Good morning,
Welcome to your weekly free edition of The New Cue. Today we have Manic Street Preachers bassist, lyricist and legend Nicky Wire taking on our Life & Times questionnaire. But before me (hello, Niall here) and Nick got to that, we had a nice little chat about supporting Spurs like a couple of totally rational, calm fellas dealing with our team’s unfortunate period of being totally shit just fine.
“I’d sacrifice coming fucking 16th for winning anything,” began Nicky. It was the morning after another defeat, we were letting off some steam. “I think we should rest players for the league and play full teams in the cups.”
Yeah, I agreed. We’ll probably do something mad like win the Europa League and get relegated.
“I wouldn’t give a fuck, fuck it!” he hooted.
“I wouldn’t give a fuck, fuck it!”, by the way, would fit right in on the title track to the Manics’ brilliant new album Critical Thinking, a barbed and brilliant opener that sounds like PiL covering Eye Of The Tiger and sees Wire rail against what he calls the “cliched naivety of ‘Be Kind’ culture + the cults of mindfulness and wellness”. It is very funny and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to drive on any M road again without shouting “smart fucking motorways!”.
“It’s the only time ever that I haven’t had a finished lyric when I’ve done anything,” he explained. “I was trying to, in my own way, free style. I did a lot of takes and then rewrote and, you know, nested the narratives, as they say!”
“I’d just been reading this interview with Ballard when he goes on about how views so quickly become fossilised and the minute you challenge an orthodoxy, you’re just considered mad. We’ve just been sold so much utter fucking dreck by these empty, meaningless phrases.”
The album veers off in different directions after that, taking in some classic big riff, bigger chorus Manics, like this:
Some panoramic rock Manics, like this:
There’s a bit of yearning, autumn-y Manics:
There’s also clifftop anthem Manics, 80s pop Manics and more. Whole lotta Manics, basically. “It’s us having fun in a depressing way,” says Wire. Which is also a good way to describe my interviewing style, so let’s get to it, shall we? And remember, this edition is free but if you want us to keep having fun in a depressing way, then you can become part of the problem by making yourself a paid subscriber below. It costs £5 a month, bloody bargain.
Enjoy the edition,
Ted and Niall
The Life & Times Of… Nicky Wire
What was the first record you loved?
Neon Knights by Black Sabbath, the Ronnie James Dio era of Black Sabbath. I bought it from Martin Luther’s [now-closed record shop in Blackwood, Wales] on seven-inch. It’s a very underrated period, the Ronnie James Dio-era Black Sabbath, and me and my brother used to just scream singing along to it. There’s one line, “bloodied angels” or “flying angels”, which we used to argue about over and over. It was between that and A Farewell To Kings by Rush. But I think Neon Knights probably shades it.
And the last?
One I really deeply loved and played non-stop was Darkness And Cold by Purple Mountains, David Berman’s sort of goodbye to everything. It’s probably four years old now. I’ve liked lots of records since but that’s the one when you get a song that you’ve literally got to play. I even did a cover of it just for myself, because I love it so much. It’s intoxicating in its bleakness, a treaty on despair.
What’s your earliest memory?
There’s obviously little glimpse memories of growing up but I think the first concrete memory is the ‘73 Cup final, the Jimmy Montgomery double save, Bob Stokoe running on the pitch. My dad was a massive fan of Don Revie’s Leeds team. FA Cup Final day was second behind Christmas Day as the greatest day of the year, close the curtains, shandy, peanuts, crisps. It was a truly magical day and I can remember that one. I can remember so much football from that period. I think I can remember the ‘72 final a little bit but I was only three so that’s my biggest clearest memory.
What’s your daily domestic routine?
It’s dominated by cleaning and coffee. There’s a lot of cleaning, there’s a lot of coffee, and I try and make something every day, whether that’s taking a picture, whether it’s trying to write a lyric, whether it’s writing a song or learning some bass, anything. I set my task and it could be utter shit but it is an important part of the day that I try and do one thing, even if it’s just a chorus or a set of lyrics where maybe only one line is good. The rest is constantly listening to a mixture of Radio 4 and TalkSport non-stop, I’ve just got to hear it in my ear every day, switching between the two.
Who or what is the love of you life?
I’d have to say my wife and kids. I have been married 32 years and the kids are getting to an age of growing up and everything but I have to be sentimental.
What’s your worst habit?
I think James would say that whenever I get milk out of a fridge, I constantly leave it out and never put it back in. I now do it on purpose to wind him up in the studio. I literally shout out and say, ‘I’ve left the milk out for you!’.
What’s your pet peeve?
Recycling, people who can’t do recycling properly and don’t pack it down properly and then it fucking spreads everywhere down the street. I’m a huge recycler. There are not that many good things about Newport but it is either first or second in the whole of Britain for recycling.
When were you most creatively satisfied?
I think lyrically, the last two records I’ve been really pleased with, but in terms of an overall aesthetic I’d say The Holy Bible, going on stage the four of us and feeling absolutely unified in our existence, was probably the peak.
What’s your desert island disc?
Probably Ocean Rain, Echo & The Bunnymen. Or Hatful Of Hollow, one or the other.
Has anyone you’ve ever met made you feel starstruck?
There’s only one person. As a rule, I’ve never felt a big thing, but I did meet Anthony Hopkins in a hotel in Cologne. Well, I didn’t actually meet him. We were in a club lounge, and there was a bit of a magic moment looking over to the cathedral - if you’ve ever seen Cologne Cathedral, fucking unbelievable – and we’re sat in a nice hotel and in the club lounge, they were giving out gnocchi, pan-fried and fucking lovely, me and James are there. All of a sudden, Anthony Hopkins wanders in and sits down. We don’t acknowledge each other or anything, he sits down by the window. He stares out the window on his own, has a drink. He was there because he’d composed a classical piece and the orchestra were doing it in Cologne. We were absolutely transfixed. We called Sean up, ‘Anthony Hopkins is here!’, but I was so in awe that I didn’t even go over and say hello. He is the all-time GOAT, he’s the greatest. It was amazing. He was so still and so alone. It was so impressive. He just fucking stared out that window. Beautiful.
Who or what is the greatest influence on your work?
I’d say my parents. At the start, they gave me every opportunity to find myself and growing up was so much fun and just a classic working class upbringing but with a lot of education as well, I wouldn’t have got anywhere without them.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I collect flannels. [at this point, your interviewer said, “Sorry, what?”] I have an obsession with flannels. If you ask the boys, I always have a wet flannel with me. It’s like a crutch that soothes my head and my neck. I’ve always got a damp - sorry, it’s not wet – it’s a damp flannel. They’re good for you. I keep them in those general domestic bags, small and sealed. I wash them and change them. I nick a lot from hotels so I’ve got a ready-made supply.
What are you scared of?
Oh, definitely myself. Nothing scares me more than my own capability or lack of it.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
I think Japan at the end of the 70s into the 80s, when the future arrived and it was in Japan and everything seemed like they had reached somewhere no-one else had got. It still feels like that there.
What do you wish the 18-year-old you knew?
Oh, being a fucking Spurs fan would be a life of total hard work and shit. I got into them when I was probably 10, 11, or because of Glenn Hoddle and that. They were relegated and I think the season they went up I’d watched The Big Match and they clicked. But then we had the Keith Burkinshaw team and I thought it was always going to be like that, we’ll always be winning FA Cups and UEFA Cups and playing good football, and then fucking life happened.
What’s the greatest gig you’ve ever seen?
Sonic Youth at Cardiff University. I’m not a prolific gig goer, I’m a bit of a stay at home kind of guy. But Sonic Youth on the Daydream Nation tour, probably 85-86 or something. First of all, they looked phenomenal on stage. Just everything about the band at that point, ragged, guitars were trashed and thrown and Kim Gordon was one of my favourite bass players. Brilliant.
What’s the greatest gig you’ve ever played?
I think you’d probably go to the early days, something like Aldershot Buzz Club or Reading After Dark, which were just full on and everything was anti. Aldershot was full of squaddies trying to attack us, in a nice way. It was giving each other back but it was a blistering gig. Reading After Dark, a load of football hooligans trying to invade the stage. That’s the early days one. Later, you’d have to say playing the Millennium Stadium. We’ve struggled ever since we done that because it’s only down after you’ve done your national stadium for New Year’s Eve!
What one book would you recommend we read?
Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus.
What was the home you grew up in like?
Perfect. Funny, lots of love, working class, ambitious. Me and my brother and my mum and dad were very self-contained, lots of TV, lots of radio, lots of books.
Do you mind getting older?
Yes, on every level. You think you’d care less, and I haven’t got to that point.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Oh… be pure, be vigilant, behave.
What’s your favourite film and why?
That is an impossible question but I would say in the last three or four years, Tár. It breaks social norms, it’s obsessed with stationery and pencils and sound, dedicated to an impossible outlook. It’s just something that really grabbed me and flips everything you think about films.
What talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to fucking fix a car. Anything practical, that’s what I’d really like. I’d love to be able to do something like that. Well, changing a plug would be a fucking start, let alone fixing a car!
Which living person do you most despise?
Oh, that’s fucking impossible, there’s a long list. All I would say is they’re all fucking men.
When and why did you last cry?
I had a tear in my eye watching the last episode of Wolf Hall, when Thomas Cromwell gets arrested and goes to the gallows. I must admit I did. I loved the whole series when it first came out and yeah, it did bring a little tear to my eye that last one.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Surviving myself!