Manic Street Preachers

The Manic Street Preachers are the UK rock band who have won a great deal of critical acclaim over the years, but still their history is inextricably bound with the mystery surrounding the troubled lyricist Ritchey Edwards, who disappeared in 1995, only three albums into their eight album career.

In the beginning, the Manics were heavily influenced by punk and their gigs were riotous affairs. They developed a loyal, if energetic, audience and their debut album, Generation Terrorists (1992) reached a respectable No.13 on the UK album charts. Gold Against the Soul (1993) took a more ‘grungy’ direction and met with mixed reviews, though it also performed well in the UK charts, reaching No.8. As they prepared for their third album it was clear that Ritchey Edwards was having problems and he checked into a private psychiatric clinic in 1994 to try to sort himself out. The Holy Bible was released in the August of that year and though the critics loved it and it went on to be considered their seminal album, it sold poorly, and was not even released in America – a market they had consistently failed to wow. Just a few months later, Edwards went missing. He has never been found.

In the wake of his disappearance the band took a six month break, unsure whether to carry on. Their decision was clear when Everything Must Go was released in 1996. The album was considered a classic, winning a raft of ‘best album’ plaudits from music journalists, and resulted in four UK charting singles including “A Design for Life” and “Kevin Carter”. Success continued with the follow-up album, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998), which topped the charts and gave them their first No.1 single with “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next”.

Since then the band has released three studio albums, of which two have reached No.2 in the UK album charts. Know Your Enemy was released in March of 2001. The album showcases a wide mix of styles, from the wall-of-sound pop of "Why So Sad?" to the dance-infused pop of "Miss Europa Disco Dancer." Lifeblood, the band's least political album to date, was released in November of 2004. Send Away The Tigers was released in May of 2007 and marked a return to the political commentary and anthemic songs for which the band is best known. The first single from the album, "Your Love Is Not Enough," is a duet with Nina Persson from The Cardigans. "Imperial Bodybags" is notable because it is built upon a rockabilly guitar riff.