Manic Street Preachers by John Rahim/ Music Pics
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Manic Street Preachers London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire 24/09/2013
Richard Hawley joins the irrepressible (and indecisive) legends on stage in London... So much for the long hiatus, eh? Ever since the Manics declared they were downing tools for the foreseeable future following their greatest hits gig in December 2011, they went and did exactly the opposite. They toured Europe less than four months later, re-released a 20th anniversary edition of their 1992 debut ‘Generation Terrorists’, started working on not one but two new albums and piggybacked the British Lions’ rugby tour. Let’s be honest though, you couldn’t really imagine Nicky Wire hanging up his bass for a Welsh cheese farm could you? Thankfully, their quick return has paid off. With 11th studio album ‘Rewind The Film’, the Welsh trio have entered one of their most creative periods. Tonight, their new material sits impressively alongside hits from ‘Everything Must Go’, ‘This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours’ and 2010 LP ‘Postcards From A Young Man’ - especially when Richard Hawley steps up for a stunning rendition of ‘Rewind The Film’.
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Frontman James Dean Bradfield flippantly declares that the Sheffield crooner puts the “man in Manic Street Preachers” and tonight he actually does. The likes of ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ and ‘Your Love Alone Is Not Enough’ almost sound a tad muddy by comparison. But, following Hawley’s surprise entrance, ‘You Love Us’, ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next’’ and ‘Revol’ in particular find the Manics at their balls-to-the-wall, rocking best - even if Nicky Wire (by his own admission) looks a bit like a “fucking milkman” in his white sailor outfit. Hawley returns again for ‘Motown Junk’, but his acoustic guitar plucking is lost in Bradfield’s ferocious guitar licks and Sean Moore’s thunderous drumming. They sign off with ‘A Design For Life’, which is as emotionally triumphant as ever. The Manics may have performed the quickest U-turn in music history, but on this form, thank God they did. Damian Jones the-fly.co.uk