Manic Street Preachers - Biography
One of the more truly warped and strangely triumphant histories in rock music belongs to Manic Street Preachers. They hail from the town of Blackwood in South Wales, or as they preferred to call it, “Urban Hell.” They made outlandish and offensive statements in which they likened Slowdive to Hitler, praised America for killing John Lennon, and rooted for Michael Stipe to die of AIDS. They wore eyeliner and makeup on stage. They wore feather boas and self-designed t-shirts containing their own brand of political rhetoric. For a long time, the Manics were more of a concept than a band. But underneath the glitter and posturing were four simple Welsh friends who adored the Sex Pistols and the Clash.
In 1986, Betty Blue was formed with James Dean Bradfield on guitar and vocals, Nicky Wire (born Nick Jones) on bass, Sean Moore on drums and Flicker on rhythm guitar. Flicker left two years in after arguments over the band's musical direction. They changed their name to Manic Street Preachers in 1988. Richey James (born Richey Edwards), a schoolmate of Wire's who had been helping the band, driving them from gig to gig, was welcomed in as an official member. James was not skilled on rhythm guitar, but he took over much of the lyric writing (he and Wire split the duties in half) and was the greatest contributor to the group's image.
The band financed their first single, “Suicide Alley,” all by themselves in 1989. Once the single proved to be unsuccessful, they relocated to London where a collection of their demos, called New Art Riot EP, was released on Heavenly Records in 1990. The EP is what inspired Philip Hall to become their publicist and co-manager, as well as their mentor and friend. This was followed by two singles in 1991, “You Love Us,” and “Motown Junk.” The latter contained the controversial lyric “I laughed when Lennon got shot,” a line that epitomized what the band was all about in their beginning: using shock-value statements to offend people's sensibilities for no clear reason.
The weightiest statement of all, the one that truly turned the tide for the Manics, came on May 5th, 1991. After a gig at Norwich Arts Center, the group was being interviewed by Steve Lamacq, who was writing for New Musical Express at the time. The journalist pressed them on the question of whether everything they promoted as a band was coming from a sincere place or not. In other words, were they for real? James disappeared for a brief moment, and when he returned, “4 REAL” had been carved into his forearm with a razor blade, horrifying Lamacq. The photograph of James bearing his bloodied wrist propelled the Manics to tabloid stardom and a contract with Sony within 6 days.
By 1992, it was time for the band to prove they could deliver the goods on an actual album. They set the bar a bit high for themselves, predicting that their debut, which would be a double LP, would outsell Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction. The idea was to become the biggest band in the world, sell 20 million copies of their record, and then disband forever. Generation Terrorists was released in February, 1992 on Columbia Records. Lyrically, it contained all the rhetoric that people had come to expect. Musically, it boasted big guitar solos and riffs heavily influenced by Slash while at the same time maintaining their Clash and Sex Pistols fanaticism. It was a worthy first effort, but one that did not help the group make good on their promise, selling a mere 250,000 copies around the world. Evidently, since they did not outsell GNR, there was no point in fulfilling the second half of their pledge, and the Manics showed no signs of quitting.
After releasing a cover of “Suicide is Painless (Theme from M*A*S*H)” as a single and scoring a top ten hit, the band followed up their debut with Gold Against the Soul (Columbia) in June of 1993. Mixed reviews surrounded it, but the Manics scored hits with “From Despair to Where” and “La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh),” the latter of which was inspired by the suicide note of Vincent Van Gogh. There was an undeniable energy throughout the whole of the album, but the effort still seemed like that of a band pushing for mainstream success instead of holding true to their original principles.
On, December 7, 1993, Phillip Hall, who by now was more than a business partner and had become a mentor and friend to the band, passed away after a two year battle with cancer. The sadness brought by Hall's death was not the only setback faced by the Manics at this time. Gold Against the Soul caused their fan base to slip and they were now at an artistic crossroads. Perhaps worst of all, James' mental and physical health were in rapid decline. He weighed around 85 pounds and drank in excess. His worried bandmates admitted him to the Priory in Roehampton, a hospital specializing in mental health.
Nowhere are James' anxieties and fragile psyche more apparent than on the 1994 album The Holy Bible (Epic). Not only was this album the sound of a band taking the high road, finding their true artistic voice instead of continuing down the trail of mediocrity, but it was an unfiltered glimpse into the increasingly troubled mind of its chief lyric writer. Through his words, James painted harrowing portraits of anorexia, prostitution, and the depravity of man. The album was met with critical acclaim, and the band held up the appearance of normalcy as long as was possible, with James playing concerts and giving interviews.
On February 1st, 1995, James was at a London hotel, and the band was about to head to America to promote the US release of The Holy Bible. Instead, James checked out and drove to his Cardiff apartment, where he left his passport and credit cards. He drove to Severn Bridge outside Bristol, a spot known for suicides. Within the week, his car was found but James was long gone and his body was never recovered. His family and bandmates still cling to the belief that he simply ran away. His parents refuse to sign a death certificate, and the band still puts a quarter of their royalties into an account in James' name.
After a ten month absence, Manic Street Preachers resurfaced as a trio, opening for the Stone Roses. James' family urged the remaining Manics to come out with a new album as soon as possible in the hopes that it would convince James to come out of hiding and rejoin the group. The band released Everything Must Go (Epic) in May of 1996. It was their most mature and successful effort to date, showcasing Bradfield's melodic gifts while doing away with the icy jaggedness that pervaded The Holy Bible. “A Design For Life,” the single that preceded the album, reached number two on the charts and was followed by three more top ten hits: “Kevin Carter,” “Everything Must Go,” and “Australia.”
After receiving a pair of Brit Awards and being consistently ranked for best album of the year by most British publications, the band settled back into the studio. This is My Truth Tell Me Yours was released in 1998 on Virgin. It achieved nearly the same level of critical adoration as Everything Must Go, and gave the Manics their first ever number one single with “If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next.” But it seemed unanimous among diehard fans that the group had gone soft.
The response to such an accusation came in 2001 in the form of Know Your Enemy (Virgin), a bloated album chocked full of politically charged punk lyrics set to a mixed bag of Sonic Youth-like noise rock, melancholy ballads, and pure rock'n'roll. It was poorly received and it served as something of a mid-life crisis for the band. In 2004, they released the quietly endearing Lifeblood on Sony. It received mixed reviews and wasn't released in the US.
Bradfield and Wire took a break to record solo albums in 2006 but the Manics quickly resurfaced in 2007 with Send Away the Tigers (Columbia). The band had clearly ironed out the wrinkles that had plagued their last two albums, winning back the respect of the British press and fans alike with a marriage of anthemic arena rock and rollicking punk. In 2008, NME presented Manic Street Preachers with the Godlike Genius award for “an outstanding, unique and innovative career in music.” It is an honor that had previously been bestowed upon Primal Scream, New Order, and perhaps the band that started it all for the Manics, The Clash.
