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
Rewind the Film
Manic Street Preachers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd love to see my joy, my friends
Rewind the film again
So I can fall asleep content
Rewind the film once more
Turn back the pages of my post
Rewind the film once more
I want to feel small
Lying in my mother's arms
Playing my old records
Hoping that they never stop
There's too much heartbreak
In the nothing of the now
I want to see it all
Never want to let it go
Rewind the film once more
Turn back the pages of my post
Rewind the film once more
I want the world to see it all
Let me hide under the sheets
And celebrate the boredom
Let me hide under the sheets
With my brave old one
Rewind the film again
I'd love to see my joy, my friends
Rewind the film again
So I can fall asleep content
Rewind the film once more
Turn back the pages of my post
Rewind the film once more
I want the world to see it all
I want to feel small
Holding on my father's hands
Playing all the records
Praying that they'll never stop
There is too much heartbreak
In the nothing of the now
I want to see it all
Never going to let you down
Rewind the film once more
Turn back the pages of my post
Rewind the film once more
I want the world to see it all
I want the world to see all the love
And security, my childhood dreams
But now I am a busted flush
And I am waiting for the night to come
So rewind the film again
I'd love to see my joy, my friends
Yes, rewind the film again
So I can fall asleep content
The song "Rewind the Film" by Manic Street Preachers is full of nostalgia and longing for times gone by. The lyrics paint a picture of someone who is looking back on their life and wishing they could relive certain moments. The repeated phrase "Rewind the film once more" emphasizes the desire to go back and experience things again.
The song opens with the line "Rewind the film again, I'd love to see my Joy, my friends." Here, "Joy" is likely a reference to a person or a specific period of happiness in the singer's life. The desire to see it again suggests a deep longing for a time when things were simpler and more joyful. Later in the song, the singer wants to "see all the love and security" of their childhood dreams, further emphasizing a desire for safety and comfort.
The line "There's too much heartbreak in the nothing of the now" suggests that the present moment is overwhelming or unfulfilling in some way. The longing for the past is contrasted with a sense of disappointment about the present. The hope is that by reliving these moments through memory, the singer can find a way to be content and fall asleep peacefully.
Overall, "Rewind the Film" is a wistful and poignant song about the desire to relive happy moments from the past in order to find comfort in the present.
Line by Line Meaning
Rewind the film again
I wish I could go back in time and experience the happiness and companionship I once had
I'd love to see my joy, my friends
I miss the happiness and loved ones in my past and want to relive those memories
So I can fall asleep content
I want to feel satisfied and peaceful as I fall asleep by reliving fond memories
Rewind the film once more
I want to keep reliving the past because it brings me comfort and joy
Turn back the pages of my post
I want to revisit my past and look at my old writings to remember who I used to be
I want the world to see it all
I wish I could share my past experiences and memories with others so they can appreciate them too
I want to feel small
I want to experience the comfort of childhood and feel protected under the care of my parents
Lying in my mother's arms
I wish I could be held by my mother again, as I did when I was a child
Playing my old records
I want to listen to the songs of my youth to relive the memories associated with them
Hoping that they never stop
I don't want these happy memories to fade away, and wish they could last forever
There's too much heartbreak
I'm overwhelmed by the sadness and emptiness I feel in the present moment
In the nothing of the now
The present feels meaningless and empty without the happiness and loved ones from my past
Let me hide under the sheets
I want to revert back to my childhood and hide from the world under the covers
And celebrate the boredom
I want to find joy in the simplicity of life and appreciate the mundane and ordinary moments
With my brave old one
I want to be with my loved ones, who I can always count on
Holding on my father's hands
I wish I could be held by my father again and feel protected and safe
Praying that they'll never stop
I'm afraid of losing the happiness and loved ones from my past and don't want them to disappear
I want the world to see all the love
I want others to see the love and positive experiences from my past, so they can appreciate the good in life
And security, my childhood dreams
I long for the safety and security I felt as a child
But now I am a busted flush
Now, my life feels empty and meaningless compared to my past
And I am waiting for the night to come
I'm in a dark place right now and I'm waiting for things to get better
I want to see it all
I want to relive every memory from my past, even the painful ones because they are a part of who I am
Never going to let you down
I won't let my present circumstances or sadness bring me down permanently
I want the world to see it all
I want others to see both the good and bad parts of my past, so they can understand me and appreciate life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID AXLEROD, JAMES BRADFIELD, NICHOLAS JONES, SEAN MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@whitters1980
One day the whole world will wake up and see how special this band truly are. No other British band in the past 20 years has come close. They are our national treasures.
@bethansheldon2323
Respectfully, they're Welsh.
@whitters1980
@@bethansheldon2323 I know haha I’m from The next town over…. But being Welsh doesn’t negate the fact that we are all British no matter how much spin we’d like to try 😂 and believe me I’ve tried
@mihaelanegritu1709
@@whitters1980 Well,then,my British fav band ,for about 30 years ,is MUSE.Still,i love MSP.
@MilanRob
Once a Manic, a manic forever 🌺
@andrewroberts9802
My stepmother is in this video at 5-21 and 5-55 and my dad was chairman of this club for years ....he passed on st David's day this year,rest in piece Tommy
@jamespearce40
The man in this video is my father in law. He loved doing this .
@Emeraldman
A song that looks back at innocence, community, respect, values and more importantly love. These are things that are vanishing away like a shadow in the sunlight these days.
@hariskita9528
Tears stream. I missed my childhood. I miss my parents when their both young and im just a kid.
Please rewind the film
@iainrobb2076
That mandolin like guitar part James brings in just before he starts singing is absolutely stunning.