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Manic Street Preachers
If one of these things had happened to a band, they would have easily got their 15 minutes of fame in rock history. All these things are in this band’s history:
- They write one of the great guitar riffs, and it propels Motorcycle Emptiness to be an anthem of its time and in the pantheon of all time
- Prove the press wrong for the accusation of being Clash wannabees and fakes by carving: ‘4 REAL’ into your arm in front of them
- Founding member disappears on the eve of a PR tour and remains presumed dead
- Make a singular and never-bettered song about overcoming tragedy and moving on (Everything Must Go)
- Successfully couple up serious political statement in a rock song that you can sing along to: ‘Libraries gave us power’ (A Design for Life)
- Write a song with Kylie (Some Kind of Bliss)
- Be part of Britpop/but remain splendidly aloof, successful, and never break up
- Halfway through Ocean Spray the drummer picks up a trumpet and plays a beautiful brass solo
- They play communist Cuba and meet President Castro, who attends their gig
- Duet with Nina from the Cardigans in a song of beautiful pathos about loss (Your Love is not Enough).