As the final screenings of Manic Street Preachers‘ acclaimed new live film Be Pure Be Vigilant Behave approach, NME can share exclusive footage of the band performing ‘Yes’ from the movie. Check it out above.
Shot during the band’s long-time collaborator and BAFTA-winning director Kieran Evans, Be Pure Be Vigilant Behave documents the band’s acclaimed 20th anniversary tour of their seminal 1994 album ‘The Holy Bible’. After premiering in Cardiff in 2016 as part of Swn Festival, Evans’ never-before-seen director’s cut is currently being shown in cinemas throughout the UK. NME can now premiere the opening track from the movie.
“To start with, there was never a ‘plan’ to make a concert film,” Evans told NME. “I just wanted to document each show as I felt they were just too important for the band not to have a record of.
“Every night, there was was a palpable nervous tension in the air as the audience waited. The lights dimmed, stage lights strobed and then those familiar sampled words ‘You can buy her, you can buy her, this ones here, this ones here, everything is for sale…‘ began to fill the air and the chopped guitar lines of Yes sprang out. The audience roared, the lights exploded and suddenly we were off…and in that moment I knew I was witnessing something incredibly special and life-changing.
“I’m glad I had my camera with me.”
The remaining screenings are:
NOVEMBER
29 – Edinburgh Cameo (with Ian Rankin as special guest Q&A) – tickets
30 – Glasgow Film Theatre – tickets
DECEMBER
2 – Sheffield Showrooms – tickets
3 – Newcastle Tyneside Cinema – tickets
7 – Manchester HomeScreen – tickets
As well as gearing up for a summer of stadium shows supporting The Killers and Green Day throughout the UK and Europe, the Manics are currently at work on the follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed ‘Resistance Is Futile‘.
Speaking about his thoughts on the Manics’ next album, bassist Nicky Wire last year told NME: “I just think musically, James [Dean Bradfield, frontman] is bursting with electricity. You can feel it in him. He’s got that desire to start up again. He was talking to me about ideas on how to make things more expansive.
“I’ve some words on the go, but there’s no coherent message. I’ve just been listening to [1998 album] ‘This Is My Truth’ a lot. It’s such a deep and heavy album for a record that was so big. It just makes you realise that you can push the limits and have success.”