Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes). They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.
"Manics" redirects here. For other uses, see Manic (disambiguation).
Manic Street Preachers
Following the release of their debut single "Suicide Alley" in 1988, Manic Street Preachers became a quartet with the addition of Richey Edwards as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band's early albums were in a punk vein, eventually broadening to a greater alternative rock sound, whilst retaining a leftist political outlook.[1] Their early combination of androgynous glam imagery and lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" gained them a loyal following.[2]
Manic Street Preachers' first charting single was "Motown Junk" in 1991, followed by their debut album, Generation Terrorists, in February 1992. The band's next two albums were Gold Against the Soul in 1993 and The Holy Bible in 1994,[3] the latter being the last album with Edwards, who disappeared in February 1995 and was legally presumed dead in 2008.[4] The band continued as a trio, and achieved commercial success with the albums Everything Must Go (1996) and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998).
The Manics have headlined festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and Reading, winning eleven NME Awards, eight Q Awards and four BRIT Awards.[5] They were nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1996 and 1999, and have had one nomination for the MTV Europe Music Awards. The band has sold more than ten million albums worldwide.[6] The Manics have two number-one singles in the UK charts: "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" (1998) and "The Masses Against the Classes" (2000), as well as two number-one albums: This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and The Ultra Vivid Lament (2021).[7] From 1991 to 2010, the band recorded 33 consecutive top 40 singles in the UK.[8]
History[edit]
Formation and early years (1986–1991)[edit]
Manic Street Preachers formed in 1986 at Oakdale Comprehensive School, Blackwood, South Wales, which all the band members attended.[9] Bradfield and the slightly older Moore are cousins and shared bunk beds in the Bradfield family home after Moore's parents divorced.[10]
During the band's early years, Bradfield, alongside the classically trained Moore, primarily wrote the music while Wire focused on the lyrics. The origin of the band's name remains unclear, but the most often-told story relates that Bradfield while busking one day in Cardiff, got into an altercation with someone (sometimes said to be a homeless man)[9] who asked him "What are you, boyo, some kind of manic street preacher?"[2]
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.[2] The band continued as a three-piece, with Wire switching from guitar to bass,[2] and in 1988 they released their first single, "Suicide Alley". Despite its recording quality, this single provides an early insight into both Bradfield's guitar work and Moore's live drumming.[11] The Manics intended to restore revolution to rock and roll at a time when Britain was dominated by shoegaze and acid house. The NME 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."[3]
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.[2]
In 1990 the Manic Street Preachers signed a deal with label Damaged Goods Records 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.[2] With the help of Hall or Nothing management, the Manics signed to indie label Heavenly Records. The band recorded their first single for the label, entitled "Motown Junk". Their next single, "You Love Us", sampled Krzysztof Penderecki's "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" as well as Iggy Pop. The video featured Nicky Wire in drag as Marilyn Monroe and contained visual references to the film Betty Blue and to Aleister Crowley.
On 15 May 1991, during an interview with then-NME journalist Steve Lamacq 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.[12] He was taken to hospital and received seventeen stitches.[2] 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 (who went on to edit Loaded and the British version of GQ).[2]
As a result of their controversial behaviour, the Manics quickly became favourites of the British music press, which helped them build a dedicated following.[13]
Columbia Records of Sony Music UK signed the band shortly afterwards and they began work on their debut album.[2]
Musical style and influences[edit]
Manic Street Preachers' music has been variously described as
alternative rock,[134] Britpop,[135] hard rock[3] glam rock,[136] pop rock,[137][138] punk metal,[139] and punk rock.[2]
The band have stated that the Clash 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".[140] In addition, they have cited artists including Guns N' Roses,[141] Joy Division,[142] Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers,[143] PiL, Skids, Gang of Four,[34] Magazine, Bruce Springsteen,[50] the New York Dolls,[144] Girls Against Boys, Anna Meredith, Wire, Julia Holter,[145] Rush,[146] Felt,[147] Simple Minds,[148] ABBA, the Associates, and Talk Talk[149] as influences on their music. Bradfield's guitar hero is guitarist John McGeoch: "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".[150]
Though the band's first album Generation Terrorists was mostly politically charged glam-rock mixed with punk influences, their style shifted towards a darker sound on Gold Against the Soul. When The Holy Bible was released, the Manic Street Preachers had incorporated post-punk 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 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".[151]
Best Art Vinyl Awards
The Best Art Vinyl Awards are yearly awards established in 2005 by Art Vinyl Ltd to celebrate the best album artwork of the past year.[153]
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music award show in the United Kingdom.
Q Awards
The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q.
Žebřík Music Awards
