Preaching To The Converted - Daily Mirror Northern Ireland, 18th May 2018
Title: | Preaching To The Converted |
Publication: | Daily Mirror Northern Ireland |
Date: | Friday 18th May 2018 |
Writer: | Stuart Bailie |
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Excitingly, the Manic Street Preachers setlist for 2018 includes lashings of early material. They have returned to the roaring declarations of that perfectly bold first album, 'Generation Terrorists'. This will please senior attendees who first saw the band at the Limelight, Belfast in 1991 when their charity shop blouses were hand-painted and the cosmetics were hand-painted and the cosmetics were supplied by Boots the Chemist. They were accompanied on that Irish tour by the NME and it resulted in their first cover story - a fierce jumble of love bites, politics, fear, failure and the swooning intelligence of Richey Edwards. He walked off the page in 1995 and by the time the band played the Ulster Hall in August 1998, they were a battered three piece. But hey, they were also top of the charts with 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next'. It was the exact day of their Number One and they finished their Sunday celebrations back at the Limelight when David Holmes had a DJ set and the smiles were genuine. Their new album, 'Resistance Is Futile', is a keen reminder of the band's early sense of friction and history. The title suggests that their rebellious mettle is doomed, but they will not go down quietly. The Belfast bookies are resigned to the likelihood of seasoned Manics fans blubbing uncontrollably during 'A Design For Life. |