Manic Street Preachers biography
The Manic Street Preachers hail from Gwent in Wales and formed in 1986. The current line-up comprises of James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore, having suffered the disappearance of their bandmate Richey Edwards in 1995.
The early years
Originally a quartet formed in 1986 at a comprehensive school in Gwent, the band started out with James Dean Bradfield (vocals, guitars), Nicky Wire (bass, occasional vocals), Sean Moore (drums, backing vocals, occasional trumpet) and Richey Edwards (lyricist and rhythm guitarist).
They signed their first deal with label Damaged Goods Records in 1990 and while it attracted plenty of media hype, the band quickly went on to sign to indie label Heavenly Records, producing singles 'Motown Junk' and 'You Love Us.' What happened next would place the band firmly in the spotlight. During an interview with NME Edwards carved “4REAL” into his arm to prove how committed the band were, before being taken to hospital for 17 stitches. Colombia Records picked Manic Street Preachers up and work began on the debut album Generation Terrorists. It sold 250,000 copies before the second album Gold Against the Soul was produced to mixed reviews.
Trouble in the band
Richey Edwards' personal life was affecting not only himself but other band members as well and they played several festivals as a trio while he was admitted to The Priory for treatment. While the next album The Holy Bible received critical acclaim, it sold poorly so the band appeared on Top of the Pops to support its release – receiving the most complaints to date because they wore army regalia and 'terrorist-style' balaclavas.
On February 1 1995, Edwards disappeared after checking out of a London hotel and his abandoned car was found over two weeks later near the Severn Bridge. He was declared dead in November 2008 but the band have kept his royalties in case he returned. The group was put on hold for 6 months and almost broke up but decided to carry on with the blessing of Edwards' family.
Life after Edwards
1996 saw Manic Street Preachers nominated for the Mercury Prize for Everything Must Go, which included the number two hit single 'A Design for Life,' and won the band two BRIT Awards for Best British Band and Best British Album. 1998's This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours gave the band their first number one single in 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' and included 'You Stole the Sun from My Heart.'
A year later and The Manics ruled the BRITs once again, picking up the same gongs and played the first, and largest concert held at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff with 80,000 fans. Their sixth album Know Your Enemy included several tracks first revealed during a concert in Cuba. The greatest hits album Forever Delayed was released in 2002 and was followed by Lipstick Traces which included the last song the band worked on with Edwards.
The band followed their 7th studio album Lifeblood with a UK arena tour and played a number of shows in 2005 as the Past-Present-Future tour, saying it would be their last for at least 2 years – and it was. It would be 2007 before Send Away the Tigers was released and went straight in at number 2 in the official UK album charts with an incredibly positive response from the critics. A year later Manic Street Preachers picked up the God-like Genius Award at the NME Awards ceremony.
Gone but not forgotten, Richey Edwards' presence was still felt in the Manics' 9th album Journal for Plague Lovers. Released in 2009, it featured lyrics left behind by guitarist before his disappearance.
Radio Hits
In 2010 James Dean Bradfield announced they were going for “big radio hits” on their new album Postcards from a Young Man and what he called “one last shot at mass communication” – and he was right. '(It's Not War) Just the End of Love' was played by radio stations across the UK and the Manics embarked on a tour to promote the album.