‘Everything Must Go’ at 30: How Manic Street Preachers Faced Loss and Made a Classic Album

The Britpop movement in U.K. music had far-reaching effects on the industry and on pop culture in general across the pond. While much of the genre’s impact did not translate to success in the U.S., that was just fine with Manic Street Preachers, a Welsh group that both predated and outlived the ill-formed genre.

The Manics have never overreached for fame, as they have been happy spinning their socialist yarns for over 40 years backed by the incredible music primarily written by lead singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield and the tremendous lyrics of bassist Nicky Wire and (rarely) rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards, all glued together by the steady drumming and trumpet forays of drummer Sean Moore.

But what happens when tragedy strikes a band? Do they pack up and call it a day, or soldier on in a different—and entirely unexpected—direction? The Manics opted for the latter in 1996 with Everything Must Go, a tragic, cathartic, and ultimately uplifting masterpiece that sounds just as impressive and unique as it did 30 years ago.

The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever: History of the Manics

The group began as an anti-fascist, nihilistic glam-punk four-piece in the mid-1980s, inspired primarily by The Clash. Then, the group glammed up even further as the 80s turned into the 1990s. That era saw them release their debut album, Generation Terrorists, which was heavily inspired by Guns N’ Roses and backed by a bold claim that they wanted to release one of the best-selling albums ever and then dissolve the group.

That, luckily, did not end up happening. Instead, the group released a not-so-well-received sophomore album, Gold Against the Soul, and then delivered a searing screed of self-loathing, pain, and despair set to some of the most sparse and stunning music the group had ever produced in the form of 1994’s The Holy Bible.

Lyricist Richey Edwards was struggling with his mental health at this point in his life, and the lyrics on The Holy Bible, as they are as disturbing as they are poetically magnetic. After the release of Bible, Edwards disappeared in 1995. While his family and the group held out hope, he was presumed dead in 2008.

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A Design for Life: The Manics Boldly March Forward

With Edwards’ disappearance as the backdrop, the remaining Manics (Bradfield, Wire, and Moore) opted to continue producing music for an upcoming album, employing some of Edwards’ remaining lyrics for their 1996 release, Everything Must Go.

While this album tones back some of the more eviscerating elements of its predecessor and cranks up the anthemic qualities of Bradfield’s music, it remains a Manics album par excellence, but also stands somewhat at odds with the rest of the group’s discography.

Never has the group sounded so full. The production on the album, courtesy of Mike Hedges, leans into the “wall of sound” ideology that buoyed so much of Phil Spector’s work as well as Oasis’ debut album Definitely Maybe. Seeing as the latter was among the most popular albums around upon its release, it makes sense that the group (and producer Hedges) would strike out in this direction, though it does sound somewhat unusual for a Manics album.

It also serves as a bright, shiny, and enveloping counterpoint to the Spartan, often distressing sonic qualities found on Bible—which was certainly part of the reason the group opted to go in this direction.

Lyrically, the album is a powerhouse, as Wire’s lyrics intertwine perfectly with the departed Edwards’ final songs. Overall, the album’s words serve up beautiful, disturbing, and hauntingly introspective imagery in waves – perhaps nowhere more so than on the ghostly “Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky.”

While the lyrics are always meaningful and potent on Manic Street Preachers albums, it is Bradfield who is the clear star, as not only is he a true “guitar hero,” both as a soloist and accompanist, but his ability to write melodies that employ the often tongue-twisting lyrics of Wire and Edwards (especially the latter) is likely a feat that could not be done by anyone but Bradfield. His songwriting on EMG is especially staggering; let’s check out some track highlights from the album.

No Surface, All Feeling: Song Highlights

These songs show how Everything Must Go turns grief, anger, and defiance into some of the biggest and most moving music of the Manics’ career.

“A Design for Life”

The “big single” from the album, this is one of the group’s crowning achievements, and it showcases the group’s working-class origins and support of marginalized groups throughout history. While the “we only want to get drunk” line was meant sardonically, the group was disheartened to see it sung along to unironically, in full throat, by “lad culture” enthusiasts during the heyday of Britpop in the mid-to-late ‘90s. As such, the group purposefully moved away from such anthemic fare on later releases.

Still though, there is almost nothing better than belting this song out in the car, as it makes you truly feel as if you’re a part of something bigger – something that the Manics effortlessly tapped into and channeled into a huge hit (#2 on the UK Singles Chart, one of their biggest ever).

“Kevin Carter”

A paean to the late photographer who won a Pulitzer Prize for his famed photo The Vulture and the Little Girl, which depicted a starving girl during the 1993 Sudanese famine being watched by a vulture a few yards away. Carter committed suicide four months after winning the Pulitzer, and the Manics deliver a touching tribute for an utterly tragic tale.

“Australia”

On “Australia,” Manic Street Preachers turn geography into emotional symbolism. Australia is not just a destination here. It is the imagined edge of the world, the farthest possible remove from Wales, memory, and pain. The song channels the emotional wreckage surrounding Richey Edwards’ disappearance into something strangely uplifting, where grief, confusion, and restlessness get pushed through a wall of guitars and a huge, charging rhythm section.

“Enola / Alone”

The chunkiest guitar riff on the album is found on this engaging work that, once again, deals with the crushing loss of the band’s emotional leader, Edwards. Somehow, the group was able to rally and deliver one of the most up-tempo and catchiest songs across the entire album. Bradfield’s playful cry of “Please!” before the final chorus is noteworthy. Choice lyric: “All I want to do is live, no matter how miserable it is.’ I think we’ve all felt that way at one time or another.

“Further Away” & “No Surface All Feeling”

These two tracks close out the album flawlessly. The former is among the poppiest numbers on the album and is a favorite album “deep cut” of mine from the group. The latter is an incredibly fitting way to end the album, as it serves as a summation of the band’s entire ethos from the start: they care not what critics, other bands, or the masses think of them – they know who they are, and that’s what matters. It’s something we can all cling to when times get tough.

Removables: The Final Word on Everything Must Go

While Oasis and Blur duked it out in the “Battle of Britpop,” the Manics were dealing with the profound loss of their artistic center, and, in the process, writing the material that would make up one of their finest achievements.

The Holy Bible might often be claimed as their finest hour, but EMG is right there, even if it leaves a more polished, “big sound” impression than the sharp, jagged edges of its predecessor. Ultimately, they are both incredible, and when looked at together they represent one of the best two-album runs in music history.

Manic Street Preachers continue to make music well into their fourth decade, but EMG will always mean a great deal to fans of the band—and to the band members themselves.

^{Header Photo Courtesy Markus Unger/Wikimedia Commons}