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
Everything Must Go (Manic Street Preachers album) but if "Everything Must Go" is inferior, it's only slightly so." The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 1996 but failed to win it; however, the album won the award for Best British Album and the Manic Street Preachers won Best British Group at the 1997 Brit Awards. In the NME Awards of 1996 "Everything Must Go" was named Album of the Year, and the Manic Street Preachers also won the award for Best Live Act and Best Single for "A Design for Life". The album remains a critical success, an important album in Manic Street Preachers' career,