Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers (formed in 1986)
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh rock band consisting of James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore.

Manic Street Preachers: Formation
Manic Street Preachers formed at Oakdale Comprehensive School, Blackwood, South Wales.
Bradfield started out writing lyrics but the role was later switched to Wire leaving Bradfield and Sean Moore to write the music.
Their original bassist Flicker (Miles Woodward) left in 1988, the same year they recorded their first single, 'Suicide Alley'. Richey Edwards soon joined the band on guitar.
In 1990, they signed with Damaged Goods Records for the 'New Art Riot' EP, before signing to indie label Heavenly Records.

Manic Street Preachers: Musical career
Manic Street Preachers' first single for Heavenly Records was 'Motown Junk'.
In 1991, Richey Edwards carved '4 Real' into his arm with a razorblade after being questioned by an NME journalist about their punk roots following a gig in Norwich. He had to have 17 stitches.
The band signed to Columbia Records to record their debut album 'Generation Terrorists' released in 1992. It reached number 13 in the UK chart.
Their second album 'Gold Against the Soul' was a lot more grungey in its sound and reached number 8.
Between 1994 and 1995, Edwards' mental health was suffering massively and he was admitted to private psychiatric hospital The Priory in 1994 for which the band paid for with funds from a few festivals they played without him. In 1995, he went missing from a hotel he was staying at and his car was discovered near the Severn Bridge looking lived in. He was not found and was officially presumed dead in 2008.
The first album without Edwards was 'Everything Must Go' which became a huge hit. It was shortlisted for the 1996 Mercury Prize award and won two BRITs. Its first single 'A Design for Life' reached number 2 in the UK chart.
Their next album, 1998's 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', was their first and only number one album to date and gave them their first number one single with 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next'.
In 1999, they played the first and biggest concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of 80,000 fans. Their next number one single was in 2000 with 'The Masses Against the Classes'.
In 2001, they were the first major Western rock band to play in Cuba and met President Fidel Castro.
Their first greatest hits collection was 'Forever Delayed' in 2002 and contained the new songs 'Door to the River' and 'There by the Grace of God'.
In 2004, they released seventh album 'Lifeblood' which preceded a UK arena tour.
In 2005, they announced their last tour for two years. During their shows, they gave out copies of their new EP 'God Save the Manics' to concert goers before releasing it on their website as a free download.
Their eighth album 'Send Away the Tigers' came in the charts at number 2 in 2007. Later that year they released Christmas single 'The Ghosts of Christmas' as a free download.
In 2008, they were awarded the God-Like Geniuses Award at the NME Awards ceremony.
Their ninth album, 'Journal for Plague Lovers', was released in 2009 and even features some lyrics from long lost bandmate Edwards.
In 2010, they released the pop album 'Postcards from a Young Man' with first single '(It's Not War) Just the End of Love' being given much radio airplay.
Their subsequent tour was supported by the band British Sea Power and two other singles 'Some Kind of Nothingness' and the title track were later released.
The next compilation, 'National Treasures - The Complete Singles', came out in 2011 and was followed by a European tour.
In 2012, an interview documentary film about their debut album was screened at the Chapter Arts Centre in Wales with the profits going to Young Promoters Network.