Richard James Edwards (born 22 December 1967, presumed deceased on or after 1 February 1995
Everything Must Go is the fourth album by Manic Street Preachers, released in 1996. It contains five songs with lyrics by Richey James Edwards, who disappeared and presumed to have died circa 1 February 1995 and was the last album to feature his contributions until Journal for Plague Lovers.
On Febuary 01st 2010 it will have been 15 years since he went missing, this is my own personal tribute to a remarkable indivudual with a unique talent for writing lyrics,thoughts and sometimes bizzare views on his own life and the world. A welshman myself and a huge Manics fan i have taken great time in reading,watching and listening to the band and more so Richey himself in order to understand what he was all about and how he was instrumental in the bands development, something all genuine Manics fans have done and this is why he will always be rememberd as the lad who wrote the songs and made the headlines. His dissapearence has only added to that and together with the Manic Street Preachers will go down in cult music history.
Richey Edwards (often referred to during his years with the Manics as Richey James) grew up in Blackwood, where he attended Oakdale Comprehensive. Between 1986-1989 he attended University of Wales, Swansea and graduated with a 2:1 degree in political history. He has one sister named Rachel (born 1969 in Pontypool).
Edwards got three As at A level, and in 1986 began a history degree at Swansea University. It has been said there was a darker side to Edwards’ thirst for knowledge of history and politics. He was fascinated by the hunger-strikers in Northern Ireland’s Maze prison, for example, and once spoke of his admiration for Bobby Sands, whose death by self-starvation was announced in May 1981. “He made a better statement than anything else that was going on at that time, because it was against himself.”
On May 15, 1991, he gained notoriety following an argument with NME journalist Steve Lamacq, who questioned the band’s authenticity and values, keen to ensure the punk ethic was not abused, after a gig at the Norwich Arts Centre. Lamacq asked of Edwards’ seriousness towards his art, and Edwards responded by carving the words “4 Real” into his forearm with a razor blade he was carrying. The injury required hospitalisation and seventeen stitches.
Richey and Nicky interview with Richey looking well and happy to chat !
Edwards suffered severe bouts of depression in his adult life, and was open about it in interviews: “If you’re hopelessly depressed like I was, then dressing up is just the ultimate escape. When I was young I just wanted to be noticed. Nothing could excite me except attention so I’d dress up as much as I could. Outrage and boredom just go hand in hand.”
He also self-harmed, mainly through stubbing cigarettes on his body, and cutting himself (“When I cut myself I feel so much better. All the little things that might have been annoying me suddenly seem so trivial because I’m concentrating on the pain. I’m not a person who can scream and shout so this is my only outlet. It’s all done very logically.”. His problems with drugs and alcohol were well documented. After the release of the band’s third album The Holy Bible, he checked into The Priory psychiatric hospital.
Following release from the Priory, the Manic Street Preachers as a four-piece band toured Europe with Suede and Therapy? for what was to be the last time. Edwards’ final live appearance with the band was at the London Astoria, on the 21 December 1994. The concert ended with the band infamously smashing their equipment and damaging the lighting system, prompted by Edwards’ violent destruction of his guitar towards the end of set-closer “You Love Us.”
Here is the interview from the reading festival where Nicky explains about Richey..
Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995, on the day that he and James Dean Bradfield were due to fly to the U.S. on a promotional tour. In the two weeks before his disappearance, Edwards withdrew £200 a day from his bank account, which totalled £2800 by February 1. He checked out of the Embassy Hotel in Bayswater Road, London at seven in the morning, and then drove to his apartment in Cardiff, Wales. In the two weeks that followed he was apparently spotted in the Newport passport office, and the Newport bus station.[ On 7 February, Anthony Hatherhall, a taxi driver from Newport, supposedly picked up Edwards from the King's Hotel in Newport, and drove him around the valleys, including Blackwood (Edwards’ home as a child). The passenger got off at the Severn View service station and paid the £68 fare in cash.
On 14 February, Edwards' Vauxhall Cavalier received a parking ticket at the Severn View service station and on 17 February, the vehicle was reported as abandoned. Police discovered the battery to be flat, with evidence that the car had been lived in. Due to the service station's proximity to the Severn Bridge (which has been a renowned suicide location in the past) and Edwards' depressed state at the time, it was widely believed that he took his own life by jumping from the bridge. Many people who knew him, however, have said that he was never the type to contemplate suicide and he himself was quoted in 1994 as saying "In terms of the 'S' word, that does not enter my mind. And it never has done, in terms of an attempt. Because I am stronger than that. I might be a weak person, but I can take pain."
The BBC reports that " Richey Edwards is Missing "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7745902.stm
Richey Missing at Christmas video
13 years later it was reported By (NME)
The parents of missing Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards have said they will never allow their son to be declared dead.
As reported yesterday on NME.COM (January 22), speculation has been growing that the case on Richey would finally be closed on the seventh anniversary of his death, when it only then becomes legally possible. Missing persons can officially declared dead after seven years if no body has been found and there have been no confirmed sightings of them.
However, Graham and Sherry Edwards confirmed last night that they would not be taking up the option to put their son to rest on February 1.
Since Richey vanished in 1995, the Manics have been putting a quarter of their royalties into a trust fund. A death certificate would allow his Blackwood parents, as next of kin, to open the account.
But Graham Edwards told today’s Welsh Mirror: “We want our son back, not the money. We will never declare him dead. As far as we are concerned he is still alive and we have always felt the same.
“We’re not going to get a death certificate – not now and not in the future. The Trust Fund will be staying exactly as it is.
“Because this is the seventh anniversary of Richey’s disappearance we’re aware some sections of the press are speculating about his affairs.
“But as far as we are concerned he remains a missing person and we are still hoping and praying that some day he will return to his family and friends.”
The couple, and Richey’s sister Rachel, are to issue a new appeal for information in a forthcoming issue of homeless magazine The Big Issue.
A spokeswoman for the National Missing Persons Helpline said: “After seven years it becomes possible to register a missing person as dead. But Richey’s family are not going to do that now or even in future years.”
18th may 2009
The ninth Manics album, Journal for Plague Lovers, was released on 18 May 2009 and features lyrics left behind by Edwards. Wire commented in interview that “there was a sense of responsibility to do his words justice.” It was recorded live to analogue tape, October 2008 to February 2009 at Rockfield Studios, and produced by Steve Albini. Critics consider this album to be the band’s best work since 1994′s The Holy Bible. The album scored an 85 on Metacritic, indicating “universal accalim” and ranking it one of the highest-rated albums on the website.
A mention to the great Steve Albini for his work on the Album..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Albini#Recording_work
James and Nicky talk about Richey in an interview with the NME …….at times you can still see how difficult it is especially for Nicky to come to terms with Richey and his dissapearance.
My final thoughts, Richey like many suffered from depression and i dont believe for one moment that he jumped of the severn bridge. One day he may return but that will depend on how he dealt with the demons that he had. If he got help then he may still be alive today but my own feelings are it may have all eneded in a very sad way. I hope for all fans that this is not the case and as with most things in life you just never know. One thing is for sure the manics will ensure his talent will go down in history.
As in the lyrics from the album ” Everything Must Go ” (1996) And I just hope that you can forgive us But everything must go………My own personal favoriote song.
This was the Manics way of telling Richey they had to move on especially after the holy bible in which Richey wrote some deep dark lyrics probally about his own personal demons.
” I knew that someday I was gonna die
And I knew before I died
Two things would happen to me
That number one: I would regret my entire life
And number two: I would want to live my life over again”
“Of Walking Abortion” The Holy Bible.
Richey was again rememberd by the band in its 2007 release of Send away the tigers album………..
Send Away the Tigers is the eighth studio album from the Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It was released on May 7, 2007 and made it to #2 on the UK album charts, missing the top spot by just 690 copies. The album is named after a phrase the English comedian Tony Hancock used to refer to “battling one’s inner demons by getting drunk”]. The album is widely seen as a return to the more harder-edged sound of their earlier releases: the band itself has described it as a mixture of Generation Terrorists and Everything Must Go. The album was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, whose brother Tom provided the US mix of The Holy Bible.
The severn bridge in the background " a Richey James tribute "
The photographs used as the album artwork are taken from the book Monika Monster Future First Woman On Mars by Valerie Phillips and is a tribute to Richey James Edwards who’s car was found near the Severn Bridge.
I leave you with Richey James Edwards in pictures…
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- The severn bridge in the background ” a Richey James tribute “
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- Richard James Edwards (born 22 December 1967, presumed deceased on or after 1 February 1995
references; http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/albumreviews/a46447/manic-street-preachers-send-away-the-tigers.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_Away_the_Tigers
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:apfpxzu5ldae
http://www.nme.com/reviews/manic-street-preachers/8498
all accessed on 29th december 2009.
Further reading;
Check out this fantastic site dedicated to the Richey a fantastic site which must have taken hours of work and more than worth a look. Enjoy!
THE LAST OF RICHEY EDWARDS?
“Doubts are crueler than the worst of truths” – Anonymous
