‘Don’t say: what if we did this reggae style?’ The huge yet humble lives of unofficial band members

‘Now I’m part of the family’ … Sarah Brown performs with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds during the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, Las Vegas. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Wayne Murray has been with the same band for 18 years. He has played guitar in stadiums and arenas. He has headlined festivals. He has toured the world and felt the adulation of countless thousands. But after all that time, and all those shows, he is still not an official member of Manic Street Preachers. And that’s fine with him.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Murray says. “I live in Brighton and I have a studio with another musician – we do a lot of music for film and TV. I have a career outside the Manics from that, so I still get to sing and write a lot. And when we tour, I am part of the fold. It’s just perfect.”