NME News

Manics singer makes solo debut

Manic Street Preachers
James Dean Bradfield

Manic Street Preachers James Dean Bradfield

James Dean Bradfield goes it alone

James Dean Bradfield made his solo live debut in Manchester last night (May 22).

The Manic Street Preachers frontman debuted songs from his solo album 'The Great Western' at the intimate Roadhouse venue in front of just a handful of fans.

Though the set was made up mainly of new songs including debut single 'That's No Way To Tell A Lie', fans heckling for Manics hits were not left disappointed.

Bradfield performed 'Ocean Spray', the song on which he wrote lyrics from 2001's 'Know Your Enemy', along with an acoustic rendition of 'This Is Yesterday' from 'The Holy Bible'.

Then, after one fan repeatedly shouted for early album track 'Sleepflower', Bradfield gave an impromptu verse, to which the crowd sang along.

The setlist was:

'Run Romeo Run'

'An English Gentleman'

'Bad Boys and Painkillers'

'On Saturday Morning We Will Rule The World'

'Émigré'

'Ocean Spray'

'The Wrong Beginning'

'This Is Yesterday'

'Say Hello To The Pope'

'Still A Long Way To Go'

'That's No Way To Tell A Lie'

'Which Way To Kyffin'


James Dean Bradfield plays Glasgow King Tuts tonight and then London Barfly on Wednesday.

Add your comment

NME Alerts

Get NME news delivered direct to your desktop. Find out more

Please sign in

Forgot your password?

Register with MyNME

Every Tuesday

  • Breaking News stories
  • All you need to know about the week's NME magazine
  • Live, Album and Track reviews
  • Tip offs about the most important Gigs
  • All the latest NME.COM video exclusives

Every Friday

  • NME.COM's free mini-magazine
  • Gig listings for the weekend
  • All the most important Album and Track reviews
  • The week's biggest News stories
  • Competitions - with exclusive music prizes
  • plus loads more!

In The Magazine

This Week's Issue
  • The ultimate guide to the week in music
  • Agenda-setting news and fiery comment
  • Must-read interviews with the planet's hottest bands
  • Hundreds of UK gigs listed every week
  • Unrivalled access to the artists that matter
  • Subscribe today and get 1/3rd off NME