Richey Edwards Richey Edwards Richard James "Richey" Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995) was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his dark, politicised and intellectual songwriting which, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status, as well as having been cited by some as a leading lyricist of his generation. Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995. On 24 November 2008, it was announced that Edwards' parents had obtained a court order, issued by the Probate Registry of Wales, naming
Manic Street Preachers Masses Against the Classes". They have sold more than ten million albums worldwide. Manic Street Preachers formed in 1986 at Oakdale Comprehensive School, Blackwood, South Wales, which all the band members attended. Bradfield and the slightly older Moore are cousins, and shared bunkbeds in the Bradfield family home after Moore's parents divorced. During the band's early years, Bradfield, alongside the classically trained Moore, primarily wrote the music while Wire focused on the lyrics. The origin of the band's name remains unclear, but the most often-told story relates that Bradfield, while busking one day in Cardiff, got into an altercation with