James Dean Bradfield

Yeah.

And it's a James Dean Bradfield lyric.

It is.

And this is the thing on this album.

And I can hear the emotion in James's voice as well.

So do you know the story of this? No, please tell us.

So James Dean Bradfield has explained that the painting, so it's another song about paintings, by the way, has an extraordinary emotional power over him.

He has a part of his house where he goes to write or read, and the painting is there.

Exactly.

I mean, this is ridiculous that we got not only people that I admire greatly, you know, Ellis James and Steph doing an episode for us, you know, as part of our series, but then, you know, James Dean Bradfield to do the music for it, you know, and they asked...

I just think...

If you told the young lad who was reading Select NME, went to Neverwood and saw Manic Street Preachers support Oasis, they were like, what a strange name.

I was like, "That's just what I was into and what I was all about," and so were the other three at the time.

So to have, you know, James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire and Sean be like, "Yeah, sure, that band can open up for us." And, like, I still remember shaking James' hand.

It was the, it was the most intense, crushing handshake of my...

I, I remember it like it was yesterday.

By the time of his disappearance, he had been hospitalized for depression and was reportedly drinking heavily.

On the morning of February 1, 1995, Edwards and frontman James Dean Bradfield were scheduled to fly to the U.S. for a promotional tour.

They were staying at the Embassy Hotel in London.

At 7 a.m., Edwards checked out of the hotel.

My whole infrastructure came from them, I suppose.

James Dean Bradfield came into Spillers and bought my single from me, not knowing who I was.

That's amazing.

That is so cool.

I just fell in love with that song.

But anyway, so let's start with James Dean Bradfield's voice, which I think is up there with the very best of rock vocalists, not just on record, but in the live area as well.

But Si, this is what you think of this album, obviously, but I just wanted to give you a little bit of context on how I came to it.

And finally, did we see the Mannix in about 2007 at Hexagon? Did I go with you with that? And then we met Ashley and Andy.

I think his voice is, I mean, it's transatlantic, isn't it? It's somewhere across the Atlantic.

Because you can hear the Belfast in it, but he's got an Americanised growl as well.

But I think when he, I mean, you know, And I weep for Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield.

You know, if I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream, they're killing themselves to be able to write that.

And, um, I think that keeps the standard high.

And James Dean Bradfield is on this record.

So what, what does James bring that somebody else might not?

I think every time you, you, you get someone new, you get a different approach.

Right.

And it was like, and it was like, and literally James would have the mic.

I mean, he's got a really loud, powerful voice.

You know, you've got good proximity effect and it's right up on the mic.

So it really, it's not about, it's about the performer and how you capture them.

And that was not my choice.

That was James Bradfield's choice.

He wanted to do the vocals that way.

Do you know Fordy?

James Dean Bradfield.

No.

He f- he supports Forest.

I think it stands up remarkably well after 30 years.

I think this is a James Dean Bradfield success more than anything else.

When he was putting this song specifically together, he wanted it to sound, and I quote, "Almost shit." And listening to the production particularly on this track, I think he succeeds.

There is so much going on here, especially around the verses.