Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. June 2009.

With the new album, Journal for Plague Lovers, barely out its packaging, the Manic Street Preachers stoked up the heat at the Wolverhampton Civic as they showed what the music scene had been missing for the past few years.

By playing the new offering its entirety, the capacity crowd was given the chance to savour some of the last work of Richey Edwards, whose lyrics have been set to music by the band.

These included opening track Peeled Apples Me and Stephen Hawking and the lament William’s Last Words.

After a break, the boys from South Wales returned to the stage for a second half that covered the band’s history and included Motorcycle Emptiness, the epic If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next and Australia.

Bassist Nicky Wire was suffering with a prolapsed disc but it didn’t stop the guys enjoying themselves on stage and James Dean Bradfield more than made up for Nicky’s lack of movement by playing like a whirling dervish throughout the night.

The band finished an awesome night with a tongue-in-cheek version of the Motown classic Stop In The Name Of Love and the remarkable Design For Life,

Ian D. Hall