Manic Street Preachers

"Manics" redirects here. For other uses, see Manic (disambiguation).

Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers in 2024. From left to right: touring member Nick Nasmyth, James Dean Bradfield, touring member Wayne Murray, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire.
Manic Street Preachers in 2024. From left to right: touring member Nick Nasmyth, James Dean Bradfield, touring member Wayne Murray, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire.
Background information
Also known asThe Manics
OriginBlackwood, Caerphilly, Wales
Genres
Years active1986–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websitewww.manicstreetpreachers.com Edit this at Wikidata

Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes). They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.

Following the release of their debut single "Suicide Alley" in 1988, Manic Street Preachers became a quartet with the addition of Richey Edwards as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band's early releases were in a punk vein, eventually broadening to a wider alternative rock sound.[1] Their early combination of androgynous glam imagery and lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" gained them a loyal following.[2]

Manic Street Preachers' first charting single was "Motown Junk" in 1991, followed by their debut album, Generation Terrorists, in February 1992. The band's next two albums were Gold Against the Soul in 1993 and The Holy Bible in 1994,[3] the latter being the last album with Edwards, who disappeared in February 1995 and was legally presumed dead in 2008.[4] The band continued as a trio, and achieved commercial success with the albums Everything Must Go (1996) and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998).

The Manics have headlined festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and Reading, winning eleven NME Awards, eight Q Awards and four BRIT Awards.[5] They were nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1996 and 1999, and have had one nomination for the MTV Europe Music Awards. The band has sold more than ten million albums worldwide.[6] The Manics have had two number one singles in the UK charts: "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" (1998) and "The Masses Against the Classes" (2000), as well as two number one albums: This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and The Ultra Vivid Lament (2021).[7] From 1991 to 2010, they had 33 consecutive top 40 singles in the UK.[8]

  1. ^ "Final Farewell for a Cult Hero". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Price was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AllMusic2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "BBC Wales – Music – Manic Street Preachers – Richey Edwards". BBC Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Manic Street Preachers – BRITs Profile". brits.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Manic Street Preachers: 'These are the last burning flames of rock n' roll'". Gigwise.com.
  7. ^ "From Despair to Success". BBC News. 12 February 1999. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Manic Street Preachers interview". Official Charts. 31 October 2011.