Photo: WENN
Manic Street Preachers launched Futurology while celebrating the 20th anniversary of the seminal The Holy Bible with an intimate in-store gig at Rough Trade East in London tonight (Tuesday 8 July). See the setlist and footage below.
Opening with the glorious recent single 'Walk Me To The Bridge', James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore played a storming gig to just a few fans with an energetic rare show as a three-piece.
The band showcased their new album by tearing into the krautrock stomper of 'Europa Geht Durch Mich', the call to arms anthem of 'Let's Go To War' and the arena-ready title track.
Noting how how the tiny stage was much smaller than the arenas and festivals that they're used to, frontman James Dean Bradfield told the crowd: "There's not much room here for my signature one-legged spin, so some bunny hops will have to do instead."
To make the occasion even more special, the band then invited onstage the legendary Green Gartside from Scitti Politti for the live debut of the achingly beautiful 'Between The Clock And The Bed', with a magnificent acoustic rendition.
Then, Bradfield announced that they were reaching 'The Holy Bible part of the show', performing choice cuts from their blistering 1994 masterpiece, before bursting into 'Revol' and 'Die In The Summertime' with the crowd howling back in full voice.
During 'This Is Yesterday', the band suffered technical difficulties with a drum mic and were forced to halt, with Bradfield noting: "The power of this music fucks up modern machinery."
After completing the track Wire joked: "Told you we should have done HMV" - before adding that he held in all of his bile from Glastonbury and it was time to let loose. "I'm gong to explode on the One Show tomorrow. I'm on the sofa with John Major so I'm looking forward to that."
All that was left was for the band to end with searing performances of 'Archives Of Pain' and 'PCP' and they left the stage to sign autographs and meet the many dedicated fans that lingered on.
Rather than overshadow new material, the comparative stature of The Holy Bible tonight only highlighted how the imagination and power of Futurology stands shoulder to shoulder with the Manics' most classic cuts from their back catalogue. Futurology may not be The Holy Bible part two, but it's a beast of its own and a masterpiece in its own right. We could watch this gig every single night.
- Read our full track by track review and guide to Futurology here, and check back soon for our full and frank interview with Manic Street Preachers
Watch fan-filmed footage of the whole gig below
Manic Street Preachers played:
Walk Me to the Bridge
Europa Geht Durch Mich
Let's Go to War
Futurology
Between the Clock and the Bed (with Green Gartside) (Live Debut)
Revol
Die in the Summertime
This Is Yesterday
Archives of Pain
P.C.P.
Manic Street Preachers will be performing at T In The Park and V Festival this summer. For more information visit Gigwise Tickets.
Below: Photos of Manic Street Preachers live in Manchester
