Issue 155

Manic Street Preachers

14th May 2007

You. Love. Them. It's a fact. Manic Street Preachers are STILL one of the most important bands in Britain today. After a two-year break, in which both James and Nicky pursued brief solo stints, the boys from Blackwood have returned with a bang in 2007. Through their eighth studio album, Send Away The Tigers, they have recaptured the youthful energy and nihilistic fury of their early career.

Few bands can claim to have achieved as much as the Manics have over the years. Since their 1992 debut album, Generation Terrorists, the Welsh rockers have enjoyed the highs and suffered the lows of a rollercoaster career, but have ultimately been responsible for some of the best British music of their generation.

The mysterious disappearance of their chief lyricist Richey Edwards in 1995 will always be talked about and will always cast a shadow over the band. But then you remember that instead of retreating into their shells, they returned in 1996 with the sublime A Design For Life which was only held off the top of the charts by Mark Morrison.

The Manics also have the unique honour of capturing the first new Number One single of the new millennium when Masses Against The Classes topped the pile in January 2000 to secure their second charttopper of their career.

With a back catalogue as rich and extensive as the Manics, it bodes well for their eagerly-anticipated Fflam festival appearance in Singleton Park this summer. You can be sure that the white-hot Faster, or the epic Motorcycle Emptiness will sound as good in 2007 as they did when they were first played.

Swansea will always be a spiritual home for the Manics. Singleton Park borders the University, where both Nicky and Richey shared three years of their lives.

The last time, however, the Manics played Singleton Park in 1993, they were bottled off. But here we are, 2007, and here are a band who never fail to impress and will literally piss blood on stage for the sake of their fans. How many other bands today would claim to do that. You can be sure that not many would.

Pete Hayman