Manic Street Preachers to play special Holy Bible show for BBC

Band to perform huge show for Radio 4 Mastertapes

Wednesday 27th August 2014 by Andrew Trendell | Photos by Press

Manic Street Preachers are set to perform a special Holy Bible show for BBC Radio 4's Mastertapes series, hopefully meaning their will be more gigs around the album's anniversary.

There has been much debate as to whether the band will play gigs to commemorate their seminal 1994 classic LP - espcially after they dropped a number of tracks at their Futurology launch gig at Rough Trade last month.

Now, the band have revealed that they'll be playing cuts from the album for a special gig for BBC Radio 4's Master Tapes - followed by a Q&A with Nicky, James and Sean on 19 September at London's Maida Vale Studios.

A statement reads:

"John Wilson returns with another series of conversations with legendary musicians - discussing the album that made them or changed them. Studio audiences will have the opportunity to put their questions to the artists and witness exclusive live performances of songs from the album. Twenty Years after its release, Manic Street Preachers talk to John Wilson about their 1994 breakthrough album, The Holy Bible.

"Released a mere five months before the disappearance of main lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards, The Holy Bible reflects his fragile mental state. On its release, Q said, "even a cursory glance at the titles will confirm that this is not the new Gloria Estefan album". And with tracks like Yes, Of Walking Abortion, Mausoleum and 4st 7lb, the lyrics deal with everything from prostitution and serial killers to the Holocaust and self-starvation.

"This will be a unique opportunity to hear James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore talk about (and perform tracks from) the album that has been hailed as "a work of genuine genius" and "one of the best albums of the 90s"... with a "life-affirming force that hits you with the very first song"."

For the chance to win tickets and more information, visit here.

Watch Manic Street Preachers performing 'Faster' at Glastonbury 1994 below

Speaking to Gigwise about the album, frontman James Dean Bradfield said: "We actually feel the looming presence of 20th anniversary of The Holy Bible, I think we feel it quite a lot. We're a bit scared of it really. If we were ever a band who felt like the past defined us too much, and that our past contained too much baggage for us to haul around, I think we'd be finished. We are constantly asked about our past because so much has happened, and naturally we're on our 12th album. If you're so scared of the past like that, it's just game over."

He continued: "If you say 'that's it, I'm never playing that song again' and think there's some kind of Brownie points to be won by making that stance, then that's just sad. "If you're defined by something you've done that you think is awful, then you just end up making wrong decisions all over the place. There are obviously moments like 'The Love Of Richard Nixon' that are not hard to stand by, but hard to see why we released it as the first single for our album. More often than not, we still get some kind of power and rush because we were so obsessed and in the moment when we created it.

"We've never stopped making records so we don't really need to do that Royal Festival Hall circuit. If we do it, I think we'll do it with the confidence that the active part of the band is still there, and making records."

Below: 11 exclusive photos of Manic Street Preachers at V Festival