October 29, 2011 12:22

James Dean Bradfield insists Manic Street Preachers won't split after 'National Treasures' gig

Nicky Wire has previously said band are going away for 'a long time'

Photo Gallery: Manic Street Preachers
Photo: Sam Jones/NME

Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield has insisted that the band are not planning to split up after their one-off 'National Treasures' gig in December.

The Welsh veterans are set to perform all 38 of their singles at the London O2 Arena show on December 17 before taking a long break.

However, speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Bradfield insisted that the band's hiatus won't be permanent, commenting: "A lot of bands split up because they can't be bothered to turn up at the same time and do interviews, try and write new songs, go abroad and play concerts. That's really strange to me."

However, bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire admitted that being in a band gets "harder as you get older".

He said:

We came from another age and we're just about hanging on in this age too. It's a really good feeling for a band nearing their forties – it just feels like we've been really creative and really dedicated.

The band's 'National Treasures' compilation album is due to be released on Monday (October 31).

Back in August, Wire told NME the band were planning to go away for "quite a long time" after their live commitments this year.

Scroll down and click below to watch a video interview with the band, which sees them discuss the compilation along with revealing their plans for re-tweaking their sound when they eventually return.