Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh rock band, which formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band’s music embodies the rebellious spirit of the 1980’s and 1990’s with its heavy political messaging and, of course, the punk and alt-rock sound. Manic Street Preachers are an iconic Welsh band, which popularised the Cool Cymru musical movement with their spectacular albums such as Generation Terrorists.

The band is still active, albeit its popularity has decreased since the 1990’s, which is why we wanted to dedicate a page that will either refresh people’s memory of Manic Street Preachers or introduce them to a younger audience, which craves the music and aesthetic of authentic punk. On this fan page, you can learn about the history of Manic Street Preachers, along with an analysis of some of their songs. Enjoy reading!

Manic Street Preachers – Members

Before we delve deeper into the lore of Manic Street Preachers, let us introduce you to their lineup. Current Members:

• James Dean Bradfield, born 21 February 1969 (lead vocalist, lead guitar)
• Sean Moore, born 30 July 1968 (drums, percussion, soundscapes)
• Nicky Wire, born 20 January 1969 (bass guitar)

Past Members:

• Richey Edwards, born 22 December 1967, disappeared 1 February 1995 (rhythm guitar)
• Miles Woodward (bass guitar)

Band Origins

The band was established in 1986 by the cousins James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore, and their friends Nicky Wire and Miles Woodward while they were still attending Oakdale Comprehensive School in Blackwood, Wales. The band was originally called Betty Blue after a French erotic film, which came out the same year. It was created precisely 10 years after Sex Pistols – the English band they all idolised. The lyrics of Betty Blue’s songs were primarily written by Wire, while the music was generally composed by Moore and Bradfield.

In 1988, bassist Miles Woodward left Betty Blue as he believed the band strayed away from punk. His opinion, however, didn’t match the people’s opinion of the band when ‘Suicide Alley’ was released. The song has a rough sound and rebellious teenage spirit, which reflects the punk period that was passing in Britain by then.

Shortly after this release, Richey Edwards joined the band. Around the same time, Betty Blue became Manic Street Preachers. Some sources claim the band name was given by a homeless person who asked if Bradfield was ‘a manic street preacher.’

Manic Street Preachers signed a deal with Damaged Goods Records in 1990 for an EP called New Art Riot E.P. The controversial nature of the EP attracted media attention and soon shot them to fame. The band’s antics also helped. Manic Street Preachers were famous for criticising the British government, along with the media and even other bands.

In an infamous incident, Edwards carved ‘4REAL’ on his arm during an interview, which created a media frenzy. Soon after, the band signed a deal with a big label – Columbia Records.

Manic Street Preachers – On the Road to Fame

Manic Street Preachers released their debut album Generation Terrorists in February 1992. The album was an instant success, topping UK Rock Chart at N.1 and ending up at N.13 on the UK Albums Chart. The sales of 250,000 albums were also more than satisfactory.

Only a year later in June 1993, the band released their second album Gold Against the Soul, which was placed at N.8 on the UK Albums Chart. Despite it being a success, it’s apparently the band’s least favourite album due to its commercial nature.

Manic Street Preachers kept drastically changing their sound. Their third album The Holy Bible (released in August 1994) sounds significantly different than the previous two, although it still explores political and controversial topics, which became the signature trait of Manic Street Preachers. The album was praised by the critics, but it didn’t sell many copies back then. However, The Holy Bible turned out to be a sleeper album as it later sold many more copies (600,000 in total) and it’s now regarded as a masterpiece.

The controversies of the band were far from over. Band members would often put on drag during their shows, but when they decided to dress as army men and terrorists for a performance on BBC, which resulted in hundreds of complaints.

Nevertheless, their controversial music and antics is what made them famous. Manic Street Preachers reaped on their success in 1994 by playing at Glastonbury Festival, as well as T in the Park, the Parkpop Festival, and the Reading Festival. They also went on their first headline tour in the UK, along with a tour of continental Europe.

The Tragic Disappearance of Richey Edwards

On 1 February 1995, Richey Edwards left his London hotel and embarked on a trip to Wales, although he was supposed to fly to the USA for the band’s new tour. He left behind many of his belongings and his passport there where he was last spotted. Previously to his disappearance, Edwards withdrew £2,800 and sent his ex-girlfriend a box containing books and pictures.

Some believe Edwards disappeared and that he’s still alive as alluded to in a book he left a friend, which told the story of a man in an asylum who later vanished. A fan supposedly saw Edwards in Newport Wales in the days following his disappearance. A taxi driver also claims he drove Edwards to Blackwood and then to Severn View service station.

On 14 February, Edwards’ car got a ticket, and it was found to be abandoned a few days later. Since the car was close to Severn Bridge where many people commit suicide, it’s believed that Edwards did the same. However, his friends reject this notion as he had previously said that he never even contemplated suicide.

He has since been ‘seen’ many times around the globe, but none of the sightings were conclusive. Hence why he was officially declared dead in absentia in 2008.

Manic Street Preachers – Post-Richey Edwards

Manic Street Preachers released their next album Everything Must Go a year after Rickey’s disappearance, and it contains 5 songs written by him. The album was successful, topping N.2 on the UK Albums Chart and selling over 2 million copies worldwide. It also won the band two BRIT awards for Best British Band and for Best Album.

However, it was hard for them to continue working without Edwards who was the main creative force. Nevertheless, the critics loved their transformation, which included toning down their controversial image, although their music still explored dark themes.

The fans also loved their new album, and the Manic Street Preachers performed a solo concert at Manchester Arena; a performance they claim made them realise “they made it”.

Another successful feature soon followed when the band released This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours in 1997, which topped the UK Album Chart. It has since sold more than 5 million copies, making it their best feature.

Manic Street Preachers – Cool Cymru

Cool Cymru (Wales in Welsh) is a variation of Cool Britannia, which was used to describe the revival of British music and culture in 1990’s. Cool Cymru was the response to Wales gaining more worldwide popularity in the 1990’s through famous Welshmen like Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Giggs.

Furthermore, the Welsh rock scene experienced its heyday with bands such as the Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics and Catatonia. Wales was also doing better economically in comparison to the 1960-70’s period. The country built the Millennium Stadium for concerts and sports events, and the Manies were the first band to perform there on 31 December 1999 for the Leaving 20th Century concert.

Manic Street Preachers – Political Ideas

Manic Street Preachers added another first to their list by performing in Cuba in 2001 and meeting Fidel Castro, which made them the first western band to do so. The band performed songs criticising American interventionism and sanctions against Cuba, which raised eyebrows. The band even called Cuba “the last great symbol that really fights against the Americanisation of the world.”

The Manic Street Preachers performed songs from their new album Know Your Enemy, which cemented their anti-war stance and opinion of neoliberalism and neoconservatism. They claim that nobody paid attention to their messaging before the War on Terror started in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks (only a few months after their Cuban concert).

In an interview in 2008, the band talked about the impact that Marxism had on them and their lyrics. James Dean Bradford spoke about the “crippling” debt his parents had, despite working weekends and never missing a day of work. He also mentioned that Nicky Wire had come out of university with massive gambling debts, so debt, interest rates, and money were always on their minds. (If you are struggling with gambling addiction of gambling debts, please read this helpful piece on gambling recovery.)

Manic Street Preachers – Early 2000’s

Manic Street Preachers released two albums containing old music. The first one Forever Delayed (2002) had the band’s greatest hits along with remixes. While the second album Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of The Manic Street Preachers) (2003) included cover songs and rare unreleased tracks.

Forever Delayed wasn’t that well received, with critics claiming the band chose their most commercial hits for the album. Lipstick Traces, on the other hand, was praised for its originality and the fact that it included the last song the band recorded with Richey Edwards.

An original feature followed titled Lifeblood in 2004, but it wasn’t a huge success. The themes were less revolutionary and more melancholic. Wire confessed that the album served as a retrospection of their career and themselves as individuals.

Manic Street Preachers also released an EP in 2005 – God Save the Manics – an alteration of the title of Sex Pistols’ song God Save the Queen. Instead of selling the album, the Manics gave it away to some fans and then released it for free online. This was perhaps a stance against the high-profile suits of famous musicians against free online streaming services such as Metallica vs Napster.

The Manics kept realising renditions of their past work such as the tenth-anniversary special edition of The Holy Bible. They also released many singles in this period. While they were not making music, they were headlining big festivals like the Reading and Leeds festival and Glastonbury festival.

Send Away the Tigers (2007) proved to be an excellent album, reaching N.2 on the UK Albums Chart. It’s said to be the band’s best one from that period. Two years later in 2009, the band released Journal for Plague Lovers, which was another critical and commercial success.

The album’s themes were considerably dark as they referenced Edwards’ time in various hospitals, which apparently inspired him to write some of the lyrics included in the album. The Manics confessed that the album was meant to cement Edwards’ legacy and that they found the process of creating it was very challenging as they wanted to do Edwards’ words justice.

Their next album – Postcards from a Young Man (2010) – retains the sound they explored in Journal for Plague Lovers, but not the themes. Bradfield admitted that the album was a pop affair. Manic Street Preachers had considerably moved away from their punk roots in terms of sound, and this wasn’t appreciated by the die-hard fans they made. Despite the critics’ approval, fans weren’t happy with these drastic changes, and they mostly concentrated on the band’s music during the Richey Edwards’ era.

This argument is supported by the fact that their commemorative feature National Treasures – The Complete Singles (2011) sold so many copies that it beat Nirvana’s re-edition of Nevermind. Another sign of the band riding the nostalgia wagon is the documentary about Generation Terrorists in 2012. However, they didn’t do this film to profit off it as they donated all profits to Young Promoters Network.

Manic Street Preachers – Later Years

Manic Street Preachers became prolific music creators as they kept releasing new music every year or every two years. The album Rewind the Film (2013) immediately topped the charts and it showed yet another change of direction. In this case, the sound is more acoustic, something the band has been wanting to do for a while.

This was followed by another retrospective feature titled Futurology (2014). The album explored the band’s 30-year-long career, and it was surprisingly more positive than anything they released before. Resistance is Futile (2017) is another look back at the Manics’ music, as well as a reflection of the politically charged climate of 2017 and the role of art as an escape.

Meanwhile, the band also provided the official song of the Welsh team in UEFA Euro Cup 2016 – ‘Together Stronger (C’mon Wales)’, with the profits again going to charity. Indeed, the band has always tried to set an example with their charitable activity and political activism. One thing the Manics are not is hypocritical. Their music describes their true opinion of world affairs and their compassion.

Nowadays, Manic Street Preachers are still touring with a big tour expected to occur after the release of their new album The Ultra Vivid Lament some time in 2021.

Manic Street Preachers – Famous Songs

This section will discuss our favourite Manies’ songs by giving more background information about the inspiration behind them as the band is famous for its layered symbolism.

New Art Riot

The eponymous song from the band’s first EP is a politically charged punk ballad about the Thatcher Era. For example, the lyric ‘Hospital closure kills more than car bombs ever will’ criticises the Tories’ austerity policies, which were supposedly more harmful to the Brits than the IRA terrorist attacks. The song encourages people to protest the hypocritical Thatcher government through art, but also through violent means (e.g., ‘douse a molotov cocktail’).

Little Baby Nothing

‘Little Baby Nothing’ (from Generation Terrorists) talks about the exploitation of women and girls and how they’re viewed as objects by society. The pornographic actress Traci Lords provides vocals and takes part in the video as the band craved authenticity and Lords saw herself in the lyrics.

Life Becoming a Landslide

‘Life Becoming a Landslide’ (from Gold Against the Soul) is a song about coming of age from the point-of-view of Edwards. He represents childbirth as a horrific event, followed by a mediocre existence.

The lines ‘My idea of love comes from/A childhood glimpse of pornography’ are autobiographical as they reference an event in which Richey looked at porn magazines as a child; he uses this event to explore how such things can influence an innocent child.

4st 7lb

‘4st 7lb’ (from The Holy Bible) continues exploring the personal life of Edwards and his opinion of the beauty industry. It talks about a girl suffering from anorexia in her bid to be perfect, but it also hints at Edwards’ own experience with the disease. The title corresponds to the weight after which one cannot avoid death.

Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit’sworldwouldfallapart

‘Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit’sworldwouldfallapart’ (from The Holy Bible) has a self-explanatory theme. The band criticises the American government for the Vietnam war and the constant interventions in other countries. The song also reflects on the treatment of black people by the US and the UK with the lines’ Conservative say: there ain’t no black in the union jack/Democrat say: there ain’t enough white in the stars and stripes.’

Everything Must Go

The eponymous song of Everything Must Go reminds the fans that the band will never be the same without Edwards and hope they stay with them despite the changes. The sound matches that of famous alt-rock bands of the 1990’s.

S.Y.M.M.

‘S.Y.M.M.’ (South Yorkshire Mass Murderer, from This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours) discusses the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989 in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed. The song was very controversial as the Manies called the police handling of the situation a mass murder. They were, however, praised by many people, including families of the victims, for being ‘telling it how it is.’

Freedom of Speech Won’t Feed My Children

‘Freedom of Speech Won’t Feed My Children’ (from Know Your Enemy) is yet another song directed at American interventionism. It satirises how the US invades countries in its bid to ‘free them’, and how hypocritical it is for the country to claim it’s better than communist China or the USSR, while it’s also abusing people’s human rights.

Peeled Apples

‘Peeled Apples’ (from Journal for Plague Lovers) used lyrics and artworks found in the notebook Edwards gave to his band mates before he disappeared. The song is a brilliant work of poetry, but also a window into the troubled life of Richey and his experiences in hospitals. The music was composed by Wire and its aggressive tone matches the lyrics, while also reminding of the pain and confusion the Manics experienced when their friend disappeared.