The Manic Street Preachers yesterday opened the Welsh capital's new £15m public library.
The Blackwood-born rock band, who are known for their love of literature, wore matching black jackets and unveiled a slate plaque bearing the band's name that will be put in the foyer of the concrete and glass building.
A second metal plaque - based on the cover of their 1996 single A Design For Life - will be placed in the music section..
Bookworm and bassist Nicky Wire said: "It makes me feel like I want to go back to school again.
"I used to go to Blackwood library to revise for my O and A-levels. My mother has gone to the library all her life and she would always bring a book back for me and my dad." Apart from a children's book - called either the Red Hand Gang or the Black Hand Gang - the first book he remembered reading was George Orwell's Animal Farm..
"That was the first book I read that showed me how powerful a book can be," he said.
"At the moment I would say my favourite book is Straw Dogs by John Gray, which is a philosophical book. And One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. Also RS Thomas' Collected Poems." After unveiling the plaque, the band were treated to a version of A Design For Life performed by Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir..
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