The Manics released their debut album Generation Terrorists in 1992. Their combination of androgynous glam punk imagery, outspoken invective and songs about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" soon gained them a loyal following and cult status. The band's later albums retained a politicized and intellectual lyrical style, while adopting a broader alternative rock sound. Enigmatic lyricist Richey Edwards gained early notoriety by carving the words "4 REAL" into his arm with a razor blade (narrowly missing an artery and requiring seventeen stitches) in response to the suggestion that the band were less than authentic. The dark nature of 1994's The Holy Bible reflected the culmination of Edwards' instability.
Following Edwards' disappearance, Bradfield, Moore, and Wire persisted with the Manic Street Preachers and went on to gain critical and commercial success, becoming one of Britain's premier rock bands. They have had eight top ten albums and fifteen top ten singles. They have reached number one three times, with their 1998 album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and the singles "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" (1998) and "The Masses Against The Classes" (2000). The Masses Against The Classes Songfacts reports that the latter was the first UK #1 of 2000. They have also won the Best British Album and Best British Group accolades at the BRIT Awards in 1997 and 1999, and were lauded by the NME for their lifetime achievements in 2008. Their ninth studio album, Journal For Plague Lovers, was released on 18th May 2009 and features lyrics Edwards had left behind to the band weeks before his disappearance.
They came together in 1986, when James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore and rhythm guitarist Flicker formed Betty Blue in the small South Wales town of Blackwood. Two years later, Flicker had left and Nicky's friend Richey Edwards (previously the group's driver) joined in his place. Richey would later say in Vox magazine, "If you built a museum to represent Blackwood, all you could put in it would be shit. We used to meet by this opening called Pen-y-Fan. It was built when the mines closed down but now the water has turned green and slimy. They put 2,000 fish in it, but they died. There's a whirlpool in the middle where about two people die every year". A bleak image, then, but it provided the necessary fuel to drive the band.
Inspired by the passion of The Clash, and moved by Thatcher's suppression of the miners, the band's lyrics exploded with politicised anger. Their first single, the self-financed Suicide Alley, didn't make great waves, and the band moved to London. There, they found a sympathetic character in the form of Bob Stanley: later a member of St Etienne, but then a freelancer for the Melody Maker.
Stanley released a collection of their demos as the New Art Riot EP in June 1990. It caught the attention of Philip Hall, who became their publicist and co-manager.
In early 1991 Heavenly released Motown Junk, an inspired three-minute punk blast. Later that year it was followed by You Love Us, a swaggering, arrogant self-regarding slice of brilliance.
The Manics paved the way for a resurgence of guitar bands in Wales. In the press, they were forced to live with punning headlines referring to sheep, boyos and leeks - they got all the clichés out of the way so the bands of the so-called Cool Cymru would be taken more seriously.
Yet their image often overshadowed the music. On 15 May 1991 came a turning point for the Manics. Following a gig at Norwich Arts Centre, Steve Lamacq, then writing for the NME, argued with the band that they were a cartoon band - not real punks. The band refuted this, but still Lamacq persisted. Frustrated, Richey Edwards took a razor and calmly carved the words 4 REAL into his forearm. Lamacq was horrified; Richey needed 17 stitches. Six days later the Manics signed to Sony. Richey had suffered from depression for many years, and self-mutilation had become increasingly common for him. But the Norwich incident was the first time the guitarist had aired his emotional problems in public.
In February 1992 the debut album Generation Terrorists was released. Heavily influenced by Appetite For Destruction, Richey said of it, "We wanted to sign to the biggest record label in the world, put out a debut album that would sell 20 million, and then break up. Get massive and then just throw it all away". The album sold 250,000 copies worldwide. Predictably they didn't split up, but the album polarised opinion between those that saw them as the new saviours of rock and roll, and detractors who considered them contrived and insincere. Not that the Manics cared: they were off on their first American tour, shortly after the LA riots, and singles such as Slash 'N' Burn and Motorcycle Emptiness were climbing up the charts.
The second Manics album was released in June 1993. Gold Against The Soul was overproduced and less passionate, but did contain the classic songs La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) and From Despair To Where. However, they also chose to support Bon Jovi for a string of unwise live dates. The troubles continued with the death on 7 December 1993 of their mentor Philip Hall, who had been battling cancer for two years. Meanwhile, Richey's problems were worsening. Weighing less than six stone and subjecting his body to drinking and cutting binges, he was eventually admitted to the Priory in Roehampton.
Richey's despair was documented in what is now considered the Manics' masterpiece, 1994's 'The Holy Bible'. Unremittingly bleak, the opening song Yes contained the lines "I eat and I dress and I wash and I still can say thank you / Puking, shaking, sinking / Can't shout, can't scream, I hurt myself to get pain out". The song was about prostitution, but every line emanated from Richey's fragile state of mind. He rejoined the band for tours with Therapy? and Suede (and an early incarnation of Vitriol I.D.) in Europe, and a series of frantic shows at the London Astoria in December. The final night saw them destroying 10,000 worth of their equipment. "We'll never be that good again," said Nicky after the event. It was also their last live appearance as a four-piece.
Although they had never found transatlantic success, at the beginning of 1995 they were preparing to give America one last try. However, on 1 February Richey walked out of the Embassy hotel in London and never returned. His passport and money were found in his Cardiff Bay flat, and two weeks later his car was discovered beside the Severn Bridge - a notorious local suicide spot. The file on his disappearance remains open.
"We decided to carry on in April," said Nicky Wire in The Guardian, "after two months of waiting by the phone and feeling ill and exhausted. We thought we'd been so close, and in the end we couldn't do anything for him." September saw the band record a cover of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head for the War Child "Help" album, and by January 1996 the Manics were recording their comeback album 'Everything Must Go'. It was released on 20 May to critical acclaim, went double platinum and yielded four top ten singles: 'A Design For Life', the title track, 'Kevin Carter' and 'Australia'. The sound represents a cross between the heavy rock of 'Gold Against The Soul' and a new, less agressive, almost Britpop like sound.
Two Brit Awards later, they released the LP This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours which gave the band their first number one single in If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, perhaps the only song that references the Spanish Civil War to ever appear on Top of the Pops.
On December 31st 1999 the band said goodbye to the 20th Century with a gig at Cardiff Millennium Stadium, attended by upwards of 50,000 people. This was followed by their second number one single, The Masses Against The Classes, which hit the top spot despite not having a video or marketing support from their record company.
Shortly afterwards, Nicky stated that "the fourth era of the Manics is beginning".
The fourth era, so far, has involved an audience with Fidel Castro in Cuba, the 2001 album Know Your Enemy, and continuing success. Their long awaited greatest hits collection, Forever Delayed, appeared in October 2002, followed in 2003 by Lipstick Traces, a two-disc collection of covers, B-sides, and outtakes including the last song recorded with Richey, 'Judge Yr'self'.
The Manics returned in November 2004 with the more reflective Lifeblood, which featured the singles The Love Of Richard Nixon and Empty Souls, both of which went straight in at number two in the charts.
Not to rest on their laurels, the band released a 10th anniversary edition of The Holy Bible in December 2004 which included a digitally remastered version of the original album, a never before heard U.S mix and a DVD of live performances and extras.
In April 2005 the Manics released a limited 3 track E.P. titled God Save The Manics as a free download but with hard copies distributed also without cost at the final date of their small, intimate 'Past Present and Future' tour at Hammersmith Apollo, London - their last show before a two year hiatus.
Later that year the band contributed the new track Leviathan to September's War Child charity album Help: A Day in the Life, becoming one of the few bands to contribute tracks to both albums.
2006 saw both James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire releasing solo albums, The Great Western and I Killed the Zeitgeist respectively. But both insisted that this in no way meant an end to the Manics and in December the band headlined XFM's Winter Wonderland gig in Manchester.
2007 sees the band enter yet another era with their 8th studio album, Send Away The Tigers, which was released on May 7th.
The album Journal For Plague Lovers was released in May 2009 and features lyrics left to the band by Richey before he disappeared. They released several different versions of the album, including a special edition, which has a book featuring copies of the original typed lyrics and pictures that went with them, and a bonus disc with all the original demos, recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, which they say is one of their favourite studios.
Their 10th studio album, Postcards from a Young Man, was released in September 2010. The album features several guest artists: Duff McKagan on A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun, John Cale on Auto-Intoxication and Ian McCulloch on Some Kind of Nothingness. A deluxe edition was also released containing a bonus disc with the original demos on it.
In 2011 the band released their second compilation National Treasures- The Complete Singles Collection, a release preceded by new single This Is The Day a cover of a ´¨The The song. The collection featured every single released since and including Motown Junk.
http://www.manicstreetpreachers.com
No Surface All
Manic Street Preachers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just take a look at the whites of my eyes
See me now and I will apologise
For me for you we knew they were lies
It makes me angry ashamed but really alive
It may have worked but at what price
What's the point in always looking back
It was no surface but all feeling
Maybe at the time it felt like dreaming
Maybe richer maybe wiser
Seems so easy to not go too far
Beg me to stop hate my face I know
Tell me forever just to go
Just one thing before I get to sleep
Nothing here but the stains on my teeth
No not blood just liquid from you
I only wish it was the truth
Feel the guilt of a sinner feel the cold of a winter
It was no surface but all feeling
Maybe at the time it felt like dreaming
The lyrics of "No Surface All Feeling" by Manic Street Preachers delve into the emotions of shame and regret. The opening lines "Embarrassed, possessed and so uncivilised, just take a look at the whites of my eyes" suggest that the singer is overwhelmed by their own misdeeds, to the point of being possessed by them. They acknowledge their shortcomings, then apologize for themselves and their audience for having believed their lies.
The second verse continues with feelings of anger and being alive, a feeling strong enough that they can overlook any possible success of their prior acts. The singer also reflects on how easy it is to fall into the trap of lies and deceit, hinting at a greater societal issue. They conclude that what they had was not shallow, but with pronounced feeling; it may have been dreamlike, but it was not merely surface significance.
In the final stanza, there is a sense of regret as the singer feels the guilt of their actions, the coldness of winter. They observe that "It was no surface but all feeling, maybe at the time, it felt like dreaming." Unsuccessful in behaving righteously, the singer is left only with the evidence of their misdeeds, a tangible stain to illustrate their wrongdoing. They sign off, wishing it had been different, that the stain was blood, an indication of the truth, and they were not the sinner they feel they are.
Line by Line Meaning
Embarrassed, possessed and so uncivilised
I'm embarrassed and feel like I'm losing myself. I'm not acting as I normally would.
Just take a look at the whites of my eyes
You can see in my eyes that something is wrong with me. They reflect my feelings of anxiety and uncertainty.
See me now and I will apologise
I know I'm not acting in the right way, and I'm sorry for that.
For me for you we knew they were lies
Both of us knew that the things I was saying were not true, but I kept up the lie anyways.
It makes me angry ashamed but really alive
My behavior makes me feel both angry and ashamed, but it also makes me feel really alive in a way I don't normally get to experience.
It may have worked but at what price
I may have achieved some level of success by acting this way, but it's come at a significant cost to myself.
What's the point in always looking back
I don't see the point in dwelling on the past and what I could have done differently.
When all you see is more and more junk
When I look back at my past, all I see is meaningless clutter that doesn't matter to me anymore.
It was no surface but all feeling
The things I was saying and doing may have seemed superficial, but they were coming from a place of genuine emotion for me.
Maybe at the time it felt like dreaming
When I look back at what I was doing, it almost feels like it was all a dream I had.
Maybe richer maybe wiser
While I may have gained wealth or knowledge from my experiences, it's come at a significant cost to my well-being.
Seems so easy to not go too far
It seems like it would be easy to avoid pushing myself over the edge if I could just recognize the signs earlier.
Beg me to stop, hate my face I know
People may have begged me to stop acting the way I was acting, and I know that the way I was behaving was causing them to feel anger and resentment towards me.
Tell me forever just to go
People may have asked me to leave them alone forever because they were tired of my behavior.
Just one thing before I get to sleep
There's just one thing I can't get out of my head before I go to sleep.
Nothing here but the stains on my teeth
When I look around, all I see are the remnants of my past actions that I can't wash away.
No not blood just liquid from you
The stains on my teeth aren't from blood, but from something you gave me that I can't let go of.
I only wish it was the truth
I wish that the thing staining my teeth was actually something real and not just a remnant of my past behavior.
Feel the guilt of a sinner feel the cold of a winter
I feel guilty for the things I've done and the person I've become, and it seems like winter is a fitting metaphor for my current state.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES BRADFIELD, NICHOLAS JONES, SEAN MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-ip9yu7lp1q
No Surface, All Feeling
Embarrassed possessed and so uncivilised
부끄러웠고 분별력없었고 정말 무례했었지
Just take a look at the whites of my eyes
내 눈을 그렇게 똑바로 쳐다보려 하지마
See me now and I will apologise
이제 나를 보아줘 내가 사과할께
For me for you we knew they were lies
너에게나 나에게나 그들이 거짓이었다는 걸 다 알고 있었잖아
It makes me angry ashamed but really alive
날 화나고 부끄럽게 만들 었던 그것 덕분에 살아있는게 생생하구나
It may have worked but at what price
그덕분에 잘된건지 모르지만 그때문에 치뤘던 대가가 무엇이었지?
What's the point in always looking back
지나간 것을 항상 돌아보는게 무슨 소용일까?
When all you see is more and more junk
눈에 보이는 것들이 갈수록 쓰레기들 뿐이라면?
It was no surface but all feeling
그건 실체는 없지만 분명히 느껴져
Maybe at the time it felt like dreaming
그때는 꿈을 꾸는 느낌과도 같았어
Maybe richer maybe wiser
더 부자가 되고 더 현명해질 수도 있겠지
Seems so easy to not go too far
적당히 현실에 맞추는 게 쉬운 길이겠지
Beg me to stop hate my face I know
내가 나의 얼굴을 혐오하는 것을 멈추게 애원해줘
tell me forever just to go
나에게 영원히 나아가라고 말해줘
Just one thing before I get to sleep
잠들기 전에 한 가지만 더
Nothing here but the stains on my teeth
난 내 이빨의 얼룩 외에는 어디에도 부끄러운 부분이 없어
No not blood just liquid from you
피를 보느니 차라리 눈물을 쏟아
I only wish it was the truth
나는 그저 그것이 진실이었기를 바랄 뿐이야
Feel the guilt of a sinner
죄인의 죄책감을 느낀다
Feel the cold of a winter
겨울의 추위를 느낀다
@beehivecluster7496
I think this is one of the best songs ever. Grows with every listen. That guitar riff is absolute killer. The lyrics, the outro. The whole feel of the song.
@dwb1919
Pure Class. I've loved these blokes from their very beginning and always will.
They are a brilliant gift from the musical gods and will always remain so.
@LuSanification
One of the most heart warming songs ever, hidden in the dephs of the world only to be found by the beautifull ones to be enjoyed for those who know how to look for the righ place.
@kongobongo4562
What a bloody brilliant album.
@mizofan
Manics' 3rd best, i.m,o (after Journal for Plague Lovers and Hoy Bible)
@mikeykany1973
One of the greatest
@echo-tear
@Michael Kane Yes indeed
@leonardotube
@mizofan 1) The Holy Bible 2) Everything Must Go 3) Generation Terrorists 4) I dunno, Futurology or Journal for Plague Lovers maybe 5) Everything else they made
@quadropheniapaf1690
Every track a killer Everything Must Go is a Class LP 🔥
@WaterWonk
I've identified with this song for decades. Now I'm studying in Wales and I just learned they're Welsh! (I'm American). It makes my relationship to this song more personal. The threads of synchronicity that weave through our lives...