It’s now more than twenty years since the Manic Street Preachers appeared. In early 1991, they were completely out of step with the times, and revelling in it. In an indie world which had yet to completely get to grips with grunge, and was more involved with the post-Madchester fallout that was baggy and the far more interesting shoegazing scene, the Manics were articulate, intelligent and more than a little bit confrontational.

I was fourteen when they appeared, and even before I’d heard a note of their music (remember: no internet QED no spotify, iTunes or file-sharing then) I was mesmerised. It would be many years before I saw them live (alas, not until 1998 – but several times subsequently), and the band continued to grow.

Ironically, for a band who promised to release a double album and then split up (I had that on in the van at work today, Generation Terrorists has dated very well), they are shortly to release their twelfth LP Rewind The Film.

The first single to be taken from it is ‘Show Me The Wonder.’ The band have had a huge number of chart singles, and I don’t see why this shouldn’t follow. It’s gorgeous and summery, and manages to do what 2001’s ‘So Why So Sad’ didn’t quite pull off…

This, meanwhile, is the title track, featuring vocals from Richard Hawley.

On Saturday night, the Manic Street Preachers played what is apparently their last British gig for two years. I wasn’t there in London – but having seen them several times over the years, it is good to see that they are still going. Sure , some albums have been better than others, but anyone who thinks they have just been repeating themselves for twenty years clearly hasn’t been paying attention. They’ve been a more than regular soundtrack in my life over the past twenty years -and I think there’s nop doubt many others who feel the same, too.

This was a free track three years ago:

Manic Street Preachers -‘Christmas Ghost.’ mp3

There have been no shortage of excellent Manic Street Preachers songs over the years – off the top of my head I have heard them tackle songs as di’Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,’ ‘Velocity Girl’ ‘Umbrella’ ‘Take The Skinheads Bowling’ ‘Bright Eyes’…this is why some of us still love the idea of the single as a package, not just as a single download, for these wee gems that might appear.

This is a cover of THAT Christmas song (yes, that one!)

Manic Street Preachers-‘Last Christmas.’ mp3

…and seeing as it’s Christmas:

Manic Street Preachers -‘Umbrella.’ mp3

Manic Street Preachers -‘National Treasures-The Complete Singles’ (Columbia/Sony)

It’s now twenty years since the Manic Street Preachers first appeared. Over the course of their first decade they went from being seen as four angry young men in Mascara (this really was as far away from the norm as possible in 1991) to being able to sell out the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on December 31 1999. The next decade saw their profile remain fairly if not quite as high, an ongoing addition to their legacy, so that being labelled national treasures isn’t too far from the truth. National being the UK as a whole (though they’ve always worn their Welsh heritage proudly) in the sense that they never majorly cracked other markets further afield.

It’s not the first Manics compilation either – nine years ago they issued Forever Delayed, which was much more focused on the big hits of their career -and indeed there have been many; over thirty of these tracks here were top forty hits. This compilation takes a different approach, running from their first single proper ‘Motown Junk’ to their latest, a cover of The The’s ‘This Is The Day.’ And sure, you’ve probably heard (and indeed, even own) many of these tracks. But unlike Forever Delayed, as well as the big hits – including two number one singles – there’s many that never had as high a profile, but were examples of why they had such a devoted fanbase. Perhaps the person in the UK high street wasn’t really aware of tracks like ‘She Is Suffering’ ‘Life Becoming A Landslide’ ‘Let Robeson Sing’ ‘The Love of Richard Nixon’ to pick just four, lesser known tracks here.

Bono has been questioning on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of Achtung Baby whether U2 still have any relevance (to which you get the feeling three middle-aged Irishmen are first in line to say that they probably would do if he could just put aside his Messianic complex and get on with what he did in the first place). There’s no question that two decades into their career, the Manics have certainly reached a number of high points, and they clearly still feel the urge to reinvent themselves, rather than quietly become a heritage act. But for a band who famously claimed that they were going to release one double album and then split up, they have done remarkably well. Sure, they are no longer so manic, and were never particularly street. But they preach from the heart, like those Preachers from the Valleys they hailed from, and for many of us, they’ve soundtracked the last twenty years to some degree or other. I’m sure I’m not the only one hoping that we haven’t heard the last of the Manic Street Preachers just yet.

****1/2

National Treasures-The Complete Singles is released on Columbia/Sony on October 31.

Get a free download of ‘Love’s Sweet Exile’ here