That’s fair enough,” Richey shrugged. “People do expect a lot from us and they can get a bit antagonistic. James puts up with most because he’s the singer. He ended up going bare-topped nearly every night on our last tour because there was so much spitting from the crowd.” We are not your sinners,” sang James. “Our voices are for real.” Shortly afterwards, Richey – exasperated at NME writer Steve Lamacq's refusal to take them any more seriously than New Wave Of New Wave flash-in-the-pans like Birdland or These Animal Men – carved the phrase '4 REAL' on his arm with a razor blade mid-interview. Suddenly the Manics didn't seem quite so laughable.

Manic Street Preachers record Euro 2016 theme song for Wales football team". NME. 22 March 2016 . Retrieved 29 April 2017. a b Aizlewood, John. " Generation Terrorists: 20th Anniversary Edition Review - Manic Street Preachers: BBC Online". BBC Music . Retrieved 26 November 2012. a b c d e "Manic Street Preachers". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011 . Retrieved 21 August 2012.Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield: 'Sometimes You Need Some Creative Failure to Spur You On' ". Ultimate Guitar. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022 . Retrieved 25 November 2023. I'd say it's a post-punk album influenced by bits of Rush. After the system remained very much unsmashed after Generation Terrorists failed to sell 16 million copies (to-date UK sales are approximately 289,000) thankfully they decided to carry on. Phew. Martin, Dan (20 May 2013). "Manic Street Preachers Set to Release Two New Albums". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 December 2014. Having first encountered the band while assisting on the Heavenly singles, Eringa recalls the Manics’ mindset as one of “super-excitement, a sense that they were doing something that mattered and was really brilliant”. St Luce noted their “utter self-belief” but also found them “shy, well-mannered gentleman. I liked it that people would go ‘Oh, God we’ve got the Manics coming here… they’re going to trash the place.’ But they made their beds at hotels and things like that.” Yet there were undoubtedly dark undercurrents brewing. Sullivan, Caroline (6 December 2012). "Manic Street Preachers: Generation Terrorists (20th anniversary edition) – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 13 December 2012.

Manic Street Preachers add extra 'Everything Must Go' 20th anniversary tour dates". NME. 7 December 2015 . Retrieved 29 April 2017. They also scored their then-biggest hit with the song A Design For Life reaching Number 2 in 1996, which James claimed ‘saved the band’ and went on to become their biggest anthem.Madrid. The 'Military' Practice of the Rebels. If you tolerate this your children will be next. (Art.IWM PST 8661)". Iwm.org.uk. 22 February 1999 . Retrieved 29 April 2017. In February 2017 the band revealed a teaser trailer for a documentary entitled Escape from History, charting the band's journey from The Holy Bible, through to the disappearance of lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards, to the huge success of Everything Must Go. The documentary aired on Sky Arts on 15 April. [103] The band also stated that they would release an album later in that year. [104] After the release of "Suicide Alley," Edwards joined the band on rhythm guitar and contributed to lyrics alongside Wire. Edwards also designed record sleeves and artwork and drove the band to and from gigs. [2]