www.musicweek.com
20.09.13 MusicWeek 23
dying [in 1993] to Richey disappearing and then the last two years have been riddled with funerals and illness… but in terms of the band, no, it’s been one of the greatest rides anyone could ever have.” Rewind The Film isn’t the end of that journey, but it is a fork in the road, as evidenced by some key lyrics, starting with that Vengaboys tribute on track one…
“I don’t want my children to grow up like me” FROM THIS SULLEN WELSH HEART
It’s a supremely bleak opening statement. How do you mean it and how much do you mean it? I just don’t want them to grow up with my grain of sourness and bitterness and nastiness. The constant questioning. I want them to be a little bit more laid back. That’s what’s driven me, unfortunately: the
hatred and the nasty side. The desire to keep proving yourself, it’s an integral part of all four of us. There’s a lot of spite in me, which is fine when you’re 20, 25 or whatever, but I’d rather not pass that gene on.
“How I hate middle age/In between acceptance and rage”
FROM BUILDER OF ROUTINES
Is that an irreversible journey, towards acceptance? And if so will you eventually be watching Jeremy Clarkson and find yourself nodding along, saying, ‘You know what, he’s got a point…’? That’s a scary thought. Maybe I could be a bit more Tony Benn than Jeremy Clarkson. But yes, that
“We’re the only band to have written our own myth and then lived it. It was slightly harrowing at times, but it was amazing” NICKY WIRE, MANIC STREET PREACHERS
irreversible decline, it frightens me. I’ve put so much effort into the band: lyrics, interviews, music, artwork, I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve basically co- managed the band for 20-odd years, and that’s no disrespect to Martin [Hall, the band’s manager], because we’ve always stayed with him and we love him, but that’s just my nature. I just don’t find myself with the mental capacity or drive. When I’m 50 I probably won’t give a fuck at all, I will be happy to be Marlon Brando, put on 10 stone, live in a nappy and shit myself all day, but it’s this in between state… I don’t know, I still love going on stage and living the rock n roll dream, coming off dripping in make-up and glitter, but how do you marry that with doing the school run the next morning?
Especially if the bones ache… And they do ache. They really fucking ache.
“There is too much heartache in the nothing of the now” FROM REWIND THE FILM
What is absent? Is it the sheer intensity of feeling you experience when you’re young? Yes, but there’s also fear as well, you feel less and fear more when you get older. As a parent, as someone who is ageing, surrounded by more illness
ABOVE Manic men: [L-R] Sean Moore, James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire. “The world was more black and white, or
seemed to be, when we were young,” says Wire. “We were sure of ourselves”
and funerals and what have you. It’s also about the absence of anyone else, any young bands, saying anything.
If you were a young smart working class political band coming through now, would you deliberately and loudly target the Manic Street Preachers as dinosaurs? Absolutely! It’s like famously when the Stone Roses got offered a Rolling Stones tour and they said they didn’t want to support those boring old farts, which was great.
Whether they mean it or not, right? Of course! We all know we love them really, but come on, someone say something! Most bands seem more likely to go to a tea party at Buckingham Palace than say anything even remotely fucking nasty. It feels like no one’s replaced us. In the 90s there was a changing of the guard, with us, Radiohead, Blur, Massive Attack, Oasis or whoever, but now…
There was a moment at The Ivors recently, when The Maccabees won an award, and the host called up to the stage Orlando Weeks, Hugo White, Felix White and Rupert Jarvis. Is that a roll call that troubles you? It does, although I’ve got nothing against The Maccabees, I like them. But like many avenues, the avenue for a working class guitar band is being closed off, they’re being kettled in. It’s hard for young bands anyway, but if you’ve got nothing behind you it’s really hard. That’s why I’ve got a lot of respect for this post-
Dizzee wave of urban artists, young working class kids finding a way to break out. I think Plan B is a
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
