The Manic Street Preachers have announced that they will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1994 album ‘The Holy Bible’ with a one-off screening of their concert film BePure-BeVigilant-Behave. The album was written during a difficult period for the band’s guitarist and lyricist, Richey Edwards, who was struggling with addiction, depression, and anorexia nervosa. For the album’s 20th anniversary in 2014, the band played it in full on a ten-date tour, with these concerts being filmed by BAFTA-winning director Kieron Evans.
On the exact anniversary of the album’s original release, August 30, the film will be screened at London’s Picturehouse Central cinema, followed by a Q&A with bassist Nicky Wire and Evans. Wire commented on the film, saying: “We wanted to transfer the intense claustrophobia of the record onto film to reflect the sheer emotional intensity and physical demands of playing those songs. Armed with just one camera, dug in on stage, we knew Kieran could capture that energy.”
Speaking to NME, Evans explained that the entire concert film was shot with a low-end, lo-fi camera, with one member of the band being recorded each gig from a different angle while the audience was also captured. He noted that it was more of a document of the tour rather than a deliberate attempt to release anything, but the footage was eventually edited into a concert film. The Manic Street Preachers re-issued their album ‘Lifeblood’ earlier this year to mark 20 years since its original release.
Fans can watch a trailer for the BePure-BeVigilant-Behave concert film via YouTube, and tickets for the London screening are already available online. The band has been celebrated for their contributions to music in recent years, having been awarded the Inspiration Award for songwriting and composition at the Ivor Novello Awards
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