Molten Lava Literacy
James Dean Bradfield says it in relation to the Sex Pistols, but that phrase applies equally to the way the Manic Street Preachers have operated throughout all of their 21 years on Planet Rock. Following the release of their National Treasures singles collection, he talks Richey, The Clash, Diana Ross and Johnny Rotten with Stuart Clark.
Stuart Clark, 04 Jan 2012
The title of their new singles retrospective is obviously a bit tongue in cheek but whether they like it or not – secretly I think they do! – the Manic Street Preachers are on that same list of venerable British institutions as Stephen Fry, Dame Cilla Black and Bovril.
Starting with 1990’s ‘Motown Junk’ and coming bang up to date with their take on The The’s ‘This Is The Day’, National Treasures: The Complete Singles documents the Manics’ evolution from mere Clash copyists into a band of real intellectual substance.
“I’m not sure about the ‘intellectual’ part but I like to think there’s always been substance to what we do,” James Dean Bradfield smiles. “We’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way – I’ll let people compile their own lists! – but that’s better than finding something that works and sticking to it like glue for 21 years.”
To borrow a phrase from the great Declan Lynch, Messrs. Bradfield, Wire, Moore and – up till his disappearance in 1995 – Edwards have always had the courage of their contradictions.
“That’s quite a good way of putting it… actually, that’s a very good way of putting it! We’ve always totally believed in what we’ve done even if at times it turned out to be bollocks.”
When ‘Motown Junk’ arrived back from the pressing plant, did James have any idea there’d be another 37 of them?
“I did. Not on the basis of my ability but because I was in a band with two absolutely powerhouse lyricists. Every time I thought we’d topped ourselves, Nick and Richey would give me another lyric and I’d be like, ‘Wow, nobody’s written anything like this before or for a long time.’ How can you not want to be in a band when you’re given lyrics like the ones on The Holy Bible to write music to? My mindset when it came out was, ‘As long as I can work with these two guys I never want this to stop.’ Obviously there’s a bittersweet irony in that Richey departed after The Holy Bible but then Nick presented me with the lyrics to ‘A Design For Life’ and I thought, ‘Although we’ve lost a massive part of our band, we can still continue because everyone’s writing about greyhound racing and getting pissed up.’ But no one was talking about the consequence of inverted working-class violence and snobbery and how it all ends up in some impregnable amalgam. Britpop was dumbing down, so we felt we had to
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