Editing Manic Street Preachers (section)

=== Richey Edwards era: ''Generation Terrorists'' to ''The Holy Bible'' (1992–1995) ===
[[File:Manic Street Preachers2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Bradfield performing in Chicago, April 1992<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/manic-street-preachers-7055802c-5da4-47c8-b500-da8a210af432 |website=concertarchives.com |access-date=18 February 2025 |title=Apr 30, 1992: Manic Street Preachers at Metro Chicago, Illinois, United States &#124; Concert Archives }}</ref>]]

The band's debut album, ''[[Generation Terrorists]]'', was released in 1992 on the [[Columbia Records]] imprint. The record contained six singles and sold 250,000 copies.<ref name="Price"/>  The liner notes contained a literary quote for each of the album's eighteen songs and the album lasted just over seventy minutes. The album's lyrics are politicised like those of [[the Clash]] and [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/john_robb_on_manic_street_preachers |title=BBC – Blogs – John Robb on Manic Street Preachers |last=McLaren |first=James |date=9 February 2012 |website=[[BBC Online]] |access-date=24 September 2012}}</ref> with the album's songs regularly switching from a critical focus on global [[capitalism]] to more personal tales of despair and the struggles of youth. Other tracks combine personal and political themes; "Nat West-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds" was written as a critique of overseas banking credit policies, but also concerned [[Richey Edwards]]' issues involving overdrafts and refused loans.{{sfn|Price|1999|p=76}} The single "[[Motorcycle Emptiness]]", meanwhile, criticises [[consumerism]] as a "shallow dream"{{sfn|Price|1999|p=76}} that makes human life overtly commercialised.<ref name="Burrows">{{cite web |url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4145695-manics-monday--rain-down-alienation-generation-terrorists%E2%80%99-key-tracks |title=Manics Monday: Rain Down Alienation – ''Generation Terrorists'' Key Tracks. |last=Burrows |first=Marc |date=5 November 2012 |website=[[Drowned in Sound]] |access-date=30 December 2014 |archive-date=6 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106122603/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4145695-manics-monday--rain-down-alienation-generation-terrorists%E2%80%99-key-tracks |url-status=dead }}</ref> "[[Little Baby Nothing]]", a duet between [[Traci Lords]] and Bradfield, was described by Priya Elan of the ''[[NME]]'' as a "perfect snapshot of [female] innocence bodysnatched and twisted".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=manic_street_preachers_their_10_best_tra&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 |title=Manic Street Preachers – Their 10 Best Tracks |last=Elan |first=Priya |date=7 October 2011 |website=[[NME]] |access-date=30 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008113059/http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=manic_street_preachers_their_10_best_tra&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 |archive-date=8 October 2011 }}</ref>

The band also made a cover version of the song "[[Suicide Is Painless]]" which peaked at number 7 in the UK charts, spending 3 weeks in the Top 10, and giving the band their first ever Top 10 hit single.<ref name="UK charts">{{cite web |url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/manic%20street%20preachers/ |title=Manic Street Preachers |website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]] |access-date=21 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615114536/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/manic%20street%20preachers/ |archive-date=15 June 2011  }}</ref>

The group's second album, ''[[Gold Against the Soul]]'', had a more commercial, [[grunge|grungy]] sound. It was released to mixed reviews but performed well, reaching number eight in the UK album chart. 
The band stated that the choice to work with [[Dave Eringa]] again was important for this album.<ref name="Price 1999">Price, 1999</ref> The band have described ''Gold Against the Soul'' as their least favourite album and the period surrounding the album as being the most unfocused of their career. The band's vocalist and guitarist [[James Dean Bradfield]] has said "All we wanted to do was go under the corporate wing. We thought we could ignore it but you do get affected."<ref>{{cite journal |title=James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers on a Year of Hospital Horror... |journal=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |url=http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/horror.html |access-date=1 October 2012}}</ref>

By early 1994, Edwards' difficulties {{clarify|date=September 2023}} became worse and began to affect the other band members as well as himself.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} He was admitted into [[The Priory]] in 1994 to overcome his problems and the band played a few festivals as a three-piece to pay for his treatment.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} During one such three-piece performance at Reading '94, James played Richey's black Gibson as a mark of respect (although James later commented that he regretted playing Richey's guitar).<ref name="Price"/>

The group's next album, ''[[The Holy Bible (album)|The Holy Bible]]'', was released in August to critical acclaim, but sold poorly. The album displayed yet another musical and aesthetic change for the band, largely featuring army/navy uniforms. Musically, ''The Holy Bible'' marks a shift from the [[modern rock]] sound of their first two albums, ''[[Generation Terrorists]]'' and ''[[Gold Against the Soul]]''.<ref name="O'Neil">{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/review/manicstreetpreachers-holybible2005/ |title=Manic Street Preachers: ''The Holy Bible'' –– 10th Anniversary Edition|last=O'Neil |first=Tim |date=19 May 2005 |website=[[PopMatters]] |access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref> In addition to the album's [[alternative rock]] sound the album incorporates various elements from other musical genres, such as [[hard rock]],<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-holy-bible-mw0000123614 |title=''The Holy Bible'' – Manic Street Preachers Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref> [[punk rock|British punk]], [[post-punk]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gigwise.com/photos/94508/manic-street-preachers-the-holy-bible-ranked |title=Manic Street Preachers' ''The Holy Bible'': The Tracks Ranked|last=Threndall |first=Andrew |date=23 September 2014 |access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref> [[new wave music|new wave]], [[industrial music|industrial]], [[art rock]] and [[gothic rock]].<ref name="Price"/><ref name="Martin">{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/7538 |title=NME Reviews – Manic Street Preachers : ''The Holy Bible'' (Tenth Anniversary Edition)|last=Martin |first=Dan |date=12 September 2005 |website=[[NME]] |access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref>

Lyrically the album deals with subjects including prostitution, American [[consumerism]], British [[imperialism]], [[freedom of speech]], [[the Holocaust]], [[serial killer]]s, the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]], [[Revolution|political revolution]], childhood, [[fascism]] and suicide.<ref name="Testament">{{cite journal |date=27 August 1994 |title=Manics New Testament |journal=[[Melody Maker]] |publisher=IPC Media |page=4}}</ref> According to ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'': "the tone of the album is by turns bleak, angry and resigned".<ref>{{cite journal |date=May 1997 |title=Manic Street Preachers article|journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |publisher=[[Bauer Media Group]] |page=139}}</ref> There was also an element of autobiographic subjects, like in the song "[[4st 7lb]]" where the lyrics clearly tackle Richey's own experience with anorexia. The song was named after 4 [[Stone (unit)|stones]] 7 [[Pound (mass)|pounds]], or {{convert|63|lbs|kg}}, because it is the weight below which death is said {{By whom|date=December 2019}} to be medically unavoidable for an anorexic sufferer.{{sfn|Clarke|1997|p=116}}

The title "The Holy Bible" was chosen by Edwards to reflect an idea, according to Bradfield, that "everything on there has to be perfection".{{sfn|Clarke|1997|p=117}} Interviewed at the end of 1994, Edwards said: "The way religions choose to speak their truth to the public has always been to beat them down [...] I think that if a Holy Bible is true, it should be about the way the world is and that's what I think my lyrics are about. [The album] doesn't pretend things don't exist".<ref>{{cite episode |title=Interview with Richey Edwards |series=Artistspecial |station=[[ZTV (Sweden)|ZTV]] |location=[[Stockholm]] |airdate=December 1994}}</ref>

{{listen |filename=|title="Motorcycle Emptiness"|description=The song has a different pace from all the other songs in the album. The lyrics were written by Richey and Nicky and presents a metaphor for the capitalist world.|format=[[Ogg]]}}

In support of the album the band appeared on ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', performing its first single, "[[Faster (Manic Street Preachers song)|Faster]]", which reached No. 16. The performance was extremely controversial at the time, as the band were all dressed in army regalia. Bradfield wore a "terrorist-style" [[Balaclava (clothing)|balaclava]]. At the time, the band was told by the [[BBC]] that they had received the most complaints ever.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1831497,00.html |title='You Woke Up on a Thursday and It Smelled Like a ''Top of the Pops'' Day' |last1=Simpson |first1=Dave |last2=Lynskey |first2=Dorian |date=29 July 2006 |website=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |access-date=2 March 2013}}</ref> The album eventually has sold over 600,000 copies worldwide.<ref name="Newsnight">{{cite news |title=Quintessential ''Newsnight'' |website=[[BBC Online|bbc.co.uk]] |publisher=BBC |date=5 August 2005}}</ref>

In April and May 1994 the band first performed songs from ''The Holy Bible'' at concerts in [[Thailand]] and [[Portugal]] and at a benefit concert for the [[Anti-Nazi League]] at [[Brockwell Park]], London.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Interview with Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire |series=Naked City |season=2 |number=6 |station=[[Channel 4]] |network=Rapido TV |location=London |airdate=27 June 1994}}</ref> In June, they played the [[Glastonbury Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/history/1994/ |title=Glastonbury Festivals – History – 1994 |website=[[Glastonbury Festival|glastonburyfestivals.co.uk]] |access-date=21 August 2012}}</ref> In July and August, without Richey Edwards, they played [[T in the Park]] in Scotland, the Alte Wartesaal in [[Cologne]], the [[Parkpop]] Festival in [[The Hague]] and the [[Reading and Leeds Festivals|Reading Festival]].<ref name="DVD interview">{{cite AV media |people=Manic Street Preachers |title=The Holy Bible: Tenth Anniversary Edition |year=2004 |publisher=[[Epic Records]]}}</ref> During September, October and December there was a headline tour of the UK and Ireland and two tours in mainland Europe with [[Suede (band)|Suede]] and [[Therapy?]].<ref name="BBC biography">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/manic-street-preachers/pages/biography.shtml |title=BBC – Wales – Music – Manic Street Preachers – Biography |date=17 November 2008 |website=[[BBC Cymru Wales|BBC Wales]] |access-date=30 December 2014}}</ref> In December, three nights at the [[London Astoria]] ended with the band smashing up their equipment and the venue's lighting rig, causing £26,000 worth of damage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/08/manic-street-preachers |title=This Album Could Seriously Damage Us |last=Petredis |first=Alexis |date=8 May 2009 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=21 August 2012}}</ref>

====The disappearance of Richey Edwards====
{{main|Richey Edwards#Disappearance and presumed death}}

[[File:Richey Edwards (7227817420).jpg|thumb|right|Edwards performing in Japan in May 1992 <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/manic-street-preachers?page=49#concert-table |website=concertarchives.com |access-date=18 February 2025 |title=Manic Street Preachers Concert & Tour History (Updated for 2025) &#124; Concert Archives }}</ref>]]

Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995, on the day when he and [[James Dean Bradfield]] were due to fly to the US on a promotional tour.<ref name="Price 1999, pp. 177-178">{{harvnb|Price|1999|pp=177–178}}</ref> In the two weeks before his disappearance, Edwards withdrew £200 a day from his bank account, which totalled £2,800 by the day of the scheduled flight.<ref name="IOS">{{cite news | first=Andy | last=Beckett | title=Missing street preacher | date=2 March 1997 | newspaper=The Independent on Sunday }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Price|1999|p=178}}</ref> He checked out of the Embassy Hotel in [[Bayswater Road]], London, at seven in the morning, and then drove to his apartment in [[Cardiff]], Wales.<ref name="IOS"/><ref name="Price 1999, p. 179">{{harvnb|Price|1999|p=179}}</ref> In the two weeks that followed he was apparently spotted in the [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] passport office,<ref>{{harvnb|Price|1999|p=183}}</ref> and the [[Newport bus station]].<ref name="IOS"/><ref name="SP180">{{harvnb|Price|1999|p=180}}</ref> On 7 February, a taxi driver from Newport supposedly picked up Edwards from the King's Hotel in Newport, and drove him around the valleys, including Blackwood (Edwards' home as a child). The passenger got off at the [[Severn View services|Severn View service station]] near [[Aust]] and paid the £68 fare in cash.<ref name="Price 1999, p. 179"/><ref>{{cite news | first=Alex | last=Bellos | pages=T.010 | title=Music: Desperately seeking Richey | date=26 January 1996|newspaper=The Guardian }}</ref>

On 14 February, Edwards' [[Vauxhall Cavalier]] received a parking ticket at the Severn View service station and on 17 February, the vehicle was reported as abandoned. Police discovered the battery to be flat, with evidence that the car had been lived in.<ref name="Price 1999, pp. 177-178"/><ref name="IOS"/><ref>{{cite news | title=Ten-year tragedy of missing Manic | date=1 February 2005|publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4210451.stm|access-date=30 January 2008}}</ref> Due to the [[Severn View services|service station]]'s proximity to the [[Severn Bridge]] (which has been a prominent suicide location in the past)<ref>Pidd, Helen. "[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/29/richey-edwards-manic-street-preachers Richey Edwards case closed: how 14 years of hope ended]", ''[[The Guardian]]''. 29 November 2008.</ref> it was widely believed that he took his own life by jumping from the bridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14264609 |title=Amy Winehouse joins iconic stars who died aged 27|date=25 July 2011|publisher=BBC|access-date=25 July 2011}}</ref>

Manic Street Preachers was put on hold for six months and disbanding the group was seriously considered, but with the blessing of Edwards' family, the other members continued.<ref name="Price"/> Edwards was legally "[[Declared death in absentia#England and Wales|presumed dead]]" in 2008, to enable his parents to administer his estate.<ref>{{cite news | title=Missing guitarist 'presumed dead' | date=24 November 2008|publisher=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7745273.stm|access-date=24 November 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Cartwright | first = Garth | title = Obituary: Richey Edwards | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | date = 26 November 2008 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/26/richey-edwards-manic-street-preachers | access-date = 30 October 2012}}</ref> The band continue to set up a microphone for Edwards at every live performance.<ref name="UniEel">{{cite web |title=The Disappearance of Richey Edwards: What Happened? |url=https://unieel.com/2018/01/07/the-disappearance-of-richey-edwards-what-happened/ |website=UniEel.com |access-date=29 June 2018 |date=7 January 2018 |archive-date=1 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501105706/https://unieel.com/2018/01/07/the-disappearance-of-richey-edwards-what-happened/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>