The Holy Bible
I have always been a Manics fan especially of the Richey Edwards era which culminated in their finest piece of work The Holy Bible.
Released in 1994 The Holy Bible is a scabrous, nihilistic monument to the decline of civilisation in regards to religion specifically the ten commandments.
I decided to focus on this album as it has pertinent themes that still resonate today like the influence of religion (good or bad), western powers and colonialism, Anorexia, holocaust, death penalty and censorship.
Not the cheeriest album then but certainly one with tangents to explore as well as the political dimensions there are the dimensions of fandom and the personal;
Richey’s declining mental health and his own issues with Anorexia.
The literary citations and the visual imagery conjured from lyrics such as “Mussolini hangs from a butcher’s hook ” excite me so I am interested in what works I will produce with some a rich source.
The band introduced me to Jenny Savile whose artwork adorns the front page of The Holy Bible and it’s follow-up The Plague of lovers.
A lot of artists I have discovered through this band such as the photographer Vivian Meier, Kevin Carter et al.
before I delve into the album a bit more let’s look into their history preceding the album.
Manic Street Preacher’s history
I assume that whoever may be reading this might not know who the Manic Street Preachers which is unlikely or why I have chosen that band amongst others. Here is an insight into the band:
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band in their current incarnation consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums) and Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics). They are often colloquially known as “the Manics”.
Following the release of their debut single “Suicide Alley”, Manic Street Preachers were joined by Richey Edwards as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band’s early albums were in a punk vein, eventually broadening to a greater alternative rock sound, whilst retaining a leftist political outlook. Their early combination of androgynous glam imagery and lyrics about “culture, alienation, boredom and despair” gained them a loyal following.
Manic Street Preachers released their debut album, Generation Terrorists, in February 1992, followed by Gold Against The Soul in 1993 and The Holy Bible in 1994. Edwards disappeared in February 1995 and was legally presumed dead in 2008.
This is the era I am most concerned with I remember these incidents as I was reading kerrang! at the time. These were pre-digital days and information was scarce when it came to your favourite bands.
Kurt Cobain had took his life in April 1994 so it felt like all my musical heroes were coming to an end.
I left school in 1994 so the world seemed a colder and more uncertain place with the news that these musicians lives were so fragile and whom I held so dear.
The year is 2021 and I am 43 soon to be 44 and music has been an important aspect of my life whether I am relating to millennial angst through Radiohead or analysing my fragility through the music of Nine Inch Nails or even God forbid it having a good time dancing to The Smiths.
The Manics were another band that got me to really look at the world through an artistic lens and although they never recovered totally from the loss of Richey Edwards and their albums became more conservative I still have a fondness of them in my heart.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09s4qds/radio-2-live-2021-manic-street-preachers
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