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Manic Street Preachers
Manics History
Dressed in glam clothing, wearing heavy eyeliner and shouting political rhetoric, the
Manic Street Preachers emerged from their hometown of Blackwood, Wales in 1991
as self-styled "Generation Terrorists." Fashioning themselves after the Clash and the
Sex Pistols, the Manics were on a mission, intending to restore revolution to rock &
roll at a time when Britain was dominated by trancy shoegazers and faceless, trippy
acid-house. Their self-consciously dangerous image, leftist leanings, crunching hard
rock and outsider status made them favorites of the British music press and helped
them build a rabidly dedicated following. For much of the band's early career, it was
impossible to separate the rhetoric from the music and even from the members
themselves -- the group's image was forever associated with lyricist/guitarist Richey
Edwards carving the words "4 Real" into his arm during an early interview. As the
British pop music climate shifted toward Brit-pop in the wake of Suede, the Manics
didn't achieve fame, but they had notoriety. Legions of followers emerged, including
many bands that formed the core of the short-lived New Wave of New Wave
movement. But as the group climbed toward stardom, the story didn't get simpler -- it
got weirder. Richeys' behavior became increasingly bizarre, culminating on the group's
harrowing 1994 album, The Holy Bible. Early in 1995, Richeys disappeared, leaving
no trace of his whereabouts. The remaining trio carried on with 1996's Everything
Must Go, the album that established them as superstars in England, yet that came
at the expense of the arrogant, renegade gender-bending and revolutionary rhetoric
that earned them their initial fan base.
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4 Real
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It was a bizarre, unpredictable journey for a band that once proclaimed that all bands should break up after releasing one album. James Dean Bradfield (b. vocals, guitar), Nicky Wire (b. Nick Jones; bass), Sean Moore (drums) and rhythm guitaristFlicker formed Betty Blue in 1986. Within two years' time, Flicker had left the band
and the group had changed their name to the Manic Street Preachers. In the
summer of 1988, a fellow student of Wire's at Swansea University, Richey James (b. Richey Edwards), who had been the group's driver, joined the band as rhythm guitarist. They began recording demos, eventually releasing the single "Suicide Alley" in August. "Suicide Alley" boasted a cover replicating that of the Clash's first album, which indicated the sound of the group at the time -- equal parts punk and hard rock. A year after the single's release, the NME gave it an enthusiastic review, citing Richey's press release -- "We are as far away from anything in the '80s as possible."
Indeed, the Manics were one of the key bands of the early '90s, and their career didn't get rolling until 1991. The New Art Riot EP appeared in the summer of 1990, followed by a pair of defining singles -- "Motown Junk" and "You Love Us" -- in early 1991 on Heavenly Records. The singles and the band's incendiary live shows, where they wrote slogans on their shirts, created a strong buzz in the music press, which only escalated in May. Edward's gave an interview with Steve Lamaq for the
NME in which Lamaq questioned the group's authenticity; after an argument, Richey responded by carving the words "4 Real" on his arm. (see left) The incident became a sensation, attracting numerous magazine articles, as well as a major-label contract with Sony. Many observers interpreted the action as a simple stunt, but over the next few years, it became clear that the self-mutilation the one of the first indications of Richey's mental instability.
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"Stay Beautiful" was the Manics' first release for Sony, and it climbed into the BritishTop 40 late in the summer of 1991, followed early in 1992 by a re-recorded "YouLove Us," which peaked in the Top 20. By the time the group released their
much-hyped debut album, Generation Terrorists, in February 1992 -- a record they
claimed would outsell Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction -- they had already
cultivated a large and devoted following, many of which emulated their glammy
appearence and read the same novels and philosophers the group name-dropped.
The Manics had been claiming that they would disband following the release of their
debut, yet it became clear by the fall, when a non-LP cover of "Suicide is Painless
(Theme from 'MASH')" became their first Top Ten hit, that they would continue
performing. Nicky Wire and Richey James had become notorious for their banter
throughout the British music press, and while it earned them countless articles, it also
painted the group into a corner. Comparatively polished and mainstream compared
to its predecessor, Gold Against the Soul, the group's second album, appeared in
the summer of 1993 to mixed reviews.
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Shortly after the release of Gold Against the Soul, the Manics' support began to slideas the group began to splinter amidst internal tensions, many of them stemming
from James. Nicky Wire ran into trouble over onstage remarks about R.E.M.'s Michael
Stipe dying of AIDS, but Richey Edwards was in genuine trouble. Suffering from
deepening alcoholism and anorexia, Richey entered prolonged bouts of depression,
highlighted by incidents of self-mutilation -- most notoriously at a concert in Thailand,
when he appeared with his chest slashed open by knives a fan gave him. Early in
1994, he entered a private clinic, and the band had to perform a number of concerts
as a trio. Richey's mental illness surfaced on the group's third album, The Holy Bible.
Reportedly recorded in a red-light district in Wales, The Holy Bible was a bleak,
disillusioned record that earned considerable critical acclaim upon its late summer
release in 1994.
Although the Manics' critical reputation was restored and Richey was playing with
the band, even giving numerous interviews with the press, all was not well. Prior to
the American release of The Holy Bible and the band's ensuing tour, Richey checked
out of his London hotel on February 1, 1995, drove to his Cardiff apartment and
disappeared, leaving behind his passport and credit cards. Within the week he was
reported missing and his abandoned car was found on the Severen Bridge outside
of Bristol, a spot notorious for suicides. By the summer, the police had presumed he
was dead. Broken, but not beaten, the remaining Manics decided to carry on as a
trio, working the remaining lyrics Richey left behind into songs.
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Richey
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Generation Terrorists
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