And this week, the three Welshman assemble for a career-spanning Christmas gig.
The show will see them play the recently released National Treasures singles compilation in its entirety, with the band promising an evening of “glitter, glamour and special guests”. Who the latter will be is a mystery kept firmly under wraps, but when they’ve got 38 singles to tear through – ranging from early-era glam-punk outings such as Motown Junk (complete with John Lennon-baiting refrain) and You Love Us, to Nineties classics A Design For Life and The Masses Against The Classes, as well as recent single This Is The Day, a cover of the The The track specially recorded for the release – it matters not.
The Manics’ career has been packed with incident, the band earning an early reputation for provocative gigs, not least through the loud-mouthed, Daily Mail reader-taunting jibes of bassist Nickey Wire, whose rants were always entertaining, even if his targets were not always justified. Reinventing themselves after rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards went missing in 1995, the band proclaimed that ‘everything must go’ – their past, their baggage, their fans expectations. This show will see them embrace their past, present and – split rumours notwithstanding – their future too.
The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX
Sat, Dec 17 | Doors at 7.30pm | £32.50
ticketmaster.co.uk
Tube: North Greenwich