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 Wire's debut solo offering "I Killed the Zeitgeist" was posted on the band's website for just one day, Christmas Day 2005, while "The Shining Path" was released exclusively on iTunes for download. In addition, a promotional album sampler had been sent out to the press and certain other people which included "I Killed the Zeitgeist", "Goodbye Suicide", "Sehnsucht", and "Everything Fades". The album was officially released in September 2006. It charted at No. 130 in the UK. The sound of the album, which Nicky referred to as his "nihilistic anti-everything album", was inspired by, among others, Neu!, the Plastic Ono