James Dean Bradfield

James Dean Bradfield

James Dean Bradfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.

Biography

Career

Born on February 21 1969 in Pontypool, Monmouthshire he attended the local Oakdale Comprehensive school in Blackwood where he suffered years of cruelty and bullying (he claims he was "a Woody Allen-esque little nerd") for his name, lazy eye (a popular nickname was "Crossfire"), musical bent (which was apparent even at a young age when he joined the school choir) and small size (another nickname was "He-man" - this was ironic as James is still only 5"5). Because of this James formed a rather exclusive relationship with three friends: his cousin Sean Moore, who lived with James and his family throughout their childhood after his own parents' divorce, and future bandmates Nicky Wire (real name Nicholas Jones) and Richey James Edwards. Bradfield is named after James Dean - his father wanted originally to call him Clint Eastwood Bradfield, but this was vetoed by his mother.

Bradfield loved to run and was a fine steeple-chaser, and soon grew fond of famous punk rock band The Clash. He there-and-then gave up his dream of "being like Napoleon" and decided that he wanted to be a rock star. He learnt to play guitar by learning how to play Guns N' Roses's Appetite for Destruction with the curtains drawn in his parents' front room. He was soon busking of a Saturday on the streets of Cardiff - where apparently he got the name for the band from an old tramp who called him "the manic street preacher" or from the regular street Evangelical Christian preachers on Cardiff's Queen Street in the 1980s.

Wire soon began to join his friend busking (playing acoustic guitar) and the seeds of the band were planted. James was the musical brain, Sean was persuaded to join on drums and the bassist was Miles "Flicker" Woodward while Richey drove for the band. After several band names (the most interesting apparently being "Betty Blue", (after the film of the same name) and the firing of "Flicker" followed with Richey joining, the band became Manic Street Preachers. The band began playing riotous gigs in various ‘toilet’ venues around the country. During these hectic times, James once had his jaw broken and couldn't sing for almost 2 months after he tried to defend Richey in McDonalds on his birthday.

However, they managed to release the self-financed Suicide Alley and were eventually signed by managers Phillip and Martin Hall. All four soon moved up to London, where they lived with Phillip Hall for some time in his new home rent free, which he had just bought with his wife, ‘paying’ their way by tidying and cooking. Contrary to popular belief, manager Philip Hall didn't remortgage his house, although the £45,000 investment still took up a massive amount of his personal wealth. The band quickly became a cult and, possibly, the most hated band in Britain. James would often be pelted with bottles on stage - and once took one full on the face.

The Manics (as they are often affectionately known) began recording their first album in the early 90s, and James supplied all the guitar parts despite Richey being credited with playing the instrument on the album. 1992 saw the band release Generation Terrorists, which included the hit singles Motorcycle Emptiness and You Love Us. It was quickly followed with the moderately successful but critically mixed anthemic rock of Gold Against the Soul. During the era of their controversial third album The Holy Bible, James became a semi-alcoholic - which only worsened with the infamous disappearance of friend and band member Edwards. [See Richey James Edwards for more]

James later moved to London, continuing to battle issues with alcohol. The band then decided to continue without Edwards and record the fourth album Everything Must Go - the success of which brought them into the mainstream for the first time.

The band's fifth album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours saw them berated by many 'hardcore' fans for going mainstream but brought them huge worldwide success and their first number one single in the form of If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next. With their sixth studio album Know Your Enemy, the band promised a return to their punk beginnings. Tracks from the album were first aired in Cuba at a concert attended by Fidel Castro (this gig was later made in to the DVD Louder Than War, which was named after a joke Castro made when Nicky suggested the concert might be a bit loud). However, the album failed to enthrall either the hardcore faithful or the EMG/TIMTTMY-era fans and the Manics retreated to Wales.

The release of the band's 'Best of' Forever Delayed was at the end of 2002, and was accompanied by a nation-wide tour. Neither the compilation, nor the accompanying new song There by the Grace of God made much impact on the charts, and although the tour sold well, it was a somewhat sober occasion compared to earlier stints. 2003/04 were spent recording new material, including time with veteran producer Tony Visconti and in October 2004 the band released their single The Love of Richard Nixon, which breezed to number 2 in the charts. The band's seventh album Lifeblood was released shortly after. In addition to this, Bradfield's second lyric writing foray came in the shape of 'Firefight', a track from the free God Save the Manics EP of April 2005, paving the way for his solo album the following year.

Bradfield has also collaborated with Tom Jones on his Reload album, Kylie Minogue on her Impossible Princess album, Patrick Jones on his Commemoration & Amnesia album, and has remixed the track Inertia Creeps for Massive Attack. In 2003 Bradfield contributed original music for the brand new play The War Is Dead Long Live The War written by Patrick Jones (Nicky Wire's brother).

Solo career

In late April 2006, a track from Bradfield's debut solo single entitled "That's No Way To Tell A Lie" premiered on Janice Long's show on Radio 2. It became the first single from the album and was released on July 10 while the album, entitled "The Great Western", was released on July 24. The single debuted at #18 in the UK single charts while the album debuted at #22 on the album charts. The positions were considered relatively successful considering the lack of promotion.

In support of the album, Bradfield played a series of three solo gigs in May 2006 in Manchester, Glasgow and London. The setlists consisted of tracks from the "The Great Western" as well as several Manics tracks including "This Is Yesterday" and "Ocean Spray" (the only Manics album track that he wrote the lyrics for). He has also played one further date in London ULU in June 2006, featuring a similar setlist to the other gigs, but with the addition of further Manics favourite No Surface All Feeling. Bradfield also performed at the 2006 V Festival in late August. He embarked on his first full UK tour - consisting of 15 dates - in October. A second single, 'An English Gentleman' was lifted from "The Great Western" prior to the tour and entered the UK chart at #31 on 1st October 2006.

Personal life

• During the early 90s, Bradfield was engaged for almost 2 years, but the relationship broke up in 1993.
• James' mother died of cancer in 1999 (the song Ocean Spray, James' first published lyric, is about her passing).
• He currently lives in Chiswick, London, England, UK but also has a house in the dock area of Cardiff, Wales, UK.
• Despite having said “I always get bored of the company of women really quickly,” he married Mylène Halsall in a secret ceremony in Florence, Italy on 11 July, 2004.

Solo discography

Albums

• The Great Western (24 July, 2006) - #22

Singles

• "That's No Way to Tell a Lie" (10 July, 2006) - #18
• "An English Gentleman" (25 September, 2006) - #31

External links

• Official James Dean Bradfield Site
• Official Manic Street Preachers Site
• Exclusive Interview @ R*E*P*E*A*T Online

BBC Biography

• Spoof Site