Over the past decade, the Manics have not been shy in celebrating milestone anniversaries. There’s been 20th anniversary tours for their 1994 classic third album The Holy Bible and its all-conquering follow-up Everything Must Go, deluxe remastered box sets for Know Your Enemy, Gold Against The Soul, Lifeblood and more whilst 2011’s National Treasures – The Complete Singles and an accompanying live show was a euphoric salute to the trio’s mastery of the seven-inch going back to 1991’s Motown Junk.
The celebrations to mark The Holy Bible’s 30th birthday, which was in August earlier this year, were a little more muted. The band’s only public event was a one-off screening of Kieron Evans’ excellent concert film Be Pure – Be Vigilant – Behave but speaking to this writer recently, singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield said he had marked the milestone in his own way.
