Manic Street Preachers were originally formed as a quartet but primary lyricist and rhythm guitarist, Richey Edwards, vanished on 1 February 1995. In November 2008, thirteen years after his disappearance, he was officially declared presumed deceased.
In 1992, the Manics released their debut album, Generation Terrorists. Their combination of androgynous glam punk imagery and critical social lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom, and despair" soon gained them a loyal following and cult status. The band's later albums retained a leftist politicisation and intellectual lyrical style while adopting a broader alternative rock sound.
The group's enigmatic lyricist, Richey Edwards, gained early notoriety by cutting the words "4REAL" into his arm with a razor blade (narrowly missing an artery and requiring seventeen stitches) in response to the suggestion that the band was less than authentic. The dark nature of 1994's album, The Holy Bible, reflected the culmination of Edwards' instability.
Following Edwards' disappearance, Bradfield, Moore, and Wire persisted with Manic Street Preachers and went on to gain critical and commercial success, becoming one of Britain's premier rock bands. Altogether, they have garnered eight Top 10 albums, fifteen Top 10 singles, and have reached number one three times with their 1998 This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours album, the 1998 "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" single, and the 2000 "The Masses Against the Classes" single.
Additionally, Manic Street Preachers have also won the Best British Album and Best British Group accolades at the BRIT Awards in both 1997 and 1999 and were lauded in 2008 by the UK music publication, the New Musical Express (better known as the NME), for their lifetime achievements.
The group's ninth studio album, Journal for Plague Lovers, was released on 18 May 2009 and features lyrics Edwards had eerily written weeks before his disappearance.
Manic Street Preachers released their tenth studio album, Postcards from a Young Man, on 20 September 2010 which was preceded by the pre-release single, "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love".
In 2011, Manic Street Preachers released National Treasures - The Complete Singles, a compilation consisting of all thirty-eight of the band's previously issued singles. The release also included a newly recorded cover version of the 1983 song by The The entitled "This Is the Day".
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