Manic Street Preachers are a
rock band formed in 1986 in
Blackwood,
Wales and consisting of
James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar),
Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and
Sean Moore (drums, percussion). They are often colloquially known as "The Manics." After the release of their first single, "
Suicide Alley",
Richey Edwards joined the band as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band proclaimed their debut album
Generation Terrorists would be the "greatest rock album ever" and hoped to sell sixteen million copies around the world, "from
Bangkok to
Senegal", after which they would split up. Despite the album's failure to meet this level of success, the band carried on with their career.