Skip to content

Artist of the Month: Manic Street Preachers

April 1, 2017

Is it really 10 years since the release of Manic Street Preachers’ eighth studio album and muscular return to form, ‘Send Away The Tigers’?

Artist of the Month: Manic Street Preachers

It was an album born of separation and consolidation. In the three years since the release of 2004’s ‘Lifeblood’, both singer-guitarist James Dean Bradfield and bassist-lyricist Nicky Wire had released solo albums in the shape of ‘The Great Western’ and ‘I Killed The Zeitgeist’ respectively.

Both records were marked by a sense of searching for purpose and meaning, as if both Bradfield and Wire were participating in an existential stock take, making note of what counted to them and what didn’t.

As evidenced by the music and lyrics contained within ‘Send Away The Tigers’, the time apart had done the band the world of good. The righteous ire was once more on fire and with it came music that shone.

The cinematic sweep of ‘Everything Must Go’ collided headlong into the rock fury that pumped at the heart of ‘Generation Terrorists’, and the result was an album that found Manic Street Preachers not so much re-discovering their voice as fine tuning it for a brave new world, that has such fans in it.

And yes, let’s not forget the fans who played such a vital role. Trailing the release of the album by two months was the release of the one-sided 7” single, ‘Underdogs’, limited to just 1000 copies.

Fans were asked to send in images and videos that they thought would fit the theme of the song and the best of the crop – alongside archive footage of the band – formed the basis of the song’s accompanying video.

A taster indeed but the next single from the album, ‘Your Love Alone Is Not Enough’, gave a fuller, richer flavour of what expect. A duet with The Cardigans’ Nina Persson, this was Manic Street Preachers rocking up a storm. Yes, the strings that had been gracing their more recent releases were there but so too, and with far greater emphasis, were the guitars that slashed and burned once more.

On a more personal level, “Your Love…” also constituted the band’s most overt statement to date on the sad disappearance of Richey Edwards; “I could have seen for miles and miles/I could have made you feel alive/I could have placed us in exile/I could have written all your lines.”

Crucially, ‘Send Away The Tigers’ never feels calculated or contrived. This is a default setting being recalibrated not just for a new stage in life but also for a new decade, a new century and a new millennium.

That’s why this is an album that lasts and one that continues to resonate because it has its roots in honesty and truth. Which is the only way this thing can work. Manic Street Preachers know it and so do you.

And so to ‘Send Away The Tigers’ 10 Year Collector’s Edition.

Complete with b-sides, rarities, rehearsal footage, a DVD featuring promo videos and the band’s 2007 Glastonbury performance, plus a folio book containing artwork and handwritten lyric sheets from Nicky’s personal archive, this comprehensive re-release can only elevate the status of this album.



Not only was this an important record that re-connected Manic Street Preachers with their original muse and drive, it was also one that heralded a re-birth and opened a new chapter in their ongoing narrative whilst paving the way for some of their most stunning latter work. It also makes you realise how short ten years really are, and how not to waste them.

PRE-ORDER HERE

Under the Spotlight – Celebrating Our Incredible Female Artists! 

Under the Spotlight – Celebrating Our Incredible Female Artists! 

This month we’ve already celebrated International Women’s Day, so for the rest of March we’re turning our attention to the incredible female artists we have the honour of working with all year long!

Read more

Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers
A selection of Manic Street Preachers’ greatest hits and fan favourites, featuring tracks like 'A Design For Life', 'If You Tolerate This (Your Children Will be Next)' and 'Motorcycle Emptiness'.
Manic Street Preachers announce expanded version of ‘Know Your Enemy’

Manic Street Preachers announce expanded version of ‘Know Your Enemy’

Manic Street Preachers have announced an expanded and remastered version of their sixth album ‘Know Your Enemy’. The new version of this album has been reconstructed to form two separate albums, ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Door To The River’ as originally intended by the band in 2000.

Read more
This Week on the Official UK Chart: 30 August

This Week on the Official UK Chart: 30 August

Take a look back over the years to see which songs were in the Top 10 on the Official UK Chart this week…

Read more
This Week on the UK Official Charts: 26 July

This Week on the UK Official Charts: 26 July

Take a look back over the years to see which songs were in the Top 10 on the Official UK Chart this week…

Read more
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Manic Street Preachers – Motorcycle Emptiness

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Manic Street Preachers – Motorcycle Emptiness

This week’s Video of the Week is Manic Street Preachers’ “Motorcycle Emptiness”.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: EARTH, WIND & FIRE

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: EARTH, WIND & FIRE

With a whole host of new playlists, channels and features approaching to celebrate the band’s fiftieth anniversary, our Artist of the Month for September is the mighty Earth, Wind & Fire.

Read more
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: MANIC STREET PREACHERS – ‘THIS IS THE DAY’

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: MANIC STREET PREACHERS – ‘THIS IS THE DAY’

Appearing at the end of ‘National Treasures – The Complete Single’ compilation album, the video for Manic Street Preachers’ idiosyncratic and heartfelt cover version of The The’s classic 1983 single, ‘This Is The Day’, is an emotiional montage of the band’s career.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH – PRIMAL SCREAM

ARTIST OF THE MONTH – PRIMAL SCREAM

With this year marking the 30th anniversary of the epoch-defining ‘Loaded’, our artist of the month for August are the evergreen party starters, Primal Scream.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: AC/DC

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: AC/DC

With the mightiest metal masterpiece of them all, ‘Back In Black’, celebrating its 40th birthday this month, AC/DC are our artists of the month for July.

Read more