases I Killed the Zeitgeist.

They release Send Away The Tigers in 2007, followed by Journal For Plague Lovers in 2009. That album uses lyrics left by Richey Edwards before his disappearance and appears in several editions, including one with a book of typed lyrics and related images, plus a bonus disc of original demos recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth. The band say Rockfield is one of their favourite studios. Postcards from a Young Man follows in 2010 and includes guest appearances by Duff McKagan on A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun, John Cale on Auto-Intoxication and Ian McCulloch on Some Kind of Nothingness.

In 2011 they release National Treasures - The Complete Singles, a compilation that includes every single from Motown Junk onwards and is preceded by a cover of The The’s This Is The Day.