James Dean Bradfield – JDB
Nicky Wire – NW
Chris Moyles – CM
Dominic Byrne – DB
Pippa Taylor – PT
James Robinson – JR
Manic Street Preachers recall playing ‘frightening’ Maine Road gig with Oasis where they thought the ground was going to ‘fall apart’
CM: “You guys supported Oasis at Knebworth.”
NW: “Yeah.”
CM: “That legendary gig.”
NW: “We’ve supported them a lot, and it’s some of the best gigs I’ve ever seen. Like, Maine Road for instance, I thought Maine Road was going to fall apart. I’ve never seen a stadium shake like that, it was nearly frightening. We toured with them America, when they sort of cancelled the two halfway through, which was brilliant. There was so much jeopardy and anxiety. And we were on; we were finished by half seven. We could just sit back every night.”
CM: “So you guys were on that tour?”
NW: “Yeah.”
JDB: “Yeah.”
CM: “Oh, I didn’t realise that.”
NW: “Yeah. They were really excitingly on the edge.”
JDB: “Because Liam didn’t turn up because he was moving house.”
NW: “He said, ‘I didn’t have a house.’ So, the first gigs, Noel sang. And it was a spectacular tour, you know? And it’s the one time things were going really well for us. Everything was go, was flying. We’d be finished by half seven every night. Good hotels.”
JDB: “It wasn’t us falling apart for once!”
NW: “But yeah, I’m pretty sure they’ll be pretty on this stuff.”
DB: “So you haven’t had the call then for these upcoming shows?”
NW: “No. I think they want to get younger bands, so they went for Cast.”
CM: “Well, they technically owe you half an American tour, don’t they?”
NW: “We’re all good. I can’t wait to see Cast at those gigs as well. But like you said, when they played Maine Road, Maine Road was waiting to fall down at that point!”
Manic Street Preachers that ‘wasting thousands of pounds’ in the studio ‘isn’t viable anymore’ as they admit that some days being in a band is ‘just rubbish’
CM: “Is it still a joy? Is it still going into the studio making new songs?”
JDB: “I think it’s a famous Orson Welles quote where he kind of said, ‘Some days acting is like driving a tricycle through a barrel full of molasses.’ Some days it’s just rubbish. It is. But you know that if you just hang in there, you know, keep in the game, stay in the game, you know, the good days will just come. It’s as simple as that, really. I’m not trying to be wise or, you know, I’m not trying to be David Carradine wandering through the desert with a bit of wisdom. But, kind of, if you just hang in there, it comes, you know?”
NW: “Yeah, we’re lucky enough to our own studio. So we have realised now that if we get that inspiration, we’re all within 15, 20 minutes, we just pile in either together or individually, and we just get on with it. You know, that’s a lucky position we’re in where we’ve worked hard for it. But yeah, the idea of going away for a studio for four weeks and just wasting thousands of pounds like we used to, it’s just not viable anymore.”
CM: “Anyway, new single featuring vocals from Nicky Wire. First time you’ve been on the lead single?”
NW: “Yeah. I’ve sung before, but yeah, this is the first time it’s on a lead track.”
CM: “So they go, ‘Yeah, you can sing in. And then they go, ‘Yeah, should we release a single?’ ‘Nah, you’re alright, leave that on the album.’ But now it’s like you’ve earned your keep now, finally. It’s taken you until the 15th album – ‘Release mine!’
JDB: “We’ve learned that kind of having different vocalists on tracks actually just gives new life to the song.”
JDB: “Yeah, we’ve had Nina Perrson, Ian McCulloch, [unclear], you know, and for Nick to actually be singing this single, just like, somebody goes, ‘Is that the Manics?’ and then you realise it is.”
