Controversy, tragedy, politics and pop fanaticism have all played a part in the success story of the Manic Street Preachers, who enjoy a phenomenal international reputation, while still remaining close to their Welsh roots.
Even so, it’s 25 years since they performed in their home town of Blackwood – with their last appearance ending in a near riot. Invited by BBC Radio 2 to return for a one-off concert at the town’s historic Miners’ Institute, Manics: Back to Blackwood (Monday, February 21, BBC One Wales) includes an exclusive interview with the band on the eve of the concert last month, plus exciting footage from the gig itself.
The trio reveal how nervous they are about playing such a small gig – the Institute holds only around 350 people compared to the 5,000 they had played to on two sold out nights at London’s Brixton Academy the same week. But they also discuss the bitter-sweet experience of playing at the huge venues they dreamed of but without their friend and original band member Richie Edwards, who disappeared just as they were on the brink of massive success.
They also reveal how, growing up in the 1980s, they often travelled a long way to get hold of the music they wanted or had to mail-order it. In an age of downloads and instant musical gratification, the Manics can’t help but feel a nostalgia for the very different way they accessed and consumed music – poring over the weekly music press, taking the train or bus to Cardiff and busking on the capital’s Queen Street to earn enough money for some food and to buy vinyl at their beloved Spiller’s Records shop.
Besides some Manics classics, the gig itself features the first performance in 24 years of their very first single Suicide Alley – written about an alley opposite the Institute and the location for the photo used on the sleeve for the 7” record which they printed and released themselves.
And fans can compare the Manics now with their last-century selves as the programme also features rare footage of that inauspicious gig 25 years ago, when cans were thrown at the stage, members of the audience attacked the band and a piano was smashed up.
MANICS: BACK TO BLACKWOOD
Monday, February 21, BBC One Wales, 10.35pm
bbc.co.uk/wales
