Part One
1985â1992
1985
⢠In Blackwood, South Wales, Fifteen-year-old James Dean Bradfield and his school friend, Nick Jones, start writing songs together. Bradfieldâs cousin, Sean Moore, who shares a bedroom with him, soon joins on drums improvised from a biscuit tin. They make their first demos in the autumn of that year (by which point Sean has managed to get a real drum kit), influenced by NME-style jangle-pop and The Smiths.
1986
⢠A documentary celebrating the tenth anniversary of punk becomes a year-zero moment for the trio, who quickly start to fold The Clash and Sex Pistols into their style.
⢠The band names themselves âManic Street Preachersâ after an insult shouted at Bradfield while busking in Cardiff.
⢠At some point this year another school friend, Miles âFlickerâ Woodward, joins the band on bass.
February 5
⢠The Manics play their first show, at the Railway Hotel, Crumlin. The setlist includes three covers (The Jesus and Mary Chainâs âJust Like Honeyâ, The Undertonesâ âTeenage Kicksâ and the Sex Pistolsâ âGod Save The Queenâ) and four Manics originals, including early versions of âSpectators of Suicideâ and âSuicide Alleyâ, and lasts just over ten minutes. The band will play at least five more gigs in and around South Wales before the end of the year.
September
⢠Richey Edwards, a close friend of Jones, Bradfield and Moore, leaves Blackwood to attend Swansea University. He will stay constantly involved with his friendâs band, however, driving them around when he can and helping out with writing.
October 4
⢠The third Manic Street Preachers show takes place at Blackwoodâs Little Theatre, opening for a local goth band, Funeral In Berlin. The 200-strong audience includes a faction of boozed-up rugby lads, who promptly kick off when James lifts his shirt to reveal the words âI Am Sexâ written across his chest. A minor riot ensues, beer glasses are thrown and much of the gear, including a piano belonging to the venue, is wrecked. The police are called. The Manics wonât play a full show in Blackwood again until 2011.
1987
⢠Another Blackwood teenager, Jennifer Watkins-Isnardi, becomes the bandâs lead singer. According to her memoir In The Beginning, a version of âMotorcycle Emptinessâ was already part of the bandâs set. The now-five-piece briefly re-name themselves âBetty Blueâ. Watkins-Isnardiâs tenure with the band lasts until the summer.
1988
⢠Early 1988, punk-purist Woodward quits, claiming the bandâs music is becoming too commercial and that being in the Manics is contributing to his drinking problem. Nick, now calling himself âNicky Wireâ switches to bass and the Manic Street Preachers become a three-piece.
May
⢠The Manics and their friends, having formed a sort-of art collective called âThe Blue Generationâ which they describe as âa definite body of ideas and peopleâ, write a press release and send it to Impact, a Cardiff listings magazine, to promote an upcoming gig. It lists the Blue Generationâs names as âSeany Dee, Jamie Kat, Nicky Wire and Richie Veeâ and challenges the reader to âdig it kats or buy a body bagâ and promises they will âprotude our tight arses and heroic bulges on deep blue nightsâ.
June
⢠The trio use money borrowed from Jamesâ dad to pay for a dayâs studio time at South Bank, Cwmfelinfach to make their first professional recordings. They track Bradfield/Moore/Wire originals âSuicide Alleyâ and âTenessee (I Get Low)â. James playâs Nickyâs bass parts in order to save time. Inspired by DIY punk, the trio decide to self-release the fruits of their efforts, with âSuicide Alleyâ as the A-side, on the completely fictional âSBSâ records (itâs given the catalogue number SBS002 to imply the label has other releases). 300 self-funded 7â singles are pressed. The band glue the sleeves themselves. The cover photo is taken by Richey Edwards, who also writes a press release and acts as the bandâs driver. They will send it out to journalists and venues throughout the rest of the year.
June 2
⢠Manic Street Preachers play at Brahms and Lizt, Newport. It is one of their only shows in 1988, partly due to Nickyâs A-levels and university plans.
September
⢠Nicky Wire leaves Blackwood to study at Portsmouth Polytechnic, he later transfers to Swansea University to be closer to his home and to Richey.
1989
January
⢠Mark Brennan of the fanzine Beat The Street gives âSuicide Alleyâ a rave write up, and is impressed enough to include both A and B sides on a punk rock compilation, Underground Rockers Volume 2, released on Link Records.
March (approx)
⢠NME journalist Steven Wells awards âSuicide Alleyâ âSingle of the Weekâ. Somewhere around this point Jello Biafra from Dead Kennedys orders a copy via postal order.
Spring (approx)
⢠The band play TJs in Newport. They wear tight white jeans on stage for the first time, adopting a punky look based on the Clashâs early image, notably at odds with the music scene of the 1980s.
⢠The other Manics talk Richey Edwards into officially joining the band on second guitar, despite him having no experience on the instrument. He debuts during the encore at a show at Swansea University to play âSorrow 16â; it is the first time the core members of the Manic Street Preachers perform together publically. Richey smashes his newly acquired guitar at the end of the song.
August 20
⢠The Manics make their London debut at the Horse and Groom, Great Portland Street. By now they are wearing t-shirts spray painted with slogans like âSUICIDE BEATâ and âNEW ART RIOTâ. Melody Maker writer, (as well as St Etienne member and future pop-historian) Bob Stanley is in attendance. They open with a new song, âNew Art Riotâ, and finish with âSuicide Alleyâ. The band sufficiently impresses promoter Kevin Pearce, who books them three more times that year. One of the shows is caught by Ian Ballard, the founder of London indie label Damaged Goods Records.
1990
March
⢠Bob Stanley becomes the first person to independently release a Manics song when he includes âUK Channel Boredomâ, recorded at Sound Bank Studios, as a flexi disc with his fanzine, Hopelessly Devoted.
⢠Ian Ballard agrees to release the bandâs debut EP on Damaged Goods and pays for a two-day recording session at Workshop Studios, Redditch, with producer/engineer Robin Wynn Evans. The band put down âNew Art Riotâ and four other songs.
⢠The Manics play support slots with Mega City Four and The Levellers. Nicky misses his graduation ceremony at Swansea University (he received a 2:1 in politics) due to the dates.
June 22
⢠New Art Riot (Damaged Goods)
Tracklist:
A1) âNew Art Riotâ
A2) âStrip It Downâ
B1) âLast Exit Yesterdayâ
B2) âTeenage 20/20â
Format:
12â vinyl, 1,000 pressed
June
⢠Melody Maker awards âNew Art Riotâ Single of the Week
Summer
⢠NMEâs Steve Lamaq recommends that the band approach the Stone Rosesâ manager Philip Hall, the founder of the management and PR company Hall Or Nothing. Hall and his brother Martin attend a rehearsal in Gwent.
August
⢠The band play a sparsely-attended show at the Rock Garden, Covent Garden, London. In the tiny audience is Philip Hall as well as Heavenly Recordsâ Jeff Barrett and Martin Kelly. The Manics are offered a deal with Heavenly on the spot. The next day, Hall or Nothing management agree to take on the band as clients.
⢠Edwards, Wire, Bradfield and Moore move to London, bunking with Philip Hall and his wife, Terri, in their small Shepherds Bush home. The band start to realise that Edwardsâ, who puts himself to sleep with vodka every night, has a drinking problem. Edwards also commits minor but still alarming acts of self-harm in front of their hosts.
October 25
⢠Heavenly funds the bandâs longest recording session yet: four days at Londonâs Power Plant. The sessions are assisted by a young engineer called Dave Eringa. Ten songs are recorded, including âYou Love Usâ, âMotown Junkâ, âSorrow 16â, âWe Her Majestyâs Prisonersâ, âSpectators of Suicideâ and âStar Loverâ.
October 27
⢠Journalist Paul Moody reviews a Manics show for Sounds magazine, in which he paints them as a âbreathlessâ punk pastiche. His review ends with âThis is Walesâs revenge for traitors like The Alarm who fattened up punk for the US market ⌠this lot are still anorexic.â
November
⢠The Manics hit the road supporting Heavenly label-mates Flowered Up, playing their first shows in Manchester, Scotland and their first international show in Paris.
December
⢠The band self-fund studio time to record two songs, a new version of âNew Art Riotâ and an early demo of âRepeatâ, and give the recordings to Bob Stanley to release, as a thank you for his support.
1991
January 5
⢠NME runs its first proper feature with the band, written by Steven Wells who says he is âin hate with a poxy Welsh rock bandâ. The interview is conducted outside Buckingham Palace.
January 11
⢠Manic Street Preachers play their first show of the year at Royal Holloway College, Egham. Hall persuades several record label A&R men to attend, including representatives from Def Jam, EMI, Sony and WEA.
January 21
⢠Motown Junk (Heavenly)
Tracklist:
1. âMotown Junkâ
2. âSorrow 16â
3. âWe Her Majestyâs Prisonersâ
Formats:
CD, 12â vinyl, 7â vinyl
⢠The Manics make their television debut on BBC Twoâs SnubTV, featuring an interview and footage from a show in London the previous year
January 28
⢠âMotown Junkâ charts at number 92
February 1
⢠Manic Street Preachers begin their first UK headline tour, kicking off at the Adelphi in Hull. Wire develops a thyroid cyst on his neck after the second night...