Manic Street Preachers

[Adayinthelife]

Thank you. I've working so much in the last few months (7 days a week, 60+ hours) I've had no time for here. I'm worried I'll burn out, so I'm really trying to take some time out. Missed you lovely bunch loads and all the tea as well!

I'm loving your Mansun reference username by the way. I think I said that before. Also Paul Draper started randomly following me on my various socials a while back, even though I didn't already follow him!


But I bet you're way younger than me (43), youth is a gift! I miss being young!

My mum used to complain, "Why are all their songs so depressing, and about suicide!" Yet, she would take me to penpals to stay for gigs and let me have my penpals stay at ours too.

She and my then stepdad (who was Welsh) even took me to Blackwood when we went to visit his family in Neath. So she did humour me to be fair.

my Mum is coming with me to the next Manics gig (fingers crossed it doesn’t get rescheduled again)
She reckons she’ll know most of the set list as she ‘had to listen to them every bloody day’ when I was a teenager (I’m 43...)

 

[sleepflowers]

Ahh @Miss Demeanour you've lived my dreams! I love being a fan and being with other fans but it sounds so much more fun with all the snail mail and phone calls rather than social media.

 

[bubbadabut]

Okay, the other story…

This is LONG!!!! So, I have typed this out on my laptop, as it’s too much on my phone, and I may have told this on here somewhere before, so if you’ve read this before, apologies.

In May 1996, I was at a Manics gig at The Forum in London, with a penpal, when we got chatting to a woman (who I’ll call Toni) who was there on her own, turns out she lived in Kentish Town and often got tickets for gigs off a tout for anything that sounded interesting. She had been at the gig two nights before and was raving about how good Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci were and how much we’d enjoy their support set, hence she’d come back again that night.

Long story short, I really hit it off with Toni and despite me being 19 and she 29, we became firm friends. I didn’t live in London, but we would talk on the phone for hours at a time.

Toni was massively into the Super Furry Animals and knowing I was mad for the Manics, she suggested that we get tickets for the tour later than year with SFA supporting Manics on a few of the dates. So we bought tickets for the Cardiff gig on 12/12/96, as well as their first of three nights in London at Brixton Academy on 14/12/96 and the last night at The Forum on 16/12/96.

Toni had become friendly with SFA and when she saw them in the months proceeding the gigs in December, she boldly asked them outright if they’d sort us out with after show party passes, and they said “If you can find us, then sure!”

So that December we rock up to Cardiff in Toni’s old banger, realising in the 4 hour drive we still got on like a house on fire. Checked into a cheap B&B and went straight to Cardiff arena. Once inside, who does Toni spot? Gruff and Bunf from SFA! She was over there like a shot and after a while, returned with two after show party passes.

Well, this after show was very swanky, some of the Manics’ families were there, plus other people from bands, media, as well as other fans and some groupies. It was a fab night. We didn’t get a chance to meet the Manics, but as Toni and I are pretty outgoing and chatty, we spoke to loads of lovely people including the Manics’ press officer who was an absolute sweetheart.

As the after show was winding up, we were getting ready to go to our B&B, when SFA asked if we wanted to come back to the hotel bar to continue the party (all above board BTW, no innuendo) and so we agreed.

We arrived at The Jury’s hotel to find security on the doors and fans all outside, Turned out the Manics were staying there too! SFA swept us past security, into the bar where loads of the lovely crew were drinking, along with some other people working for the Manics. We got a drink, turned to follow SFA to the table and found ourselves sat opposite James!

I became a gibbering wreck (as a James fan) and was trying so hard to act cool and engage him in conversation. But he was in a grumpy mood. Also a groupie was trying to crack onto to him and he wasn’t having any of it.

Anyway, the rest of the crowd and SFA were great company and at one point, I told a lame joke that featured a monkey, to which James jumped up and said, “Talking of monkeys… ” and he disappeared off to his room, to only return with one of those wind-up monkeys with cymbals. Random!

Toni, by this point buoyed with free booze said “Do you spank it James?”, he looked at her confused, so she added, “Do you spank your monkey?” to which everyone roared laughing. James just sat there looking grumpy, he either didn’t get it, or wasn’t in the mood. I think the latter as he announced he was off to bed, to which the groupie jumped up and started following him and was trying to talk to him and he was getting more annoyed and stomped off to bed, alone.

We were getting ready to head back, when one of the crew asked us if we wanted to stay at the hotel. Giving them a suspicious look, they laughed and said that Nick the keyboard player had a room booked but had decided to go home and he’d given him his key card to pass on to anyone who wants it, as it was paid for. So he kindly gave it to us and we stayed over. When we got back the B&B later that morning the old couple were about to send out a search party apparently!

Anyhoo, back in London for the Brixton gig, we saw a load of people we met at the Cardiff gig and someone sorted us out with after show party passes again. It wasn’t much of a party, bit tit actually, but I had my photo taken with Andy Cairns from Therapy? and we started tapping up the Manics’ press officer for the lowdown on the after show party after the gig at the Forum, which was the final date of the tour. He told us we had no chance, as it was invite-only, invites went out weeks ago, it was a strict guest-list and at an external venue, not in the gig venue.

So the Forum gig happens, it’s a fab gig and as we gather our stuff to leave and see the press officer, to which Toni says to him in, “Sooooo, this after show party, where is it?” he laughs and said, “No point in me telling you mate, you won’t get in. I can’t get you in”. So Toni says, “Give us a clue, street name?”, he replied, “Greenland Street, that’s all you’re getting out of me!” to which Toni shouts, “Ooooh, Windy Tuesdays? See you there!” to which he laughed, walking off shaking his head.

So we jump on the bus and get down to Windy Tuesdays in Camden, the party looks packed inside and there is two burly doorman with clipboards. Toni (which her massive-titted cleavage on show) starts trying to charm the doormen, but they’re having none of it! But one of them says that if we want to stand back and just watch people arriving, we’d be welcome.

When all of a sudden, a slightly intimidating chap comes out from the party and booms, “I’m Gary, from Sony. Is there a problem here?”, we make up some guff about being invited at the previous after shows to this party and he calls our bluff and said, “There wasn’t after shows at those gigs.” So we reply that there was and start listing all of the crew, management and journalists who were at those parties. To which, he rolls his eyes and says to the doorman, “Go on, just let them in”

We couldn’t believe it, we got in and immediately bumped into the press officer who almost spat his drink out with shock and he said, “Jesus! How?! What?!” We had a brill night, met Sean briefly, he was really sweet. Bumped into Shampoo and I stood on Paul Weller’s foot at the bar. Haha!

We started a popular fanzine after that and became queen blaggers. Those heady days!

Awww that's so cool. You were living the dream! What great memories you must have and stories to tell. I never managed to meet any of the Manics, but I did meet Gruff of SFA in random circumstances. I was on a train from Madrid to Zaragoza approx 2008, the last place you'd expect to see anyone famous, but Gruff got on with his guitar and sat in front of me. The train was otherwise full of commuting Spanish businessmen and women. I said 'Unfortunately for you, you've chosen to sit with probably the only person on this train who wants to bend your ear for the whole journey' He was very tall and a lot better looking in real life. Happy to answer all my questions. I left the train in Zaragoza and he carried on to Barcelona where he was playing a festival. Nice guy.

 

[Miss Demeanour]

Awww that's so cool. You were living the dream! What great memories you must have and stories to tell. I never managed to meet any of the Manics, but I did meet Gruff of SFA in random circumstances. I was on a train from Madrid to Zaragoza approx 2008, the last place you'd expect to see anyone famous, but Gruff got on with his guitar and sat in front of me. The train was otherwise full of commuting Spanish businessmen and women. I said 'Unfortunately for you, you've chosen to sit with probably the only person on this train who wants to bend your ear for the whole journey' He was very tall and a lot better looking in real life. Happy to answer all my questions. I left the train in Zaragoza and he carried on to Barcelona where he was playing a festival. Nice guy.

Awww, that's an amazing story. What a great opening line too! What was he doing there on that train alone? Going to be playing a solo set at festival?

Yes, he's gorgeous. I love his accent. I was told thar lot of people from north Wales learn English as a second language when older, hence the accent is much stronger than their pals down south.

Ahh @Miss Demeanour you've lived my dreams! I love being a fan and being with other fans but it sounds so much more fun with all the snail mail and phone calls rather than social media.

It was an awesome time. We used to have these little handmade books called slams. They were usually covered on stickers and squiggles and what you did was put your name, address, age, a bit about yourself and list the other bands you liked, then put in in with your letter to another pen pal, who would look through it and pick people to write too, and / or add their own details, then they'd forward it on to another pen pal, and so on. An analogue social network if you like!

my Mum is coming with me to the next Manics gig (fingers crossed it doesn’t get rescheduled again)
She reckons she’ll know most of the set list as she ‘had to listen to them every bloody day’ when I was a teenager (I’m 43...)

Brilliant. I must say, I never could convince my mum!

BRILLIANT story @Miss Demeanour! That Brixton gig was my first ever Manics gig, two weeks after I arrived in London from Australia. I went to all three London shows including Kentish Town too, so it's fantastic to hear about those gigs from a completely different perspective. Wish I had known you back then, I had an amazing time at those gigs but yours was on another level!

Hey! We were in the same rooms, appreciating the same awesome band. Such great memories.

 

[Miss Demeanour]

(I didn't mean for this to also be a really long post. sorry in advance.)

Hey, if any of you like a good, fun read. Let me tell you about my favourite book. I saw it advertised in a Sunday supplement in 1999 and bought it on a whim.

Essentially it's a true story about a geeky, awkward girl from New York, in the 70s. She was into stuff like Bowie and Zappa and somehow got into the Bay City Rollers, despite being hugely embarrassed by her absolute love for them!

It chronicles her years as an obsessed (older) fan, in what she describes as her "tragic love affair" with the Bay City Rollers.

Now, I'm too young to remember the band, although I was aware of them, but it didn't matter. The fandom, the story of obsession and unrequited love with your favourite band member really hit a (good) nerve with me.

I got butterflies reading how she got butterflies from seeing a glimpse of them at the hotel after the gig, how she was heartbroken when the object of her affection was rude to her, the friendships she made with other fans and buying tickets for multiple dates on tours, pissing off her mum and even visiting a penpal in the UK.

God, it's a brilliant book. I've read it loads, currently reading it again. It's called Bye Bye Baby, by Caroline Sullivan.

Then, in a massively weird twist of fate. In 1999, the same year I bought and read that book. That lovely MSP press officer invited Toni and I to a planned Manics press conference at the Cardiff Millennium stadium, we only did a fanzine, so was sweet of him to invite us. Toni couldn't go, but I could, and the record company put me and the journalists on a coach from London to Cardiff.

Manics announced at the conference that they were doing a millennium gig, I even stood up and asked a question, despite my 22 year-old knees knocking!

After the conference, there was food and drink served before the coach went back to London and because I wanted to work in the media, I did a bit of informal networking / brain-picking.

One of the people I met was a journalist for a broadsheet, she did the music column. She was from America, really lovely and when I told her my dreams, she told me never to give up, or think I'm not good enough. She was so lovely and encouraging.

Anyway, a few years later I dug out Bye Bye Baby, as I'd not read it since I'd bought it.

I got to the end and it had a bit about the author. Turns out the author moved to the UK and became a music journalist. Feeling this was a bit oddly familiar sounding, I looked up the author (on bleeping Ask Jeeves or something! ) and duck me, it was the lovely woman I met at the Manics gig in 1999!

How friggin' crazy is that? I was quite freaked out in fact.

Anyway, I didn't give up. And although I started late, I've presented my own radio show on a regional station for 7 years, started a new show on a different local station last year, I also have a monthly music column in a local magazine. All part-time.

I know it's not 6Music, or NME, but I get into gigs for free, get backstage passes for festivals, I interview bands (including some of my heroes) and I just love presenting and writing.

They are side gigs, as I work full-time and pay my mortgage from a career in PR and Communications. Which has some great synergies, such as writing, doing podcasts, interviews etc.

I'd love to do radio full-time, it's just so hard to get into a big station nowadays, I've had amazing feedback from the big cheese one of my fave big stations and he just says to keep in touch and keep sending demos. Tends to be a case of right place, right time, right fit. Maybe one day.

I've had some brilliant book recommendations from fellow Tattlers, so it's only fair I pay it forward hope someone loves Bye Bye Baby as much as I do.

 

[thegirlscout]

Was part of their Forever Delayed fan website back in 2008-2010 ish. The Manics fans are intense and a lot of interpersonal relationships were messy. I did enjoy the letters we all used to send each other and the amount of glitter put in the envelope. Did this to a non manics fan friend one time and she got so annoyed!
Young Nicky Wire is

 

[maytoseptember]

It was an awesome time. We used to have these little handmade books called slams. They were usually covered on stickers and squiggles and what you did was put your name, address, age, a bit about yourself and list the other bands you liked, then put in in with your letter to another pen pal, who would look through it and pick people to write too, and / or add their own details, then they'd forward it on to another pen pal, and so on. An analogue social network if you like!

This is a blast from the past! Remember doing these

 

[Miss Demeanour]

This is a blast from the past! Remember doing these

Are you one of my penpals?

Was part of their Forever Delayed fan website back in 2008-2010 ish. The Manics fans are intense and a lot of interpersonal relationships were messy. I did enjoy the letters we all used to send each other and the amount of glitter put in the envelope. Did this to a non manics fan friend one time and she got so annoyed!
Young Nicky Wire is

Yep, it was a very dramatic era. Loved every minute of it.

 

[PollyPerks]

I still post on Forever Delayed! it's actually seen a bit of activity these last few days because of the imminent news. Come back and join in on the fun, maybe we can revive the golden years!

All this talk of Gruff reminds me that theoretically, I'm seeing him live next week at a socially distanced gig. I say 'theoretically' because it feels so weird to even think about going to a gig, I won't believe it until I'm at the venue and he's there singing! But am cautiously excited

 

[silkytoes]

I still post on Forever Delayed! it's actually seen a bit of activity these last few days because of the imminent news. Come back and join in on the fun, maybe we can revive the golden years!

I checked in again recently (few months ago) but didn't stick around long. My problem is that there is a really hardcore selection of posters who were historically quite spike-y and cliquey and didn't necessarily take well to new comers. They'd talk down to people and reminisce on the good old days of when the board was really busy.

A lot of the people I really liked and who I'd met at gigs got chased off after some confrontations with the older members and I didn't feel like sticking around. I've now mostly lost touch with them too as I'm not active enough on social media anymore but I did have a good time seeing them at gigs and I went to Birmingham to meet some of them on a few occasions. Plus one guy off FD went to my uni and was on the same course but a year above me so we ended up being friendly there.

 

[thegirlscout]

I wonder if any of you I talked to back in the FD days. Maybe you’re on my social media still!

 

[silkytoes]

I wonder if any of you I talked to back in the FD days. Maybe you’re on my social media still!

It sounds like you were active a bit before I was from your other post - I joined at the end of 2010. But we may have crossed paths!

 

[PollyPerks]

I feel like a true FD veteran - I joined when it was foreverdelayed.com in 2001! My profile says I joined in Jan 2003 'cos that's when they switched to the .org address. Good lord, I've just realised that I've been on FD for 20 years

 

[maytoseptember]

I was on the old school FD forum too! I must have stopped posting around 2004 when I got fed up with it/a lot of the posters

 

[thegirlscout]

I don’t know how I managed to make so many friends, just checked and I hardly made any posts. Must have been because I became part of an MSN group chat - those were like a nightly occurrence.

 

[Adayinthelife]

I was never a frequent visitor to FD but I did used to hang around the other Manics forum. OMG those threads got so unwieldy.... my dial up internet struggled to cope...

 

[Dirtyhorseshoes]

My sister lives on the same street as James.

 

[Whateverrr]

Anyone here a member of the indie yahoo chat group back in the early 2000’s?

 

[Kthxbye]

I almost fell over in excitement when I just saw there was a Manics thread on Tattle!

I've loved this band for song. I'm only gutted I got into them when I was 11 back in 1996 when Design for Life came out. So I was too late for the Richey era. I must have seen them live around 50+ times in the past 25 years. I also have so many links to the band it's ridiculous. Thanks to my many years of fandom.

Although i'm not as obsessed as I once was but they hold a special place in my heart.

Wow, same here! Design For Life in 1996! (I was 12 so also too young for the Richey era)
DFL is still one of my favourite ever songs.
I've only seen them a handful of times, but they were incredible every single time. JDB is a god

 

[Miss Demeanour]

My sister lives on the same street as James.

Does he live in London, or Wales these days? I think he loved in Bayswater in London for a while many moons ago. Or that may have been idle fan gossip!