Manic Street Preachers. Leeds 8 April 1996.
Manic Street Preachers. Leeds 8 April 1996.
Easter Monday 1995. For the first time in 16 months, the Manic Street Preachers will be playing a headline show, their first since Richey James� disappearance, and its broadcast live on the radio. The Town & Country Club in Leeds, a deserted church, is already packed to capacity by the time the Wannadies begin business, Of the 18000 people here, there are 1600 Manics T-shirts, one for Terrorvision, and about 10 for indie-also-rans Cast. cast set is offensively pleasant. The only real criticism is that like, Oasis and their ilk, they just stand there just tapping their feet. There�s no passion, no sweat, no love.
A DESIGN FOR LIFE
Stakes are high and tonight will be the defining moment for the future of the Manic Street Preachers. With a nation listening, the trio walk on stage nervously. Gone are camouflage backdrops, and handwritten set lists. They are dressed in jeans, shirts, and trainers. Armed with one guitar and a Korg synthesisers they hesitantly commence �From Despair To Where�. Brittle, defiant, sparse, the undoubtedly emotional blueprint guarantees that the Manics remain the most relevant, passionate, and disgusted band in the country. �A Design for Life� is beautiful -an anthemic call to arms to rise above.
FASTER
Third song is �faster� exhumed from what many see as Richeys-last-will-and-testament �The Holy Bible�. The sound of the band, stripped to a singular guitar, is emptier than ever but the defiant will to survive - always a Manics manifesto remains. Following this trio of established classic, the band begin premiering material from the crucial next album - �Everything Must Go�. Enola/Alone is an instant classic. Followed by the �La Tristesse Durera�, the intense �Everything Must Go� reveals the newer material to be just as vital as before.
Y�$
�Y�$�, Richeys confessional, gains a huge cheer. The bands refusal to compromise, surrender, to deny their past, ensures that this song - a lynchpin of their history - gains the biggest cheer of the past. The consistent, passionate energy of the Manics has remained. �yes�, is a hateful, final letter to the world. It�s a historical event. �Australia� precedes the outraged, prophetic, �You Love Us�. We�re back, we�re better than ever, it seems to say, and we still hate the scum.
MOTORCYCLE EMPTINESS
They close with a beautiful reading of the cornerstone �Motorcycle Emptiness�. Sounding thinner than ever, the songs beautiful poetry is strengthened by the bands resolve. When it could�ve been so much easier to give up, they gave all.
THIS IS YESTERDAY
�We�re not on the radio anymore - we can be as shit as we like�. And so the Manics play their only ever encore on UK soil. James trademark white guitar has been swapped for a black six string, and the band launch hesitantly into �This Is Yesterday� the mournful requiem from �The Holy Bible�. it�s a song of regret and this note-perfect chilling song is surprisingly the first time the band have performed this song anywhere. It�s the most poignant song I�ve heard. And then it�s the single finger hymn of �Motown Junk�. And its all over. And we can�t believe that they can still be this good, this vital. Stay Beautiful.
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