Manic Street Preachers

Yesterday, I went to a special album launch show by the Manic Street Preachers at a relatively small club in Kingston-upon-Thames. They were originally going to play one gig, but sold out in seconds so they added an earlier afternoon show. I managed to get a ticket for that one and really enjoyed it. 60 minute show with a good mix of classics, 3 new songs, and some deep cuts that have not been played for a long time (She is Suffering since 2015 and Peeled Apples since 2010!).


The late show featured a slightly different setlist, with 4 new songs (one of them, Dear Stephen, has not been released as a single yet):

 

The album made it to #2 in the UK.

They top the vinyl album sales chart (the joys of multiple versions! :lol:) (https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/vinyl-albums-chart/) and the Physical Albums chart (https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/physical-albums-chart/20250221/2/), but did not enter the top 100 in the Album Streams chart.
 
JS40570134.jpg


A great picture to celebrate Wales National Day!
 
The Manics were superb in Bristol last Saturday. 1 hour and 44 minutes gig in a nice intimate venue (capacity of approximately 2200), with a setlist covering most of their discography, including 5 new songs, some oldies rarely played (Sleepflower, Motown Junk), timeless classics (I will never get tired of seeing A Design for Life, Motorcycle Emptiness and If You Tolerate This Your Children Will be Next), and a segment as a 3 piece playing songs with lyrics by missing band member Richey Edwards (She Is Suffering and Peeled Apples). The acoustic solo set by James Dean Bradfield showed that he is not only a guitar god, but an outstanding singer: we got a snippet of From Despair to Where, followed by Ready for Drowning (sung partially in Welsh), Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky and The Everlasting, with the rest of the band re-joining the moment James was going to play his solo.

I cannot wait to see what they have prepared for 2026, which according to their touring agent would be pretty big.

492930811_1111144931056328_1188201027189892507_n.jpg
 
Back
Top