Back to their button-pushing best.
Congratulations. How does it feel to have made one of Q's albums of the year?
Nicky Wire: It feels great. When the year started to go right we just had to give in. Eighth album, hit single, Q Award - let's just enjoy it for once.
Send Away The Tigers has been called a return to form. Did you feel like you'd lost it?
NW: We'd totally confused ourselves and our fans with [2004's] Lifeblood. If it doesn't connect with people, you've got to be harsh with yourself. I need to be at the centre of culture, not at the margins.
Has it won you a new generation of fans?
NW: Some people think Nina Persson's in the fucking band. Which is great, because they've homed in on something that's uplifting and glorious, and by the end of the year they'll be listening to Archives Of Pain.
What's the best news you've received this year?
NW: I guess having my little boy - my second kid. Along with that, I'd have to say the first midweek [chart placing] of Your Love Alone Is Not Enough [when the Manics were briefly at Number 1]
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