Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh rock band, formed in 1986 in Blackwood, Caerphilly and consisting of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar), and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics). They are often colloquially known as The Manics. Following the release of their first single, "Suicide Alley", the band was joined by Richey Edwards as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band's early albums were in a punk vein, eventually broadening to a greater alternative rock sound, whilst retaining a leftist politicisation. Their early combination of androgynous glam imagery and lyrics
Manic Street Preachers title track and "The Guerilla Tapestry". Bradfield plays guitar on both songs. Furthermore, the track "Hiraeth" features a section called "Spoken Word", in which Nicky Wire talks about Welsh identity. In February 2006, the band contributed a cover version of "The Instrumental" to the album "Still Unravished: A Tribute to the June Brides". In February 2008, the Manics covered Rihanna's hit pop song "Umbrella". Their version appeared on a CD titled "NME Awards 2008" given away free with a special souvenir box-set issue of "NME" magazine, which went on sale 27 February. Additionally, the Manics' version of the song was