Manic Street Preachers: Last News

Manic Street Preachers have moved ahead of Sabrina Carpenter in the race for the UK Number One album this week.The Welsh group are making the sprint for the top of the charts with their recently released record ‘Critical Thinking’, which marks their 15th studio album and the follow-up to 2022’s ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’.If they make the top spot by the end of the week, it will mark the Manics’ third chart-topping UK album. They first hit the milestone back in 1998 with their ‘This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours’, then did so again with their aforementioned 14th LP.Hot on their heels for the milestone, however, is US pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter, whose massive summer album ‘Short N’ Sweet’ is back on the charts after a new deluxe edition arrived last week, and is currently sitting in second place.

Manic Street Preachers have announced a huge outdoor UK show for this summer, with support coming from The Charlatans and Ash. Find all the details below.The Welsh band will head out on the road this spring in support of their 15th album ‘Critical Thinking’, which was released last Friday (February 14) and is currently vying for this week’s UK Number One.This morning (February 21), the Manics confirmed that they’ll be taking to the stage at Audley End in Saffron Walden, Essex on Saturday August 2.

Manic Street Preachers have spoken to NME about their song ‘Dear Stephen’, inspired by Morrissey, the road to their new album ‘Critical Thinking’, and how they’re already thinking about their next move.Released today (February 14), the Welsh rock veterans’ acclaimed 15th album was said to be born of “eternal uncertainty, doubt and desire”. Bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire told NME how that allowed for “a different kind of record” to what you may have heard from the Manics before.“Albums are a reflection of where your mind is at – certainly in the Manics’ world,” said Wire.

Manic Street Preachers have dropped the reflective new single ‘Brushstrokes Of Reunion’. Check it out below.Shared today (January 31), the track marks the latest single from the group’s forthcoming album.

Manic Street Preachers‘ new album ‘Critical Thinking’ appears to have delayed its release.The upcoming record, originally meant to be released on January 31, is now being shown to be released on February 14 in promotional posters. Previously posters had the date February 7.Fans in the comments section of Facebook have been noticing the delay, and are offering their thoughts.

Manic Street Preachers have shared their euphoric new single ‘People Ruin Paintings’.The track, which follows previous singles ‘Decline & Fall‘ and the Nicky Wire-fronted ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ is taken from their forthcoming new album ‘Critical Thinking’.Much like the former, the new single is a rousing widescreen anthem which sees frontman James Dean Bradfield explore the “destruction of truth” as he sings: “People ruin paintings, faces for the view / People destroy the truth.” You can listen to it below.Due for release on January 31, ‘Critical Thinking’ has been described as “a record of opposites colliding – of dialectics trying to find a path of resolution”.“While the music has an effervescence and an elegiac uplift, most of the words deal with the cold analysis of the self, the exception being the three lyrics by James [Dean Bradfield, frontman] which look for and hopefully find answers in people, their memories, language and beliefs,” Wire recently told NME.“The music is energised and at times euphoric. Recording could sometimes be sporadic and isolated, at other times we played live in a band setting, again the opposites making sense with each other.

Manic Street Preachers have shared the Nicky Wire-fronted single ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’, and announced details of new album ‘Critical Thinking’ and a UK tour. Check it all out below, along with Wire telling us about the LP’s artwork.Following on from lead single ‘Decline & Fall‘, the follow-up to 2021’s acclaimed chart-topping 14th album ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ comes teased by ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ – with bassist and lyricist Wire taking up lead vocals.The band said that the song was initially inspired by a line from the poet Anne Sexton (“I am a collection of dismantled almosts“) and draws on a “fearful midlife nostalgia” set against typical Manics bittersweet arena euphoria – inspired by the “classic ’70s rock’n’roll” of The Only Ones and Cockney Rebel and alongside Dinosaur Jr’s ‘Freak Scene’.Wire’s vocal adds his usual Echo & The Bunnymen-esque melancholy as he mourns “the man I used to be, in a decade I felt free” and takes centre-stage in the fittingly nostalgic video directed by longtime collaborator Kieran Evans – drawing on the band’s many literary influences and aesthetic touchstones.

Manic Street Preachers have opened up about the inspiration in their new album ‘Critical Thinking’, and said that they approached the writing process “with a bit more urgency than usual”.It comes after the band returned with their triumphant single, ‘Decline & Fall’, back in August, and announced details of their upcoming 15th album.They had been teasing new material in advance, and the track arrived on the eve of the 30th anniversary of 1994 album ‘The Holy Bible’. It was their first new music since 2021’s chart-topping 14th album ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’.Now, the members have opened up about the new project in an interview, and revealed that the songs came together across two years.“We started with a bit more urgency than usual.

Liam Gallagher has been teasing fans about who the support will be for the upcoming Oasis reunion tour dates in the UK.Fans have been speculating who will be opening for the Britpop legends on their highly-awaited reunion shows after it was reported last month that Liam was seeking “established acts” to support them on tour. So far, support has only been announced for the North American leg, which will see Cage The Elephant join for all dates – visit here to buy tickets.Various names have been flying around since the band confirmed their comeback, and earlier in the year, when a fan on X/Twitter asked if Richard Ashcroft would be supporting Oasis at their 2025 live shows, Liam replied: “That would be BIBLICAL”.Now, Liam’s once again taken to Twitter/X to fan the flames of fan rumours, further suggesting Ashcroft will be joining the bill, but also teasing that Blur and Manic Street Preachers may be heading out on the road with them.Responding to one fan suggesting Damon Albarn and co.

Manic Street Preachers have returned with their triumphant new single, ‘Decline & Fall’. Check it out below.Having been teased throughout the week, the song comes on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the band’s seminal 1994 album ‘The Holy Bible’, and marks their first new material since 2021’s acclaimed chart-topping 14th album ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’.The single adopts some of the retro-futuristic ABBA-esque sounds of their previous record met with the arena euphoria of ‘Resistance Is Futile’ and ‘Everything Must Go’ – but driven forward by the Manics’ influences of The Skids, ‘Gran Turismo’-era The Cardigans and The War On Drugs.“Musically with ‘Decline & Fall’ we tried to create forward motion – a song which harnesses the past to propel it into the future – the lyric is one of realisation and understanding – of celebrating the tiny miracles that still exist whilst accepting and embracing managed decline,” said the band of ‘Decline & Fall’.The song was recorded at the band’s Door To The River studio in Newport and the legendary Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, and was produced by regular collaborators Dave Eringa and Loz Williams and mixed by Caesar Edmunds (Beach House, Suede, Wet Leg).The band discussed their upcoming 15th album in an interview with Louder Sound in June, which they described at the time as “90 per cent done” and likely to come out in January or February 2025.“It has a lot of energy, even though I don’t feel particularly energised,” said bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire.

Manic Street Preachers have shared that a new single from the band will arrive later this week called ‘Decline & Fall’.Earlier this week, the band teased the material with a clip of new music on their social media platforms. The band captioned the post on Monday (August 26) with the words, “So much for the Decline & Fall’.Now, in a new post, the band have confirmed new music is indeed on the way and that it will arrive on August 29.

Manic Street Preachers have teased new material with a clip of new music on their social media – check out the snippet and its accompanying visual below.The band captioned the post on Monday (August 26) with the words, “So much for the Decline & Fall’.The 20-second clip features a triumphant, rising guitar riff and frenzied drumming, while the video clip opens with a quote from Welsh poet Dylan Thomas: “The highest hymns of the sun are written in the dark”.The instrumental clip, which stutters with static interruptions, also includes phrases that follow a similar pattern to the caption: “So much for calculations”, “So much for standing tall”, “So much for implications”, before finally concluding with the same words: “So much for the Decline & Fall”. Watch below.A post shared by Manic Street Preachers (@manics)The band discussed their upcoming 15th album in an interview with Louder Sound in June, which they described at the time as “90 per cent done” and likely to come out in January or February 2025.“It has a lot of energy, even though I don’t feel particularly energised,” said bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire.

Manic Street Preachers.The push for locals to help save the venue comes after it was reported that Caerphilly council had plans to “mothball” both the venue and the Llancaiach Fawr heritage site in a bid to save £45million.The site is close to many of the locals however, having seen a number of historic performances over recent decades – including one of the first-ever performances by the Manics in the ‘80s.It is also the site that the band famously returned to in 2011, when they played their first hometown show in 26 years and delivered one of their most memorable sets in recent memory.The future of the venue being thrown into question comes as the council has to make around £45million in savings between now and 2026. At the moment, it currently provides the institute with a £347,000 annual subsidy – and £485,000 to Llancaiach Fawr – and therefore would save a hefty amount by withdrawing its support.While some have backed the proposition, many have called for the venue to be saved and suggested that the council is looking in the wrong places to make cuts.

Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire has announced a new art exhibition, My Little Empire, to be displayed in a Welsh museum.From August 6 until December 13 at Narberth Museum in Pembrokeshire, the exhibition will feature 26 new pieces that showcase Wire’s love of the Polaroid image.My Little Empire, named after a song from the 1998 album ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’, will include several self-portraits, as well as subjects including Welsh film actor Richard Burton, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Camus and Jean Paul Basquiat.A post shared by Manic Street Preachers (@manics)The show has been curated by Mark Lewis, who has said (via South Wales Argus): “The exhibition came about after I contacted Nicky to say that one of his pictures was being used in the Dylan Thomas exhibition at Narberth Museum. He said he had always liked Narberth and would love to show his work there.

Manic Street Preachers and Suede played the first gig of their co-headline tour of the UK last night. Check out the setlist below.The two indie giants kicked off their joint tour last night at Llangollen International Eisteddfod 2024.

Manic Street Preachers have announced details of a new book of previously unseen Valerie Phillips photographs of the band, titled Little Baby Nothings.The book will feature over 200 photographs taken by the artist in 1991 and 1992, around the time of the release of their debut album ‘Generation Terrorists’.It’ll be released on June 28 via Longer Moon Farther and limited to 2000 copies, with the first 100 orders receiving a signed copy. There will also be a limited t-shirt bundle available.

Manic Street Preachers will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1994 album ‘The Holy Bible’ with a one-off screening of their concert film BePure-BeVigilant-Behave.The album was the band’s third studio record, written during a period when guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards was struggling with addiction, depression and anorexia nervosa.For the 20th anniversary in 2014, the Manics played the album in full on a ten-date tour, including at London’s Roundhouse. The string of gigs were captured and pieced together by the BAFTA-winning director Kieron Evans for the concert film, and now the band are preparing to screen the movie once again.See a trailer for the film below.On August 30, on the exact anniversary of the album’s original release, the film will be shown at the Picturehouse Central cinema in London.

Steve Albini – the indie rock icon and legendary record producer – has died at the age of 61.Per Pitchfork, Albini died of a heart attack at Electronic Audio – his recording studio in Chicago. His death was confirmed by the studio’s staff members.Albini fronted the likes of underground bands such as Shellac, Big Black, Rapeman and Flour. He was most well known for being the producer of major albums such as Nirvana’s ‘In Utero‘, Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’, PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid of Me’, Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’ and more.Shellac recently announced ‘To All Trains’, their first album in 10 years which is set for release next week (May 17) and were preparing to embark on a tour.RIP Steve Albini pic.twitter.com/qQjEQla0mF— PIXIES (@PIXIES) May 8, 2024Ugh man, a heartbreaking loss of a legend.

Chumbawamba‘s Dunstan Bruce had opened up about their feud with Manic Street Preachers saying: “I realise it’s totally justified that they hated us!”In a new interview with NME, the frontman of the anarcho-pop band was asked to name the Welsh indie icon who once ranged of Chumbawamba: “The worst group that has ever been created. If you’re going to wear a skirt, at least make an effort to look like a woman! You can’t just put on a fucking bit of rag on and look like an ugly bloke at a stag night!”Bruce responded correctly with Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire.”Oh my God! You’d think the Manic Street Preachers, whose subject matter was concerned with the state of the world and were from industrial working class towns, would have lots in common with us, but they hated us,” he said.He continued: “They once did guest singles reviews for the NME as well, and really slagged us off in that as well.

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have announced a new co-headline show at Dreamland in Margate 2024.The bands revealed the addition to their previously announced summer co-headline tour on Monday (November 27), sharing that they’ll be closing out the run in Margate on Friday, July 19.Tickets are due to go on sale Friday (December 1) at 9am GMT from here. Fans can also access the pre-sale starting Thursday (November 30) at 9am GMT by signing up here.A post shared by Manic Street Preachers (@manics) The extra date follows the addition of an Eden Sessions show in Cornwall to the run.The bands, who toured Europe together in 1993 before recreating the line-up for a North American tour in 2022, are due to stop in Dublin, Edinburgh, London and more in 2024.

Manic Street Preachers have released a new remix of Steven Wilson’s track ‘Economies of Scale’ – listen to the new version below.The song was originally released on Wilson’s latest solo album ‘The Harmony Codex’, which came out in September. Wilson, the singer and multi-instrumentalist who rose to prominence with the band Porcupine Tree, has now released seven albums under his own name.Speaking about the remix, Manics frontman James Dean Bradfield has said: “When I first heard ‘Economies of Scale’, I found myself transported back to 1984, when Sean [Moore, Manic Street Preachers drummer] came back from Germany where he’d been on tour with the Celynen Colliery Brass Band.”“He had a bootleg copy of ‘Synchronicity’ by The Police.