Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in
Blackwood, Caerphilly
Blackwood ( or ) is a town, community (Wales), community and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward on the Sirhowy River in the South Wales Valleys administered as part of Caerphilly County Borough. It is located ...
, in 1986. The band consists of
Nicky Wire
Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers.
Prior to the group, Wire studied politics ...
(bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is a ...
(lead vocals, lead guitar) and
Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes). They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh
Cool Cymru
Cool Cymru () was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Catatonia, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.
Etymology and usage
The term Cool Cymru (Cymru is ...
cultural movement.
Following the release of their debut single "
Suicide Alley
"Suicide Alley" is the debut single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was self-financed and released in 1988, while they were still an unsigned act.
Content
The sleeve is highly reminiscent of the Clash's eponymou ...
" in 1988, Manic Street Preachers became a
quartet
In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...
with the addition of
Richey Edwards
Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...
as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band's early releases were in a
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
vein, eventually broadening to a wider
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
sound. Their early combination of
androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...
glam
Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour.
Glam or GLAM may also refer to:
Film
* ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film
Institutions
* University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...
imagery and lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" gained them a loyal following.
Manic Street Preachers' first charting single was "
Motown Junk
"Motown Junk" is the second single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 January 1991 by Heavenly.
Release
"Motown Junk" was released on 21 January 1991 by record label Heavenly, the band's first release o ...
" in 1991, followed by their debut album, ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
'', in February 1992. The band's next two albums were ''
Gold Against the Soul
''Gold Against the Soul'' is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 June 1993 by Columbia Records. The follow-up to the band's 1992 debut album '' Generation Terrorists'', the record reach ...
'' in 1993 and ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
'' in 1994,
the latter being the last album with Edwards, who disappeared in February 1995 and was legally
presumed dead
A presumption of death occurs when an individual is believed to be dead, despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a presumption is t ...
in 2008. The band continued as a trio with Wire as primary lyricist, and achieved commercial success with the albums ''
Everything Must Go'' (1996) and ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 September 1998 by Epic Records.
Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Truth Tell Me ...
'' (1998).
The Manics have headlined festivals including
Glastonbury
Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
,
T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...
,
V Festival
V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...
and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, winning eleven
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
, eight
Q Awards
The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
and four
BRIT Awards.
They were nominated for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
in 1996 and 1999, and have had one nomination for the
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...
. The band has sold more than ten million albums worldwide. The Manics have had two number one singles in the UK charts: "
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 24 August 1998, through Epic Records as the first single from their fifth studio album, ''This Is My Truth Tel ...
" (1998) and "
The Masses Against the Classes
"The Masses Against the Classes" is a song by British rock band Manic Street Preachers, released as a limited-edition single in January 2000. It was a stand-alone single, not featured on any studio album, and was deleted (removed from wholesale s ...
" (2000), as well as two number one albums: ''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' and ''
The Ultra Vivid Lament'' (2021). From 1991 to 2010, they had 33 consecutive top 40 singles in the UK.
History
Formation and early years (1986–1991)
Manic Street Preachers formed in 1986 at
Oakdale Comprehensive School
Oakdale Comprehensive School was a comprehensive school located in the village of Oakdale, Caerphilly Oakdale in Caerphilly county, Wales. The total enrollment was about 660 pupils aged 11 to 16. Sixth-form provision was at Coleg Gwent in Cross ...
,
Blackwood
Blackwood may refer to:
Botany
* African blackwood (''Dalbergia melanoxylon''), a timber tree of Africa
* African blackwood ('' Erythrophleum africanum''), (''Peltophorum africanum'') also Rhodesian blackwood, trees from Africa
* Australian blac ...
,
South Wales
South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
, which all the band members attended.
Bradfield and the slightly older Moore are cousins and shared bunk beds in the Bradfield family home after Moore's parents divorced.
During the band's early years, Bradfield, alongside the classically trained Moore, primarily wrote the music while Wire focused on the lyrics. Some of their earliest performances were held at the
Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute in the town. The band's name came from Bradfield's busking when he was 15:
Original bassist Flicker (Miles Woodward) left the band in early 1988, reportedly because he believed that the band were moving away from their punk roots.
The band continued as a three-piece, with Wire switching from guitar to bass,
and in 1988 they released their first single, "
Suicide Alley
"Suicide Alley" is the debut single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was self-financed and released in 1988, while they were still an unsigned act.
Content
The sleeve is highly reminiscent of the Clash's eponymou ...
". Despite its recording quality, this single provides an early insight into both Bradfield's guitar work and Moore's live drumming.
The Manics intended to restore revolution to
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
at a time when Britain was dominated by
shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
and
acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...
. The ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' gave "Suicide Alley" an enthusiastic review, citing a press release by Richey Edwards: "We are as far away from anything in the '80s as possible."
In 1990 the Manic Street Preachers signed a deal with label
Damaged Goods Records
Damaged Goods is a British independent record label.
History
Damaged Goods records formed in 1988 from a living room in east London. The first release was a re-issue of the 1977 single by Slaughter and the Dogs, "Where Have All the Bootboys Gon ...
for one
EP. The four-track ''
New Art Riot E.P.'' attracted as much media interest for its attacks on fellow musicians as for the actual music.
With the help of Hall or Nothing management, the Manics signed to
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
*Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests
*Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...
label
Heavenly Records
Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...
. The band recorded their first single for the label, entitled "
Motown Junk
"Motown Junk" is the second single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 January 1991 by Heavenly.
Release
"Motown Junk" was released on 21 January 1991 by record label Heavenly, the band's first release o ...
". Their next single, "
You Love Us", sampled
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...
's "
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', also translated as ''Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima'' (), is a musical composition for 52 string instruments composed in 1961 by Krzysztof Penderecki. Dedicated to the residents and ''hibakusha'' ...
" as well as
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
. The video featured Nicky Wire in
drag as
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
and contained visual references to the film ''
Betty Blue
''Betty Blue'' () is a 1986 French erotic psychological drama film written and directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, based on the 1985 novel ''37°2 le matin'' by Philippe Djian. The film stars Jean-Hugues Anglade and Béatrice Dalle. It was the ...
'' and to
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
.
Richey Edwards era: ''Generation Terrorists'' to ''The Holy Bible'' (1992–1995)

After the release of "Suicide Alley," Edwards joined the band on rhythm guitar and contributed to lyrics alongside Wire. Edwards also designed record sleeves and artwork and drove the band to and from gigs.
On 15 May 1991, during an interview with then-''NME'' journalist
Steve Lamacq
Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music.
Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...
following a gig at Norwich Arts Centre, Edwards carved the phrase "4REAL" into his arm with a razor blade in a bid to prove the sincerity of the band. He was taken to hospital and received seventeen stitches.
''NME'' subsequently ran a full-page story on the incident, including a phone interview with Richey on his motivations for doing it. A recording of the editorial meeting discussing whether or not they could publish the image was included as a b-side on the band's 1992 charity single
Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless), featuring Lamacq, the then-editor of ''NME''
Danny Kelly and
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
(who went on to edit
Loaded and the British version of
GQ).
As a result of their controversial behaviour, the Manics quickly became favourites of the British music press, which helped them build a dedicated following.
[
]
of
Sony Music UK
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
signed the band shortly afterwards and they began work on their debut album.
The band's debut album, ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
'', was released in 1992 on the
imprint. The record contained six singles and sold 250,000 copies.
The liner notes contained a literary quote for each of the album's eighteen songs and the album lasted just over seventy minutes. The album's lyrics are politicised like those of
the Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
and
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...
, with the album's songs regularly switching from a critical focus on global
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
to more personal tales of despair and the struggles of youth. Other tracks combine personal and political themes; "Nat West-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds" was written as a critique of overseas banking credit policies, but also concerned
Richey Edwards
Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...
' issues involving overdrafts and refused loans. The single "
Motorcycle Emptiness", meanwhile, criticises
consumerism
Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
as a "shallow dream" that makes human life overtly commercialised.
"
Little Baby Nothing
"Little Baby Nothing" is a song recorded by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for their debut studio album, ''Generation Terrorists'' (1992). It was released on 9 November 1992 by Columbia Records as the sixth and final single from the al ...
", a duet between
Traci Lords
Traci Elizabeth Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. As a 15-year-old high-school dropout, she used Identity document forgery, fake identity documents to enter the sex industry, where she began appearin ...
and Bradfield, was described by Priya Elan of the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' as a "perfect snapshot of
emaleinnocence bodysnatched and twisted".
The band also made a cover version of the song "
Suicide Is Painless
"Suicide Is Painless" (also known as "Theme from ''M*A*S*H''" or "Song from ''M*A*S*H''") is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Michael Altman (lyrics) for the 1970 film ''M*A*S*H''. In addition to being performed by characters in the f ...
" which peaked at number 7 in the UK charts, spending 3 weeks in the Top 10, and giving the band their first ever Top 10 hit single.
The group's second album, ''
Gold Against the Soul
''Gold Against the Soul'' is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 June 1993 by Columbia Records. The follow-up to the band's 1992 debut album '' Generation Terrorists'', the record reach ...
'', had a more commercial,
grungy sound. It was released to mixed reviews but performed well, reaching number eight in the UK album chart.
The band stated that the choice to work with
Dave Eringa
David James Eringa (born 30 July 1971 in Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood, Essex) is an English people, English record producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer.
Biography
He has had a long-standing association with Manic Street Preachers. His ea ...
again was important for this album.
[Price, 1999] The band have described ''Gold Against the Soul'' as their least favourite album and the period surrounding the album as being the most unfocused of their career. The band's vocalist and guitarist
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is a ...
has said "All we wanted to do was go under the corporate wing. We thought we could ignore it but you do get affected."
By early 1994, Edwards' difficulties became worse and began to affect the other band members as well as himself. He was admitted into
The Priory
The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, often referred to as The Priory, is a private mental health hospital in South West London. It was founded in 1872 and is part of the Priory Group.
The Priory has an international reputation and, because of the ...
in 1994 to overcome his problems and the band played a few festivals as a three-piece to pay for his treatment. During one such three-piece performance at Reading '94, James played Richey's black Gibson as a mark of respect (although James later commented that he regretted playing Richey's guitar).
The group's next album, ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
'', was released in August to critical acclaim, but sold poorly. The album displayed yet another musical and aesthetic change for the band, largely featuring army/navy uniforms. Musically, ''The Holy Bible'' marks a shift from the
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
sound of their first two albums, ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
'' and ''
Gold Against the Soul
''Gold Against the Soul'' is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 June 1993 by Columbia Records. The follow-up to the band's 1992 debut album '' Generation Terrorists'', the record reach ...
''.
In addition to the album's
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
sound the album incorporates various elements from other musical genres, such as
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
,
British punk
There are a number of punk bands originating in the United Kingdom.
See also
* List of punk rock bands, 0–K
* List of punk rock bands, L–Z
* List of post-punk bands
* List of new wave ...
,
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
,
new wave,
industrial,
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
and
gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
.
Lyrically the album deals with subjects including prostitution, American
consumerism
Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
, British
imperialism
Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
,
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
,
the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
,
serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
s, the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
,
political revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elemen ...
, childhood,
fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
and suicide.
According to ''
Q'': "the tone of the album is by turns bleak, angry and resigned". There was also an element of autobiographic subjects, like in the song "
4st 7lb" where the lyrics clearly tackle Richey's own experience with anorexia. The song was named after 4
stones
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
7
pounds, or , because it is the weight below which death is said to be medically unavoidable for an anorexic sufferer.
The title "The Holy Bible" was chosen by Edwards to reflect an idea, according to Bradfield, that "everything on there has to be perfection". Interviewed at the end of 1994, Edwards said: "The way religions choose to speak their truth to the public has always been to beat them down
..I think that if a Holy Bible is true, it should be about the way the world is and that's what I think my lyrics are about.
he albumdoesn't pretend things don't exist".
In support of the album the band appeared on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'', performing its first single, "
Faster
Faster or FASTER may refer to:
Music
* "Faster" (George Harrison song)
* "Faster" (Matt Nathanson song)
* "Faster" (Within Temptation song)
* "Faster" (Manic Street Preachers song), a double A-side single by Manic Street Preachers
* "Faster", ...
", which reached No. 16. The performance was extremely controversial at the time, as the band were all dressed in army regalia. Bradfield wore a "terrorist-style"
balaclava. At the time, the band was told by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
that they had received the most complaints ever. The album eventually has sold over 600,000 copies worldwide.
In April and May 1994 the band first performed songs from ''The Holy Bible'' at concerts in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and at a benefit concert for the
Anti-Nazi League
The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right g ...
at
Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park is a park located south of Brixton, in Herne Hill and Tulse Hill in south London. It is bordered by the roads Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill and Dulwich Road.
The park commands views of the skyline of City of Lond ...
, London. In June, they played the
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
. In July and August, without Richey Edwards, they played
T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...
in Scotland, the Alte Wartesaal in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, the
Parkpop
Parkpop festival was a free music festival held annually on the last Sunday of June in the city of The Hague, Netherlands.
It was first held in 1981 and was attended by 35,000 visitors. Parkpop held the title for the largest free pop festival in ...
Festival in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
and the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...
.
During September, October and December there was a headline tour of the UK and Ireland and two tours in mainland Europe with
Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items.
Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...
and
Therapy?
Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band ...
.
In December, three nights at the
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England, that operated from 1976 to 2009.
Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in t ...
ended with the band smashing up their equipment and the venue's lighting rig, causing £26,000 worth of damage.
The disappearance of Richey Edwards
Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995, on the day when he and
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is a ...
were due to fly to the US on a promotional tour.
In the two weeks before his disappearance, Edwards withdrew £200 a day from his bank account, which totalled £2,800 by the day of the scheduled flight.
He checked out of the Embassy Hotel in
Bayswater Road
Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road in London, A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road.
Route
In the east, Bayswater Road ...
, London, at seven in the morning, and then drove to his apartment in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Wales.
In the two weeks that followed he was apparently spotted in the
Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
* Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...
passport office, and the
Newport bus station
Newport Central bus station () is a bus terminus and interchange located in the city centre, Newport, South Wales. It is the largest road transport hub for public services in the county. It is situated on the Newport Market site and the adja ...
.
On 7 February, a taxi driver from Newport supposedly picked up Edwards from the King's Hotel in Newport, and drove him around the valleys, including Blackwood (Edwards' home as a child). The passenger got off at the
Severn View service station near
Aust
Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about north of Bristol and about south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M48 ...
and paid the £68 fare in cash.
On 14 February, Edwards'
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car that was sold primarily in the United Kingdom by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in ...
received a parking ticket at the Severn View service station and on 17 February, the vehicle was reported as abandoned. Police discovered the battery to be flat, with evidence that the car had been lived in.
Due to the
service station's proximity to the
Severn Bridge
The Severn Bridge () is a Controlled-access highway, motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn crossing, Severn road crossi ...
(which has been a prominent suicide location in the past) it was widely believed that he took his own life by jumping from the bridge.
Manic Street Preachers was put on hold for six months and disbanding the group was seriously considered, but with the blessing of Edwards' family, the other members continued.
Edwards was legally "
presumed dead
A presumption of death occurs when an individual is believed to be dead, despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a presumption is t ...
" in 2008, to enable his parents to administer his estate. The band continue to set up a microphone for Edwards at every live performance.
''Everything Must Go'' to ''Lifeblood'' (1996–2006)
The first album without Edwards, ''
Everything Must Go'', was released on 20 May 1996. The band had chosen to work with new producer
Mike Hedges
Mike Hedges (born 1954) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from rock ...
, mainly for his work on
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
' single "
Swimming Horses" that Bradfield rated highly.
''Everything Must Go'' debuted on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
at number 2, so far the album has gone
Triple Platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in the UK and is their most successful album to date, spending 103 weeks in the Top 100 with the album still in the Top 5 a year after its release.
Containing five songs either written or co-written by Edwards the album was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews. The No. 2 hit single "
A Design for Life
"A Design for Life" is a single by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers from their fourth studio album, '' Everything Must Go'' (1996). It was written by James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire, and produced by Dave Eringa and Mike Hedges ...
" was the first to be written and released by the band following the disappearance of Richey Edwards the previous year. James Dean Bradfield later recalled that the lyric had been a fusion of two sets of lyrics-"Design for Life" and "Pure Motive"-sent to him from Wales by bassist Nicky Wire, while he was living in
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, its ...
. The music was written "in about ten minutes" and Bradfield felt a sense of euphoria with the result. The song was credited with having "rescued the band" from the despair felt after the disappearance of Edwards, with Wire describing the song as "a bolt of light from a severely dark place".
The album was shortlisted for the 1996
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
award for best album and won the band two
Brit Awards for Best British Band and Best British Album,
as well as yielding the hit singles "
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
", "
Everything Must Go" and "
Kevin Carter
Kevin Carter (13 September 1960 – 27 July 1994) was a South African photojournalism, photojournalist and member of the Bang-Bang Club. He was the recipient in 1994 of a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, Pulitzer Prize for the vulture a ...
". The album has sold over two million copies around the world, and it is still considered one of the finest releases of the decade,
a classic album from the 1990s and frequently voted in polls in the category of best albums of all time by many publications.
The success of Everything Must Go at the 1997
Brit Awards ensured that sales of their earlier albums ''Generation Terrorists'', ''Gold Against the Soul'' and ''The Holy Bible'' enjoyed a late surge; the band's debut sold an extra 110,000 copies.
In 1997 the band performed a special gig at the
Manchester Arena
Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...
for more than 20,000 people. Bassist Nicky Wire said that was the moment he knew that the band had "made it".
The recording was released as a
VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma ...
video on 29 September 1997 and has only been reissued on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in Japan.
The band's next album, ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 September 1998 by Epic Records.
Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Truth Tell Me ...
'' (1998), was the first number 1 of the band in the UK, remaining at the top of the albums chart for 3 weeks, selling 136,000 copies in the first week and spending a total of 74 weeks in the Album Chart.
The title is a quotation taken from a speech given by
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...
, a
Labour Party politician from Wales. The cover photograph was taken on
Black Rock Sands near
Porthmadog
Porthmadog (), originally Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community (Wales), community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. It li ...
, Wales. Around the world the album also peaked at number 1 in countries like Sweden and Ireland, and it sold over five million copies worldwide.

With their fifth album, the group also had a No. 1 single, "
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 24 August 1998, through Epic Records as the first single from their fifth studio album, ''This Is My Truth Tel ...
". The song's theme is taken from the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, and the idealism of
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
volunteers who joined the
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
International Brigades
The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...
fighting for the
Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...
against
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
's military rebels. The song takes its name from a
Republican poster of the time, displaying a photograph of a young child killed by the
Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
under a sky of bombers with the stark warning "If you tolerate this, your children will be next" written at the bottom. The song is in the ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
'' as the number one single with the longest title without brackets.
The album also included the hit singles "
You Stole the Sun from My Heart
"You Stole the Sun from My Heart" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 8 March 1999 as the third single from their fifth studio album, ''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' (1998). All three members of the band—James D ...
", "
Tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
" and "
The Everlasting". The Manics won Best British Band and Album awards at the BRIT Awards in 1999.
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' was also shortlisted for the 1999
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
and the band received a further nomination in the category of Best UK & Ireland Act in the 1999
MTV Europe Music Award
The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...
s, where the band performed live the single ''If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next''. In the
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
in 1999, the band won every single big prize, Best Band, Best Album, Best Live Act, Best Single and Best Video, as well as the Best Band in the World Today award in the
Q Awards
The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
1998.
After headlining
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
,
T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...
and
V Festival
V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...
, the band played the
Leaving the 20th Century concert at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
in Cardiff on 31 December 1999, the first concert to be held there, with 57,000 people attending and the final song being broadcast around the world by satellite as part of
2000 Today. The concert is available on
VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
. Subtitled English lyrics, available as an extra, contain errors when compared to the official lyrics in the band's album booklets and in between some of the tracks there are interview clips where the band discusses their history and the songs.
In 2000, they released the limited edition single "
The Masses Against the Classes
"The Masses Against the Classes" is a song by British rock band Manic Street Preachers, released as a limited-edition single in January 2000. It was a stand-alone single, not featured on any studio album, and was deleted (removed from wholesale s ...
". Despite receiving little promotion, the single sold 76,000 copies in its first week and reached number one in the
UK Singles Chart on 16 January 2000, beating "U Know What's Up" by
Donell Jones
Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He met record producer Eddie F in the mid-1990s and signed with his record label Untouchables Entertainment, beginning his car ...
to the top. The catalogue entry for the single was deleted (removed from wholesale supply) on the day of release, but the song nevertheless spent 9 weeks in the UK chart.
In 2001, they became the first popular Western rock band to play in Cuba (at the
Karl Marx Theatre
The Karl Marx Theatre () is a theatre in Havana, Cuba. It was originally known as the ''Teatro Blanquita'', owned and built by Alfredo Hornedo, renamed to the ''Teatro Charles Chaplin'' following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and was named after ...
) and met with President
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
. Their concert and trip to Cuba was documented and then released as a DVD entitled ''
Louder Than War
''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...
''. At this concert, they revealed many tracks from their upcoming sixth album, ''
Know Your Enemy'', which was released on 19 March. The
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
political convictions of the Manic Street Preachers are apparent in many of the album's songs, such as "Baby Elián" as they comment on the strained relations between the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
as seen in the
Elián González
Elián González Brotons (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban engineer and politician. As a six-year-old child, he was at the center of a high-profile international custody dispute between family members and involving Cuba and the United States.
...
affair, a hot topic around the album's release.
The band also pays tribute to singer and civil rights activist
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
in the song "
Let Robeson Sing
"Let Robeson Sing" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in September 2001 by record label Epic as the fourth and final single from their sixth studio album, '' Know Your Enemy''. It reached number 19 ...
", but the song "
Ocean Spray", which was a single, was written entirely by James about his mother's battle with cancer. The first singles from the album, "
So Why So Sad
"So Why So Sad" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers, jointly released in February 2001 as the first single from their sixth studio album, '' Know Your Enemy'' (2001), alongside "Found That Soul". All three members of the band—Ja ...
" and "
Found That Soul
"Found That Soul" is a single by the Manic Street Preachers, released on 26 February 2001 from the '' Know Your Enemy'' album. Writing credit was shared by all three members of the band, James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire. Note: ...
", were both released on the same day. The final single "Let Robeson Sing" was released later. The Manics also headlined
Reading and Leeds Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festi ...
.
The greatest hits (plus remixes) album ''
Forever Delayed
''Forever Delayed'' is a greatest hits album and DVD by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 28 October 2002 by Epic Records. The album included three singles which had never appeared on any of the band's earlier al ...
'' was released in 2002, containing two new songs, "Door to the River" and the single "
There by the Grace of God". Several songs were edited for length ("
Motorcycle Emptiness," "
You Love Us", "
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
," "
Everything Must Go," "
Little Baby Nothing
"Little Baby Nothing" is a song recorded by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for their debut studio album, ''Generation Terrorists'' (1992). It was released on 9 November 1992 by Columbia Records as the sixth and final single from the al ...
," and "
The Everlasting") so that more tracks could fit onto the CD (though not listed as edits in the liner notes).
The ''Forever Delayed'' DVD was released in 2002 together with the greatest hits CD and photo book that bear the same name, and features all the promo music videos from the start of the band's career released before the DVD. Along with the promo videos, there is a selection of 14 remix videos, where the visual material is taken from clips of the other promo videos as well as backdrop visuals from the band's live concerts.
The album peaked and debuted on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
at #4.
An album of
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
, rarities, and cover versions was released in 2003 entitled ''
Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers)
''Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers)'' is a compilation album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 July 2003 by Sony Music Entertainment. It consists of various B-sides, rarities and co ...
'', which contains the last song the band worked on with Edwards. The album received a far more positive reception from fans than the ''
Forever Delayed
''Forever Delayed'' is a greatest hits album and DVD by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 28 October 2002 by Epic Records. The album included three singles which had never appeared on any of the band's earlier al ...
'' greatest hits album, which was heavily criticised for favouring the band's more commercially successful singles. The only recurring criticism of ''Lipstick Traces'' was the exclusion of the fan favourite "Patrick Bateman", from the "
La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
"La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in July 1993 by record label Columbia as the second single from their second studio album, ''Gold Against the Soul'' (1993). It reached ...
" single. The band explained that it was excluded mainly because it was almost seven minutes long and simply would not fit on the album.
The band's seventh studio album, ''
Lifeblood'', was released on 1 November 2004 and reached No. 13 on the UK album chart. Critical response to the album was mixed. The album was more introspective and more focused on the past, Wire talked about the ghosts that haunted this record and stated that the record was a retrospective: "The main themes are death and solitude and ghosts. Being haunted by history and being haunted by your own past. Sleep is beautiful for me. I hate dreaming because it ruins ten hours of bliss. I had a lot of bad dreams when Richey first disappeared. Not ugly dreams, but nagging things. Until we wrote '
Design for Life', it was six months of misery. ''Lifeblood'' doesn't seek to exorcise Edwards' ghost, though, just admits that there are no answers".
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
helped the band produce three songs on the album, which was followed by a UK arena tour in December 2004. "
Empty Souls" and "
The Love of Richard Nixon" were the two singles released from the album, both reaching No. 2 in the UK.
A tenth-anniversary edition of ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
'' was released on 6 December 2004, which included a digitally remastered version of the original album, a rare U.S. mix (which the band themselves have admitted to preferring to the original UK mix)
and a DVD of live performances and extras including a band interview.
In April 2005, the band played several shows as the Past-Present-Future tour—announced as their last for at least two years. The band released an EP entitled ''God Save the Manics'' with only a limited number of copies available and given out to fans as they arrived at the venue. After all the copies were gone, the band made the EP available as a free download on their website.
In September, the band contributed the new track "
Leviathan
Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...
" to the
War Child charity album ''
Help!: A Day in the Life''.
In 2006 the band received the prize for the Q Merit Award in the
Q Awards
The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
2006 and also the 10th-anniversary edition of ''Everything Must Go'' was released on 6 November. It included the original album, demos, B-sides, remixes, rehearsals and alternate takes of the album's songs, spread out over two CDs. An additional DVD, featuring music videos, live performances, TV appearances, a 45-minute documentary on the making of the album, and two films by
Patrick Jones, completed the three-disc set.
In the 10th-anniversary edition, the band itself claims that they're still fond of the record, and Wire goes further saying: "I think it's our best record, I am not afraid to say that."
''Send Away the Tigers'' to ''National Treasures'' (2007–2012)

The band's eighth studio album, ''
Send Away the Tigers
''Send Away the Tigers'' is the eighth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 7 May 2007 by Columbia Records. It reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
The album is named after a phrase ...
'', was released on 7 May 2007 on
. It entered the official UK album charts at No. 2. Critical response to the album was largely positive, with some critics hailing the album as the band's best in a decade. A free download of a song entitled "
Underdogs
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
" from the album was made available through the group's website on 19 March 2007.
The first official single released from the album was "
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
"Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" is a song by Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It is a duet with Nina Persson, lead singer of Swedish band the Cardigans. Released on 23 April 2007 as the second single from the album '' Send Away the Tigers' ...
", featuring
Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer ...
vocalist
Nina Persson
Nina Elisabet Persson (; born 6 September 1974) is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. She also has worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and one under her own name, and has appeared as a guest ...
. According to singer Bradfield, the title was the last line of a suicide note left by the friend of someone close to the group. The second single, "
Autumnsong
"Autumnsong" is a song by Manic Street Preachers and was the third single taken from the album '' Send Away the Tigers''. It was released on 23 July 2007. It peaked and debuted at number #10 in the UK Singles Chart.
Background
As with all ''Sen ...
", and a third, "
Indian Summer
An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or mor ...
", were released in August. "Indian Summer" peaked at number 22, making it the first Manics single not to chart in the Top 20 since 1994's "
She Is Suffering
"She Is Suffering" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in October 1994 by record label Epic as the third and final single from the band's third studio album, ''The Holy Bible'' (1994). It was their last ...
". The album sleeve features a quotation from
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists.
His ...
: "When a man is young, he is usually a revolutionary of some kind. So here I am, speaking of my revolution".
A Christmas single, "
The Ghost of Christmas", was released as a free download on the band's official website throughout December 2007 and January 2008. In February 2008, the band were presented with the God-Like Geniuses Award at the
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
ceremony.
The ninth Manics album, ''
Journal for Plague Lovers
''Journal for Plague Lovers'' is the ninth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 18 May 2009 by Columbia Records. Recorded between October 2008 and February 2009 and produced by Steve Albini and Dave E ...
'', was released on 18 May 2009 and features lyrics left behind by Edwards. Wire commented in an interview that "there was a sense of responsibility to do his words justice." The album was released to positive critical reviews and reached No. 3 on the UK Album Chart. However, the cover of the album generated some controversy, with the top four UK
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
s stocking the CD in a plain slipcase, as the cover was deemed "inappropriate".
Several tracks refer to Edwards' time in a couple of hospitals in 1994. Bradfield commented that ''Journal for Plague Lovers'' was an attempt to finally secure the legacy of their former member
Richey Edwards
Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...
and the result was that, during the recording process, it was as close to feeling his presence since his disappearance: "There was a sense of responsibility to do his words justice. That was part of the whole thing of letting enough time lapse. Once we actually got into the studio, it almost felt as if we were a full band; it
asas close to him being in the room again as possible."
The band's tenth album ''Postcards from a Young Man'' was recorded with producer
Dave Eringa
David James Eringa (born 30 July 1971 in Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood, Essex) is an English people, English record producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer.
Biography
He has had a long-standing association with Manic Street Preachers. His ea ...
and was mixed in America by
Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...
. The album cover art uses a black and white photograph of British actor
Tim Roth
Timothy Simon Roth (; born 14 May 1961) is an English actor. He was among a group of prominent British actors known as the " Brit Pack". After garnering attention in television productions '' Made in Britain'' (1982) and '' Meantime'' (1983), ...
. The first single from the album, "
(It's Not War) Just the End of Love
"(It's Not War) Just the End of Love" is a song by Manic Street Preachers and was released as the lead single from their tenth album ''Postcards From a Young Man''.
The song was made Record of the Week on BBC Radio 2 and added to the BBC Radio 2, ...
", was released on 13 September. The album was supported by the Manics' most extensive tour of the UK to date, starting in Glasgow on 29 September 2010.
British Sea Power
Sea Power, previously known as British Sea Power and initially as British Air Powers, are an English alternative rock band. The group's original lineup consisted of Jan Scott Wilkinson, known as Yan; Martin Noble, known as Noble; and Alison Co ...
were the support act for the band on the tour. Two further singles were released from the album—the McCulloch-featuring "
Some Kind of Nothingness" and the title track "
Postcards from a Young Man". "Some Kind of Nothingness" peaked at No. 44 in the UK making it the first-ever Manics single to not make the Top 40 since they signed to Sony in 1991.
''
National Treasures – The Complete Singles
''National Treasures – The Complete Singles'' is a compilation album by the Wales, Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 31 October 2011 by Columbia Records/Sony Music. It is the band's third compilation album, after ' ...
'' was released on 31 October 2011, preceded by the release of the single "
This Is the Day", a cover of the song by
the The
are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member.
achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...
. On 17 December 2011, the group performed 'A Night of National Treasures' at
O2 Arena in London to celebrate the band's 25 years to date, and enter into a period of hiatus where the eleventh album was written. The band performed all 38 singles, with around 20,000 people in attendance, as well as guest performers including
Nina Persson
Nina Elisabet Persson (; born 6 September 1974) is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. She also has worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and one under her own name, and has appeared as a guest ...
from
the Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead sing ...
who sings with the band on the single "
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
"Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" is a song by Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It is a duet with Nina Persson, lead singer of Swedish band the Cardigans. Released on 23 April 2007 as the second single from the album '' Send Away the Tigers' ...
" and
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...
from
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...
who sang with the band that night on the track
Let Robeson Sing
"Let Robeson Sing" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released in September 2001 by record label Epic as the fourth and final single from their sixth studio album, '' Know Your Enemy''. It reached number 19 ...
. In April and May 2012, the band embarked on a European greatest hits tour. The compilation was voted by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' magazine as the best re issue of 2011, beating
Nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
's deluxe and super deluxe edition of ''
Nevermind
''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...
'' to the top spot.
Despite the "complete singles" title, ''National Treasures'' does not contain every Manic Street Preachers single. Notable omissions are the band's very first single, "
Suicide Alley
"Suicide Alley" is the debut single by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was self-financed and released in 1988, while they were still an unsigned act.
Content
The sleeve is highly reminiscent of the Clash's eponymou ...
" (1989), "Strip It Down" from the ''
New Art Riot'' EP (1990), for which the band's first promotional video was made, and "
You Love Us (Heavenly Version)" (1991). For singles originally released as double-A sides, only one song is included: therefore from "
Love's Sweet Exile/Repeat" (1992) and "
Faster/P.C.P." (1994), only the first of each pair are included.
A film-interview-documentary about their album ''Generation Terrorists'' was screened on Saturday 20 October 2012 at Chapter Arts Centre as part of the Festival, with all profits donated to Young Promoters Network. The film was made available in the 20th-anniversary re-issue of ''Generation Terrorists''.
''Rewind the Film'' and ''Futurology'' (2013–2014)
In May 2013, the band announced an Australasian tour for June and July, that would see them play their first-ever show in New Zealand. This tour coincided with the British and Irish Lions rugby tour to Australia and the Melbourne concert on the eve of the 2nd Test featured Lions' centre Jamie Roberts as a guest guitarist on "You Love Us".
In May 2013 the Manics released information about their most recent recording sessions, saying that they had enough material for two albums; the first would be almost exclusively without electric guitars. The name of the first album and title track was revealed to be ''
Rewind the Film
''Rewind the Film'' is the eleventh studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 16 September 2013 by Columbia Records. The sound is very different from previous records and is more acoustic-driven. It feature ...
'' on 8 July. In a statement, the band announced, "(If) this record has a relation in the Manics back catalogue, it's probably the sedate coming of age that was ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 September 1998 by Epic Records.
Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Truth Tell Me ...
.''"
The band also stated via
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, "MSP were in the great Hansa Studios in January with Alex Silva (who recorded ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
'' with us). Berlin was inspirational...
Sean
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...
been playing a french horn in the studio today—sounding wonderful."
The lead single of the album, "Show Me the Wonder", was released on 9 September 2013 to a positive critical reception. The album itself was released on 16 September 2013 and reached No. 4 on the UK Album Chart. The second single of the album "Anthem for a Lost Cause" was released on 25 November 2013.
The other album, ''Futurology (album), Futurology'', the band's twelfth studio album, was released on 7 July 2014 and it received immediate critical acclaim. The lead single from the album, "Walk Me to the Bridge", was released as a digital download on the day of the announcement, on 28 April. The album sold about 20,000 copies in its first week and reached No. 2 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. The title track, "Futurology (song), Futurology", was the second and final single released from the album on 22 September, the video debuted on YouTube on 10 August. The video was directed by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts winner Kieran Evans, who worked with the band on videos from their previous effort ''Rewind the Film''. The band promoted the album with a tour around the UK and Europe from March to May 2014, they also made appearances in festivals like
T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...
in Scotland and
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
in the summer.
In December 2014, the band toured ''The Holy Bible'', playing it in full for the very first time, to coincide with its 20th anniversary reissue. After the tour in the UK, the Manics took ''The Holy Bible'' tour to North America, in April 2015, they played in Washington DC, Toronto, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago.
They also played in the Cardiff Castle on 5 June 2015 with 10,000 fans attending the gig, it was broadcast nationwide by BBC Two Wales.
In the
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
2015, the album won "Reissue of the Year".
Wales national team song and ''Resistance Is Futile'' (2015–2018)
In November 2015, the Manic Street Preachers announced that they were going to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1996 album ''
Everything Must Go'', with their biggest headline show since 1999, in the Liberty Stadium, in Swansea on 28 May 2016, featuring special guests like
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...
. The album was performed in full, with Nicky Wire teasing "B-sides, rarities and curios, greatest hits and a few brand-new songs". Before the final show in Swansea the band played: Liverpool, Echo Arena (13 May), Birmingham, Genting Arena (14 May), London, Royal Albert Hall (16–17 May), Leeds, First Direct Arena (20 May) and Glasgow, the SSE Hydro (21 May). In early 2016 the band announced the European tour of ''Everything Must Go'', they played across Europe, in Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.
The band announced in March 2016 that they would be releasing a theme song for the Wales national team ahead of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament in the summer, entitled "Together Stronger (C'mon Wales)", it was released on 20 May, featuring also a video with the band and the Welsh team, the Manics tweeted: "It's with great pride we can announce the Manics are providing the official Wales Euro 2016 song – 'Together Stronger (C'mon Wales)'". All profits from the song went to the Princes Gate Trust and Tenovus Cancer Care. On 8 July the band was at the Cardiff City Stadium to give a home welcome to the Wales football national team after they were knocked out of the UEFA Euro 2016 by Portugal in the semi-finals, the band played a few songs in the stadium including the official theme song "Together Stronger (C'mon Wales)". On the next night, 9 July, the Manics headlined a night at the Cornwall's Eden Project, and later the band managed to secure a new recording studio near Newport, Wales. The city's council ensured that only the band can use the studio, there would be an increase on-site parking and a series of soundproofing measures to ensure nearby properties aren't disturbed by noise. To end the summer, the Manics went on to headline another two festivals, Wasa Open Air in Finland in mid-August and in late August the Victorious Festival in Portsmouth. The band also received a nomination in the 25th British Academy Cymru Awards for the best live outside broadcast after their 2015 gig in the Cardiff Castle, celebrating the 20th anniversary of ''The Holy Bible''.
In February 2017 the band revealed a teaser trailer for a documentary entitled ''Escape from History'', charting the band's journey from ''The Holy Bible'', through to the disappearance of lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards, to the huge success of ''Everything Must Go''. The documentary aired on Sky Arts on 15 April. The band also stated that they would release an album later in that year.
The band released a special edition of their album ''
Send Away the Tigers
''Send Away the Tigers'' is the eighth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 7 May 2007 by Columbia Records. It reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
The album is named after a phrase ...
'' on 12 May. 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the record and the Manics said that "this is a very important album" in their career. The special edition featured a remastered album as well as
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
and rarities spread over two discs, plus a DVD which features the band's 2007 Glastonbury performance, rehearsal footage, an album track-by-track, and promo videos.
On 17 November 2017, the band announced that their thirteenth album, ''Resistance Is Futile (album), Resistance Is Futile'', would be released on 13 April 2018. After much delay, the band wrote "The main themes of 'Resistance Is Futile' are memory and loss; forgotten history; confused reality and art as a hiding place and inspiration", the band say in a statement. "It's obsessively melodic—in many ways referencing both the naive energy of 'Generation Terrorists' and the orchestral sweep of 'Everything Must Go'. After delay and difficulties getting started, the record has come together really quickly over the last few months through a surge of creativity and some old school hard work." It is the first album to be recorded at the "Door to the River" studio.
In January 2018, Manic Street Preachers signed a publishing contract with Warner/Chappell Music, leaving their longtime home Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
On the album, the Manics launched their first single "International Blue" as a download on 8 December 2017. The second single "Distant Colours" was released, also as a download, on 16 February 2018. About the first single the band said that there was certain naive energy and widescreen melancholia on the song that is reflected through the whole album, comparing it to "
Motorcycle Emptiness". Furthermore, the album focused on "(...)things that make your life feel a little bit better. Rather than my internalised misery, I tried to put a sense of optimism into the lyrics by writing about things that we find really inspiring." Said Wire, taking inspiration from David Bowie and seen as almost an escape and a wave of optimism, just like the previous album was described.
On the other hand, "Distant Colours" was written by James Dean Bradfield, rather than Nicky Wire, and inspired by disenchantment and Nye Bevan's old Labour. He said: "Musically, the verse is downcast and melancholic and the chorus is an explosion of disillusionment and tears." The third single "Dylan & Caitlin" was released as a download on 9 March 2018. The fourth single "Liverpool Revisited" is about a magical day in the city, Nicky added that: "It was on the Everything Must Go (anniversary) tour and I got up really early at sunrise to walk around Liverpool, polaroid camera in hand on a balmy day. It sounds clichéd I know, but Liverpool in the sun does take on a hypnotic quality, with the Mersey and the stone." The band also revealed that they were to support Guns N' Roses during their summer tour. The fifth and final single, "Hold Me Like a Heaven", was released as a download on 4 May 2018. Wire said that the song was inspired musically by David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie song), Ashes to Ashes", something that the band wanted to write about, and Nicky thinks that this the closest that the band is going to get, sharing also that lyrics were informed by the work of Philip Larkin.
The album sold around 24,000 copies in the first week, entering the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
at number 2,
despite being number 1 during the week. It was the highest new entry on the chart, and on physical sales the album peaked at number 1, both on Compact disc, CD and Phonograph record, vinyl.
In October 2018, the band announced a twentieth-anniversary collector's edition re-release of ''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours''. It was made available on digital, CD, and vinyl, with the CD edition featuring bonus demos, live rehearsal recordings, remixes, and B-sides. The album was launched on 7 December 2018 and to promote it, the band went on tour in Spring and Summer 2019, performing the album in full alongside other content.
In March 2020, the Manics announced a deluxe reissue of their ''Gold Against the Soul'' album for release on 12 June 2020. Bonus content included previously unreleased demos, B-sides from the era, remixes, and a live recording, while the CD was released alongside a book of unseen photographs from the era with handwritten annotations and lyrics from the band. The next day, the unnamed follow-up album to ''Resistance Is Futile'', their fourteenth overall, was confirmed to ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' alongside Bradfield's second solo album. The group's album, including a track called "Orwellian", was described as "expansive" and is due for release in Summer 2021.
''The Ultra Vivid Lament'' and ''Critical Thinking'' (2021–present)
On 14 May 2021, the Manics announced the title of their fourteenth studio album: ''
The Ultra Vivid Lament''. The first single from the album, "Orwellian (song), Orwellian", was released on the same day.
"The Secret He Had Missed", the second single from the album, was released on 16 July 2021. ''The Ultra Vivid Lament'' was released on 10 September 2021 and received generally positive reviews from critics: on Metacritic, the album has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The album sold 27,000 copies in the first week, granting the band their second UK Number 1 album as they narrowly beat Steps (pop group), Steps to the number 1 spot.
In May and June 2022, Manic Street Preachers opened for the Killers in some of their UK tour dates. In September 2022, the Manics announced a co-headlining tour of United States and Canada with
Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items.
Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...
for November 2022, which would be the first time the two bands would share the stage since they toured Europe together in 1994.
On 24 June 2023, the band played the Glastonbury Festival 2023, Glastonbury Festival. Speaking to the Other Stage crowd, Nicky Wire said: "The first time we played was 1994 and it was the four of us, we had the one and only Richard Edwards with us, oh yes, we had a f**king blast. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, it was f**king fun you know." All four band members were honoured with a mural in their hometown of Blackwood in April 2024, designed by street artist Paul Shepherd.
On 29 August 2024, Manics released "Decline and Fall (song), Decline and Fall", the lead single for their fifteenth album, ''Critical Thinking (album), Critical Thinking'', which was announced in October that year. ''Critical Thinking'' was initially announced to be released on 7 February 2025, but was postponed due to production delays. On 31 January 2025, preceding the release of ''Critical Thinking'', an extended play was released, titled ''Brushstrokes of Reunion'', comprising the songs "Brushstrokes of Reunion", "People Ruin Paintings", "Hiding in Plain Sight" and "Decline and Fall" from ''Critical Thinking''.
The album was released on 14 February 2025.
The release coincides with the 30th anniversary of
Richey Edwards
Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...
's disappearance.
In a February 2025 interview with ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Wire and Bradfield stated they were considering making their sixteenth album Culture of Europe#Music, European themed.
Collaborations and covers
The band released a split single in 1992 with the Fatima Mansions, a rock cover of "
Suicide Is Painless
"Suicide Is Painless" (also known as "Theme from ''M*A*S*H''" or "Song from ''M*A*S*H''") is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Michael Altman (lyrics) for the 1970 film ''M*A*S*H''. In addition to being performed by characters in the f ...
", which became their first UK Top 10 hit.
They have recorded many cover versions of songs by other artists, primarily as
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
for their own singles. Bands and artists to whom the group have paid tribute in this way include
the Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
, Guns N' Roses, Alice Cooper, Happy Mondays, McCarthy (band), McCarthy, Chuck Berry, Faces (band), Faces and
Nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
.
The band's first musical appearance since Edwards' departure was recording a cover of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" for ''The Help Album'', a charity effort in 1995 in support of aid efforts in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Lightning Seeds' song "Waiting for Today to Happen", from their fifth album, ''Dizzy Heights'' (1996), was written by Nicky Wire and Ian Broudie. That same year, James Dean Bradfield and
Dave Eringa
David James Eringa (born 30 July 1971 in Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood, Essex) is an English people, English record producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer.
Biography
He has had a long-standing association with Manic Street Preachers. His ea ...
produced Northern Uproar's first single, "Rollercoaster/Rough Boys". The 808 State song "Lopez" (1997) features lyrics by Wire and vocals by Bradfield.
It is featured on their greatest hits album, ''808:88:98''. Kylie Minogue's sixth album, ''Impossible Princess'' (1997), features two songs co-written and produced by the Manics: "Some Kind of Bliss" (Bradfield, Minogue and Sean Moore) and "I Don't Need Anyone" (Bradfield, Jones and Minogue) were produced by Bradfield and Dave Eringa.
Bradfield provided backing vocals, bass guitar and production for the Massive Attack song "Inertia Creeps" (1998), which features on their successful third album, ''Mezzanine (album), Mezzanine''.
Patrick Jones's album of poetry set to music, ''Patrick Jones (poet)#Commemoration and Amnesia, Commemoration and Amnesia'' (1999), features two songs with music written by Bradfield: the title track and "The Guerilla Tapestry". Bradfield plays the guitar on both songs. Furthermore, the track "Hiraeth" features a section called "Spoken Word", in which Nicky Wire talks about Welsh identity.
In February 2006, the band contributed a cover version of "The Instrumental" to the album ''Still Unravished, Still Unravished: A Tribute to the June Brides''.
In February 2008, the Manics covered Rihanna's hit pop song "Umbrella (song), Umbrella". Their version appeared on a CD titled ''NME Awards 2008 (album), NME Awards 2008'' given away free with a special souvenir box-set issue of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' magazine, which went on sale 27 February. Additionally, the Manics' version of the song was made available on iTunes from 5 March 2008.
Despite being chart-eligible (it reached number 47 in the UK),
the release was not intended as an official single. Two further versions (the Acoustic and Grand Slam mixes) were later made available on iTunes and now comprise a three-track ''Umbrella EP''.
James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire contributed an original song, "The Girl from Tiger Bay", to Shirley Bassey's 2009 studio album, ''The Performance''.
Musical style and influences
Manic Street Preachers' music has been variously described as
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
, Britpop,
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
glam rock, pop rock, punk metal,
and punk rock.
The band have stated that
the Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
were "probably our biggest influence of all". When they saw them on television, "we thought it was fantastic and got really excited. They were the catalyst for us". In addition, they have cited artists including Guns N' Roses,
Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
PiL, Skids (band), Skids, Gang of Four (band), Gang of Four,
Big Country, Sex Pistols,
Magazine (band), Magazine, Bruce Springsteen,
the New York Dolls,
Girls Against Boys, Anna Meredith, Wire (band), Wire, Julia Holter, Rush (band), Rush, Felt (band), Felt, Simple Minds, ABBA, The Associates (band), the Associates, and Talk Talk as influences on their music. Bradfield's guitar hero is guitarist John McGeoch of Magazine and
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
: "He taught me, you can have that rock'n'roll swagger, but still build something into it that's really unsettling, and can cut like a razor blade".
Though the band's first album ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
'' was mostly politically charged glam-rock mixed with punk influences, their style shifted towards a darker sound on ''
Gold Against the Soul
''Gold Against the Soul'' is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 June 1993 by Columbia Records. The follow-up to the band's 1992 debut album '' Generation Terrorists'', the record reach ...
''. When ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
'' was released, the Manic Street Preachers had incorporated
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
into their musical style, starting many songs on the album with either recordings of interviews or quotes, or clean, reverberated guitar sounds before abruptly changing tempo and engaging distortion. After Richey Edwards, Edwards' disappearance in 1995, the bands sound has become less dissonant and more appealing to a broader mainstream audience. Following albums have been described as string driven and slower-paced than their early work.
Alluding to the band's early relationship with Britpop, Cam Lindsay of Canadian music publication ''Exclaim!'' opined that "Britpop was rising, the Manics were offering the polar opposite: a bleak, uncompromising work that wanted nothing to do with the party".
Members
Current members
*
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is a ...
– lead and backing vocals, lead guitar, piano, keyboards (1986–present), rhythm guitar (1988–1989, 1995–present)
*
Sean Moore – drums, percussion, trumpet, backing vocals (1986–present)
*
Nicky Wire
Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers.
Prior to the group, Wire studied politics ...
– bass, keyboards, backing and lead vocals (1986–present), rhythm guitar (1986–1988)
Former members
* Miles "Flicker" Woodward – bass, backing and occasional lead vocals (1986–1988)
*
Richey Edwards
Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1989–1995; disappeared in 1995; declared dead in absentia in 2008)
Current touring musicians
* Nick Nasmyth – keyboards (1995–2005, 2013–present)
* Wayne Murray (Thirteen:13) – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2006–present)
* Gavin Fitzjohn – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (2018–present)
Former touring musicians
*
Dave Eringa
David James Eringa (born 30 July 1971 in Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood, Essex) is an English people, English record producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer.
Biography
He has had a long-standing association with Manic Street Preachers. His ea ...
– keyboards (1993–1995, 2025)
* Greg Haver – rhythm and lead guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2002–2003)
* Anna Celmore – piano (2002–2003)
* Guy Massey – rhythm guitar (2004–2005)
* Sean Read – piano, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, backing vocals (2006–2012)
* Richard Beak – bass (2018)
Timeline
Discography
* ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
'' (1992)
* ''
Gold Against the Soul
''Gold Against the Soul'' is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 21 June 1993 by Columbia Records. The follow-up to the band's 1992 debut album '' Generation Terrorists'', the record reach ...
'' (1993)
* ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
'' (1994)
* ''
Everything Must Go'' (1996)
* ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 September 1998 by Epic Records.
Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Truth Tell Me ...
'' (1998)
* ''
Know Your Enemy'' (2001)
* ''
Lifeblood'' (2004)
* ''
Send Away the Tigers
''Send Away the Tigers'' is the eighth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 7 May 2007 by Columbia Records. It reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
The album is named after a phrase ...
'' (2007)
* ''
Journal for Plague Lovers
''Journal for Plague Lovers'' is the ninth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 18 May 2009 by Columbia Records. Recorded between October 2008 and February 2009 and produced by Steve Albini and Dave E ...
'' (2009)
* ''Postcards from a Young Man'' (2010)
* ''
Rewind the Film
''Rewind the Film'' is the eleventh studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 16 September 2013 by Columbia Records. The sound is very different from previous records and is more acoustic-driven. It feature ...
'' (2013)
* ''Futurology (album), Futurology'' (2014)
* ''Resistance Is Futile (album), Resistance Is Futile'' (2018)
* ''
The Ultra Vivid Lament'' (2021)
* ''Critical Thinking (album), Critical Thinking'' (2025)
Awards and nominations
Best Art Vinyl Awards
The Best Art Vinyl, Best Art Vinyl Awards are yearly awards established in 2005 by Art Vinyl Ltd to celebrate the best album artwork of the past year.
, -
, 2007
, ''
Send Away the Tigers
''Send Away the Tigers'' is the eighth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 7 May 2007 by Columbia Records. It reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
The album is named after a phrase ...
''
, Best Vinyl Art
,
NME Awards
The
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
is an annual music award show in the United Kingdom.
, -
, 1996
, rowspan=2, Manic Street Preachers
, Best Band
,
, -
, rowspan="3", 1997
, Best Live Act
,
, -
, ''
Everything Must Go''
, Best LP
,
, -
, "
A Design for Life
"A Design for Life" is a single by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers from their fourth studio album, '' Everything Must Go'' (1996). It was written by James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire, and produced by Dave Eringa and Mike Hedges ...
"
, Best Track
,
, -
, 1998
, rowspan=2, Manic Street Preachers
, rowspan=2, Best Band
,
, -
, rowspan="4", 1999
,
, -
, ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 September 1998 by Epic Records.
Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Truth Tell Me ...
''
, Best Album
,
, -
, rowspan="2", "
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 24 August 1998, through Epic Records as the first single from their fifth studio album, ''This Is My Truth Tel ...
"
, Best Track
,
, -
, Best Music Video
,
, -
, rowspan=4, 2000
, "
A Design for Life
"A Design for Life" is a single by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers from their fourth studio album, '' Everything Must Go'' (1996). It was written by James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire, and produced by Dave Eringa and Mike Hedges ...
"
, Best Ever Single
,
, -
, ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
''
, Best Album Ever
,
, -
, rowspan="4", Manic Street Preachers
, Best Band Ever
,
, -
, Best Band
,
, -
, 2001
, Best Rock Act
,
, -
, 2008
, Godlike Genius Award
,
, -
, 2010
, ''
Journal for Plague Lovers
''Journal for Plague Lovers'' is the ninth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 18 May 2009 by Columbia Records. Recorded between October 2008 and February 2009 and produced by Steve Albini and Dave E ...
''
, Best Album Artwork
,
, -
, 2012
, ''
National Treasures – The Complete Singles
''National Treasures – The Complete Singles'' is a compilation album by the Wales, Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 31 October 2011 by Columbia Records/Sony Music. It is the band's third compilation album, after ' ...
''
, rowspan="2", Reissue of the Year
,
, -
, rowspan="2", 2013
, ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
''
,
, -
, Manic Street Preachers
, Best Fan Community
,
, -
, 2015
, ''
The Holy Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
''
, Reissue of the Year
,
Q Awards
The
Q Awards
The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine ''
Q''.
, -
, 1996
, ''
Everything Must Go''
, Best Album
,
, -
, 1998
, rowspan="6", Manic Street Preachers
, rowspan="4", Best Act in the World Today
,
, -
, 1999
,
, -
, 2000
,
, -
, rowspan="2", 2001
,
, -
, Best Live Act
,
, -
, 2006
, Merit Award
,
, -
, rowspan="2", 2007
, "
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
"Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" is a song by Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It is a duet with Nina Persson, lead singer of Swedish band the Cardigans. Released on 23 April 2007 as the second single from the album '' Send Away the Tigers' ...
"
, Best Track
,
, -
, ''
Send Away the Tigers
''Send Away the Tigers'' is the eighth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 7 May 2007 by Columbia Records. It reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
The album is named after a phrase ...
''
, Best Album
,
, -
, 2011
, Manic Street Preachers
, Greatest Act of the Last 25 Years
,
, -
, 2012
, ''
Generation Terrorists
''Generation Terrorists'' is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 10 February 1992 by Columbia Records.
On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profil ...
''
, Classic Album
,
, -
, 2013
, "Show Me the Wonder"
, Best Video
,
, -
, 2014
, ''Futurology (album), Futurology''
, Best Album
,
, -
, 2017
, Manic Street Preachers
, Inspiration Award
,
Žebřík Music Awards
!Ref.
, -
, rowspan=3, 1998
, Manic Street Preachers
, Best International Group
,
, rowspan=3,
, -
, ''
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
''This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, released on 14 September 1998 by Epic Records.
Like its 1996 predecessor '' Everything Must Go'', ''This Is My Truth Tell Me ...
''
, Best International Album
,
, -
, "
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
"If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 24 August 1998, through Epic Records as the first single from their fifth studio album, ''This Is My Truth Tel ...
"
, Best International Song
,
* 7th Best Band of All Time – 1999 ''NME'' Best Ever Category
* 7th Best Album of All Time (''The Holy Bible'') – 1999 ''NME'' Best Ever Category
* 8th Best Single of All Time (''A Design For Life'') – 1999 ''NME'' Best Ever Category
* The MOJO Maverick Award 2009
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Manic Street Preachers,
1986 establishments in Wales
Cool Cymru
Brit Award winners
Welsh pop rock music groups
British glam rock groups
Heavenly Recordings artists
Ivor Novello Award winners
Musical groups established in 1986
Welsh musical trios
Welsh musical quartets
NME Awards winners
British political music groups
Welsh alternative rock groups
Welsh hard rock musical groups
Welsh punk rock groups
Welsh socialists
Britpop groups
Columbia Records artists