The 6 Music Festival in Cardiff cranked up into legendary gear at Clwb Ifor Bach as the Manic Street Preachers finally made their date with the iconic Womanby Street club - 32 years after they were booked to play but cancelled after they were called to sign a record deal.
The Blackwood boys brought the same passion, performance and volume to the venue, which is a fraction of the size they are used to playing in, and their music was played with crystal clear clarity. James Dean Bradfield's shredding guitar was more than amplified on the top floor of Clwb, Sean Moore's drums - more visible than normal - seemed to pound more and Nicky Wire's bass kept them all in check.
Read more : All the big gigs happening in Wales in 2022
For the just-over-an-hour set, broadcast live on 6 Music on Thursday, March 31, the opener was Motorcycle Emptiness, and that was followed by a mix of old and new including From Despair to Where, Your Love Alone, Everything Must Go mixed in with new tracks from latest album, The Ultra Vivid Lament, Still Snowing in Sapporo and The Secret He Had Missed. The time swept by in a haze of pogoing, mass sing-alongs and even a stupendous cover of one of the band's favourite '80s songs, Borderline by Madonna from the pop star's debut album in 1983.
They were also joined on stage by Gwenno – whose mural is on the side of the Clwb Ifor Bach building – for a special performance of their song Spectators of Suicide, from the band’s 1992 album Generation Terrorists. They also paid tribute to the late Screaming Tree singer, Mark Lanegan, with a performance of Blank Diary Entry, also from The UIltra Vivid Lament.
And in typical - but we wouldn't forgive them if they did it any other way - fashion they closed with Design For Life preceded by You Love Us. Two thrilling and exciting tracks which will never be anything else other than epic. Another special gig from the Manic Street Preachers that will ring in my ears for the rest of the week.
Here's the set list for Manic Street Preachers' Clwb Ifor Bach gig
- Motorcycle Emptiness
- From Despair to Where
- His Last Painting – live debut
- You Stole the Sun from My Heart
- Still Snowing in Sapporo
- Year of Purification
- Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
- Everything Must Go
- Blank Diary Entry – live debut, dedicated to Mark Lanegan
- If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
- Methadone Pretty
- The Secret He Had Missed
- Spectators of Suicide – featuring Gwenno
- Borderline – live debut, Madonna cover
- You Love Us
- A Design For Life
Following the Manics kicking things off, the main festival begins on Friday, April 1, through to Sunday, April 3, and features Little Simz, Khruangbin, Father John Misty & members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, IDLES, Bloc Party, Johnny Marr, Pixies. For more on this, click here. For more what's on and music news, sign up to our newsletter here .
