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"It was a schizophrenic week"
With a history of 25 years, the Welshmen of Manic Street Preachers are the true veterans at Pinkpop. At the Netherlands, singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield cherishes beautiful memories. And also a very bad one: '1996. The day on which the Netherlands beat Wales 6-1.
What is the most important thing you did this week?
"I went with my wife and dog to West Wales to walk through forests and along beaches. We ate fish and read books. Total bliss. Later in the week we were at the funeral of a friend who died much too early. It was a schizophrenic week. No, that has no effect on me when I'm on stage to play. I only had that moment just after my mother died."
Imagine you wake up at the festival site in an unknown tent with a groupie next to you. How do you react?
"I'd be scared, get my lawyers on and find out who did something in my drink."
On Pinkpop, Deadmau5 and Bloody Beetroots perform with masks. What would your mask look like?
"We've done that before. In 1994 we performed with balaclavas. That has caused quite a lot of problems because we were associated with the IRA and the UDA. We were young and rash and we quickly thrown that idea into the trash."
What is your most bizarre festival experience?
"That was somewhere in the Netherlands in 1992. We were in Belgium in the afternoon and in the evening in the Netherlands. That turned out to be a garden party of just ten meters by ten meters and the audience consisted for the most part of Hell's Angels. Richey was completely drunk, fell asleep on my foot and the wah-wah pedal. I shook him awake when he decided to crowd surfing. Nobody caught it."
There is deadly Ecstasy in circulation in Limburg. Where do you have to get it from now?
"Oh, I do not do Ecstasy, no heroin, no cocaine, no speed, nothing at all. I have seen too often with friends what drugs can do. I stick to the whiskey and beer. My tip: Penderyn whiskey from Wales. Bit of water, fantastic."
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