Manic Street Preachers

Oakdale Comprehensive in Blackwood, South Wales, is where Manic Street Preachers began in 1986. Pairing androgynous glam imagery with lyrics about culture, alienation, boredom and despair, they started out in a punk vein before widening into a broader alternative rock sound. Since 1995 they have been a trio: cousins James Dean Bradfield (vocals, guitar) and Sean Moore (drums), plus Nicky Wire on bass. They remain a cornerstone of the Cool Cymru movement.

Their first chart entry, "Motown Junk", reached No. 94 in 1991, and Generation Terrorists, Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible followed by 1994. Richey Edwards, guitarist and co-lyricist, disappeared in February 1995 and was legally presumed dead in 2008. After a six-month pause, and with his family's blessing, the others carried on. Everything Must Go reached No. 2 in 1996, and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours went to No. 1 two years later, alongside the single "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next". They have headlined Glastonbury and Reading, won four BRIT Awards and notched 34 consecutive UK Top 40 singles between 1991 and 2010. The Ultra Vivid Lament reached No. 1 in 2021.