Manic Street Preachers about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" has gained them a loyal following and cult status. With their debut album, "Generation Terrorists", the Manic Street Preachers proclaimed it would be the "greatest rock album ever", as well as hoping to sell "sixteen million copies" around the world, after which they would split up. Despite the album's failure to meet this level of success, the band carried on with their career. The group became a trio after Richey Edwards disappeared in February 1995. The band went on to gain critical and commercial success in spite of his absence. Edwards was legally "presumed
Manic Street Preachers features a quotation from Wyndham Lewis: "When a man is young, he is usually a revolutionary of some kind. So here I am, speaking of my revolution". The band ended up promoting the album with appearances in the summer festivals like Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury Festival. The band released a Christmas single, "The Ghosts of Christmas", in December. The track was available as a free download on their official website throughout December 2007 and January 2008. In February 2008, the band were presented with the God-Like Geniuses Award at the NME Awards ceremony. The ninth Manics album, "Journal