When the Manic Street Preachers released their new album, No, Honestly, We Haven�t Sold Out, Honest Guv, Look, We Did That Gig in Cuba and Everything, they commissioned acclaimed artist Neale Howells to arrange the sleeve art. Howells has attracted controversy in his career through his use of graffiti images and materials such as slurry to create his art. We were granted an interview with Mr Howells so that he may share some of his artistic vision with us.
INTERVIEWER: So, Mr Howells, thank you for joining us today to�
NEALE HOWELLS: Poo!
INTERVIEWER: Erm, right. Anyway, if we could�.
HOWELLS: Girls� dirty pants!
INTERVIEWER: Sorry, do you think we could�
HOWELLS: Dave Willis at 31 Edgeware Street is a shitstabber!
INTERVIEWER: Pardon me, what are you doing?
HOWELLS: I�m using the language of the street, chuckie. The real language that The Man wants to suppress.
INTERVIEWER: Really? It sounded to me like the sort of stuff you find scribbled on the bog walls.
HOWELLS: Exactly! That�s where the real dialogue of reality takes place, along with the authentic flavour of lived experience through the medium of crudely drawn willies.
INTERVIEWER: Er, okay. I understand that there�s been a number of attempts to ban your work?
HOWELLS: Absolutely. It�s something I�ve had to deal with for a long time. The first attempt to censor my art came when I was at school. The Head caught me writing �Mr Scrimshaw smells of farts� on the side of my locker, and made me stay behind after school and clean it up. But true art can never be censored, and I continue in my quest.
INTERVIEWER: How did you...
HOWELLS: Big tits!
INTERVIEWER: Look, will you stop doing that? Anyway, how did you manage to find yourself working with the Manic Street Preachers?
HOWELLS: It was just a matter of circumstance really. They just told me I could design their album sleeve if I agreed to stop spraying obscenities on their back wall. It was a true meeting of minds.
INTERVIEWER: Indeed, and...
HOWELLS: Swansea City are wankers!
INTERVIEWER: But...
HOWELLS: Clare Watson is a slag!
INTERVIEWER: Would you...
HOWELLS: Meet here at 6pm for big cock action!
INTERVIEWER: [pauses to think]�.Erm, do you think you could make it 5pm?
HOWELLS: Can�t make it for 5pm I�m afraid. I�ve been doing some street art using chicken entrails as an art material and the council have told me I have to go round and clean it up because it�s starting to stink.
INTERVIEWER: Damn. Anyway, thanks for joining us today, and good luck with your artwork. No doubt your unique vision will come to be...Excuse me, you�ve just scribbled all over my briefcase with a black marker pen.
HOWELLS: Exactly. That�ll be 700 quid please.
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