They sold 4 and a half million albums, had 15 top 20 singles and regularly sell out 60,000 capacity arenas. They are the manic street preachers and after 2 years away from the limelight the welsh trio are back and ready to rock with not one but 2 new singles.
BB: Nicky, James how are you. Both: hello. BB: You're rehearsing aren't you at the moment in the studios. Both: We are. BB: How's it going. Nicky: We've only been up here about 3 hours cos we got stuck in traffic. BB: and we've interrupted you already: James: we sound like a right racket for like the first 2 hours so it's good to get away from it really. BB: you've been away for 2 years apart from recording what have you been doing? Nicky: nothing really we took a long time we wrote 27 songs in a year recorded, wrote, produced, mixed, everything, it takes quite a lot of effort to do that when you're old as us.
BB: you've decided to release 2 singles on the same day, Found That Soul and Why So Sad, so what's the reason behind that. James: I think it was Nick who came up with the idea of releasing 2 singles. Nicky: don't try and blame me. James: we realised we could release 2 singles that were completely different from eachother and represent the album. Nicky: So Why So Sad is definately the one that'll get more airplay and all that kinda stuff.
BB: the video for Why So Sad was filmed partly in LA, did you have a good time over there. Nicky: we didn't want to go to be honest so we did ours just in a studio in London (James sips tea) and the rest is all blue screen trickery, titanic proportions. BB: and you've decided to launch the album in cuba, who's idea was that. Nicky: mine. It sounds quite blaze but we were just sitting round the pool in spain when we were recording and trying to think of ways to make things seem exciting and I just really admire the way cuba stands up against the americanisation of the world really.
BB: how do you think the album will go down with your hardcore fans. Nicky: perhaps we've gone so far the other way that they were on the verge of deserting us but I think they'll come back in droves, the mondeo man will kind of drift away but the hardcore fan will drift back.
BB: what's coming up for you guys in the next year. Nicky: I think after the gig in cardiff to 60,000 people we realised you reach a peak and you can't recreate that, there's no point in trying to create the feeling of that night you've got to try and go backwards to go forwards so to speak. So we're looking forward to just seeing the audience rather than seeing dots in the distance.
BB: You've decided to release 2 singles on the same day, Found That Soul and Why So Sad so what's the reason behind that.
J: Well usually when we finish an album we always have a general consensus on what the first single might be and we couldn't agree on anything this time and it kind of scared us a tiny bit. I think it's because the album is quite diverse and varied we realised one song couldn't actually represent the album.
BB: which one's your favourite and which one do you think will get to number 1.
N: you're hoping ain't ya. I think the main single So Why So Sad, we always felt that would be a single but didn't really feel that it represented the album because it's very beach boys influenced really.
BB: if you were to call it a day or you were never in a band what do you think you would have been doing.
N: I think there's a woody allen film sweet and lowdown with sean penn about a mythical jazz guitarist that's had a big effect on james. I think he likes the idea of wandering across america in a grubby white suit. J: grubby, why grubby? N: cos sean penn's is grubby.
BB: you've been invited to play a gig in Havana, how important is this gig to you.
N: We are quite frightened whether anybody will be there really.
BB: you'll just get a load of brits going over...
J: We're just scared there might be like 50 cubans down the front going these guys haven't got any rhythm, scared of that too.
BB: You've said that you approached this album as if it was the last album you were going to record. Is this the end of the manics.
N: It's not necessarily the end (to James) what do you always say, we're more near the end than the beginning...
J: Yeah we're closer to the end than we are the beginning.
Sean was there playing drums in his baseball cap. Nicky looked really nice with his hair brushed down, wearing jeans.
