Music - Manic Street Preachers

James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore and rhythm guitarist Flicker 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, 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."

Manic Street Preachers Photo 2 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. Richey 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. 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 is the first indication of Richey James' mental instability.

Stay Beautiful was the Manics' first release for Sony, and it climbed into the British Top 40 late in the summer of 1991, followed early in 1992 by a re-recorded You Love 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 appearance 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 10 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. Gold Against The Soul, the group's second album, appeared in the summer of 1993 to mixed reviews.

Manic Street Preachers Photo 3 Shortly after the release of Gold Against The Soul, the Manics' support began to slide as the group began to splinter amidst internal tensions, many of them stemming from Richey James. Nicky Wire ran into trouble over onstage remarks about R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe dying of AIDS, but Richey James 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 surfaces 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.

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. The Manic Street Preachers returned in December 1995 opening for the Stone Roses. In May 1996, they released Everything Must Go, which was preceded by the number two single, A Design For Life. Their most direct and mature record to date, Everything Must Go was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and the group became major stars in England. Throughout 1996, the band toured constantly, and most UK music publications named Everything Must Go Album of the Year.

Everything Must Go didn't just go multi-platinum - it established the Manics as superstars throughout the world. Everywhere except America, that is. The album received a belated release in the US, appearing in August of 1996, and the group attempted an American tour, opening for Oasis. It should have led to increase exposure, but a blow-out between the Gallaghers led to Oasis cancelling the entire tour, leaving the Manics at square one. They didn't deliver their much-anticipated follow-up, This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours, until August of 1998. The album was another blockbuster success in the UK, Europe and Asia, but it didn't receive a release in America, since the Manics were in the process of leaving Epic in the US. The band signed with Virgin, who released This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours in June 1999 - nearly a year after its initial release.