| The New Art Riot Comes Of Age was a
Whirlpool rant-scrawl in June 1997. Manic Street Preachers will never
stop being sneered at and lied about, but in the end it only fuels their legend to greater
heights. Those with ears and minds of their own may not agree with or like everything that
the band does, but much of their original manifesto makes more sense than most so
called world leaders do and with the musicianship to, above all, back themselves up with,
they have been one of the biggest influences on 90s rock and pop. This feature just
skimmed the tip of the MSP iceberg to prove it. That Autumn they released "This
Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours" and two and a half years later, The New Art Riot
Comes Of Age is probably even more true... MUSEUMS ARE DEAD TAKE A NEW ART STANCE...
At the end of 1990, Manic Street Preachers released, "New Art
Riot" EP on Damaged Goods Records. It lit a
fuse of the current pop explosion. Bedroom day dreamers spouting articulate rant in an
illogical world, they gate-crashed the "Madchester" /"Shoegazing"
party, telling(often appalled) spectators "YOU
LOVE US". Nowadays Damaged Goods is a
revered independent, still punk to the bones and feverishly busy with a roster which
includes Fierce Panda Records.
2002 final update: Damaged Goods and Fierce
Panda are in the vanguard of the 21c punk movement. Also responsible for Club Fandango
(Tuesday nights, Camden Dublin Castle) where many of the new bands to watch, play.
In early days, when Carter USM were the mega
sensation, MSP struck more than three chords with journalist/rant poet, Steven ‘Seething’ Wells (aka "Swells") who had made "Suicide Alley", NME
Single Of The Week. The Manics had sent fellow spirit, Swells, their first, home made
record with a fuelprosed letter.
The seeds were sown with this, then the New Art Riot EP but
the Manics were neither loathed nor adored with any energy until "Motown Junk".
Suddenly the Manics became either the most exciting thing to happen to music or the
saddest joke. The fact that the band themselves confessed to the latter, made the former
more true. Everybody wanted to voice an opinion, meaning that they arrived in a blaze of
publicity, with a manifesto that has become a reference point. As the 90s ends it is a
fact that the "puppet" pop star is from a bygone age. Not only the music, but
every part of their presentation is often over-seen by the artistes themselves.
At the start of the decade, a time when
being in the music press or on John Peel's show was a height of ambition, MSP wanted to be in the tabloid
newspapers, because that was what most people READ. Often a source of embarrassment,
cynicism or hilarity to the "seen it all before" brigade, the naive (but
foolishly to be regarded as stupid) Manics were dismissed as hype, school-play punk and
the endless butt of Welsh-joke headlines and racist heckles (early gig taunt: "Sheeeep!
Sheeeep!..." james: "Yeah, we shag ‘em, then you eat
‘em").
sept 99: by the end of the 90s the manics kick
started cool cymru and the youth of wales have pride in the success of their music scene,
a debate ensues in the english press, can you be too proud of being welsh?
2002 : being on john peel remains an ambition
for thousands, pop has become big business for mainstream media while the music press
still bring geography into fashion, big time...
MSP
were more interested in looking good on stage and devouring literature than the
musicianship that has come with practise. They appeared in slogans and a mess of eyeliner
and spray paint, contradicted themselves with each interview, cited Public Enemy and Guns N Roses as
Influences, adored Kylie and new romantic glamour, promising a double LP that would
sell millions then implosion.
2002 : who DOESN'T like Kylie now?
The Manics seemed ridiculous to world-weary
cynics until Motorcycle Emptiness zipped even the sneeriest of lips, not that anybody cares
what the cynics think. "...Don’t
want to see your face. Don’t want to hear your words. Why don’t you just fuck
off..." Tho, to this day there are
"music journalists" puzzled by or contemptuous of the idea of pop bands flirting
with image! (hey...it's a pop fan thing)
2002 : Stage style is still the big street
style, but beside the comfort of clothes being influenced by sport, the originality of
clothes influenced by music still sparkles.
MSP's manifesto was beyond the imaginations
of it's time. A Top Of The Pops appearance was as astounding a feat for
‘alternative’ music as getting a Top 40 chart hit/into Smash Hits. It was the
manifesto of dreamers, many of whom were drawn to early MSP gigs. Apart from Swells
there were music journalists like Simon Price,
John Robb, Andrew Collins, John Harris, James Brown and Bob Stanley. More than just writers, they were music fans whose
excitement spilled onto the pages and whipped up a storm...
2002 : The influence of MSP fans continues with
zines like R*E*P*E*A*T and Terrible Beauty not only still going strong but remaining
independent media with a voice that sets up gigs, events, helps bands...
Swells later directed the "Little Baby Nothing" video. Sean, Richey and Nick weren’t in it, instead James sang with Dead End Dolls,
four Manics fans - Nicky, Sarah, Lorna and Gill - their name from the chorus of "Teenage 20/20" (New Art Riot EP). Gill (Armstrong)
one of MSPs earliest fans, has also appeared in a documentary, various publication
features and edits articulate rantzine, Cultural Apocalypse.
sept 99 : cultural apocalypse sadly no longer
going, but gill's excellent writing preserved for posterity at whirlpool. link at the
bottom of this page.
Carrie and Jacqui, the writers of the Manics first fanzine "Last Exit" (name from
New Art Riot) were also in the video and went on to become Shampoo. Swells now runs Pig
Videos and still works with ‘fuelled’ acts (Skunk Anansie, Ash etc). Being a
manic street preacher himself he directed the notorious S*M*A*S*H video "I Want To
Kill Somebody".
2000 : shampoo's glamour look remains one of the
d.i.y. classics of 21c punk fashion while S*M*A*S*H's influence is still
heavy to this day in fact Welwyn Garden City is home to a group of music fans reviving
life in their bleak town.
It’s not a crime to spurt an opinion
nowadays (Come on down Mark Morrison, Noel
Gallagher, John Power, Levellers, Louise Wener, Asian Dub Foundation, Chumbawamba etc and take a bow).
sept 99: and following their appearance at
t-in-the-park mr/ms n. wire retains the "motormouth of the decade" crown. note
the more "come and go" nature of the above cited acts compared to msp...
2002 : come on, name the band that would get off
their arse and play for the people of Cuba. It was inspiring to see the Cuban and Welsh
flag fly side by side on stage. It gave me hope for possible peace one day. Rock and Roll
is the world's hope for a future.
MSP
crossed-over the arts, among their strongest influences was beat poet Patrick Jones, and
they inspired much art i.e. cartoonist Mat J Saw, myriads of fanzines and a recent art
exhibition. Apart from Cultural Apocalypse and Last Exit, at least fifty MSP fanzines sprang up (Tortured Rebellion by
Dave Marsden and Joe Swinford in Exeter made two, then Junk by James and Andrew in Leeds,
then an explosion of zines some still around to this day like Terrible Beauty and Iconoclastic Glitter to name only two!). Publications, preaching manically from the streets
abound world-wide, spouting like Dennis Pennis.
sept 99: some manic street preachers contacts,
zines, websites etc at love's sweet exile. link at bottom of the page. patrick jones
released commemoration & amnesia on big noise recordings and played live dates in the
uk over the summer.
2002 : the Unconvention exhibitions, Patrick's
plays, The Millenium Stadium gig, Neil Howells and Jeremy Dellar using the dance floor at
Simon Price's Stay Beautiful Club, the crossing over continues.
Another Welsh rebel, Simon Price used to
get the piss taken for staying beautiful. A familiar face at Manics gigs, he is currently
writing the first Manics book with approval if not authorisation. (Virgin books, late
Summer 98).
sept 99: ok, not late summer 98 but may 99, but
simon got his book out and it is generally regarded the definitive manic street preachers
biography.
2002 : he not only got the book out, but he was
recently urging people not to buy it, due to over zealous editing on the reprints. You
can't kill the spirit...
Ex-Membrane/fanzine hero John Robb interviewed
MSP for
TXT TV ("Strip It Down" video) and their first cover feature in Sounds. He has
written an essential Stone Roses book, still produces records, champions hot new bands and
fronts mental-glam-rockers Gold Blade. Neither Simon,John
or the Manics have lost the spirit to this day.
sept 99: john robb's latest book "the
nineties, what the f**k was that all about?" is out now on random house books.
2002: Gold Blade still going strong, Thrill City
Records set up and blazing a trail, John is on telly every now and then and writes for
Careless Talk Costs Lives.
In fact, loads of the early Manics audience
were fired up and inspired. John Harris, one of the journalists to spot the parent of
"Britpop", New Wave Of New Wave, also wrote On A Friday’s first
national press live review. They became Radiohead, he became Editor of Select. Mark Sutherland of Food Lust And Guitars fanzine did an early interview with MSP, and is now editor of Melody
Maker. Andrew Collins wrote for NME, then Select, then became Editor of Q. Nowadays he's best
probably best known as the Collins of "..and Maconie".
2002 : Select and Melody Maker disappeared at
the turn of the century, John writes for broadsheet newspapers, Mark is part of Radio 6
Music which launched March 002. Q is still around and Manics played one night of their 15
year celebrations, Stereophonics the other, which speaks volumes for music from Wales.
In ‘91 Melody Maker journalist Bob Stanley was so
knocked out by MSP that he released their "Feminine
Is Beautiful" EP on his Caff label. He also
released the first two Shampoo singles on his Ice Rink label. Nowadays he runs
Kenickie’s label, EMI-Disc but is probably best known as a member of St. Etienne. He is
currently working with Shampoo again.
sept 99: shampoo will release a new album in the
year 2000, their website is at the underground superstars page (link at the bottom of the
page)
2002: shampoo are still gorgeous 21c punx and
Marie from Kenickie is working at Hall Or Nothing management.
Also among MSPs early audiences were The
Mooney sisters:- Siobhan Mooney is a rising punk star of Opera, and, as a singing teacher
helping many of the 90s new pop acts, Grianne
Mooney is currently chief sub editor at NME and Sian Mooney is the
"Mac" of Grab’N’Mac the hottest of the nation’s rebel fashion
designers. Those they have clothed include Zoe
Ball, MSP, U2, Shampoo, Naomi Campbell, Kinky Machine and Mansun - their fetish rock’n’roll style has already
earned them an export award.
sept 99: grab'n'mac are at this year's london fashion week. check them out there or at the
Despair To Wear page (link at the bottom of the page)
David Bagnall the (then) optician went on to
A&R for Creation Records, Martin and Jon, ex members of Land Of Barbara, now run
Mutiny Communications, art designers, and renowned for the Midweeker Club held on
Wednesday nights at London’s Borderline. Caitlin Moran went via TV’s Naked City
and now writes for The Times and Select.
Stuart Bailie was another early fan, he still writes about them and can be seen on the
cover of "Louder Than War"!
After a gig at Guildford (so early on that
Richey was still also driving the van) the Mooney sisters were among the few people not
playing pool but watching the band, as was Columbia A&R man, Rob Stringer, a huge fan.
They signed to Columbia soon after. Rob and the Manics have been together since. (Rob
himself unwillingly hit the headlines due to his friendship with old college mate Julia
Carling). When Rob moved from Columbia to Epic (which he now heads) the Manics stayed with
him. The band had signed to one of the corporate labels at a time of intense invert label
snobbery, although the only people really carping on about majors-v-indies were people who
mainly received their records for free. |
