James Dean Bradfield on the Manics' longevity

In a revealing interview in the Hot Press Annual '12, Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield discussed the reasons his band have carried on long enough to see the release of their National Treasures singles collection. James reckons that chief amongst them is the lyrical ingenuity of Nicky Wire and the sadly departed Richey Edwards.

When asked if he envisioned 37 more singles after the release of incendiary opening gambit for Heavenly, 'Motown Junk', he was honest but also typically quick to play down his own contributions.

"Not on the basis of my ability but because I was in a band with two absolutely powerhouse lyricists. Every time I thought we'd topped ourselves, Nick and Richey would give me another lyric and I'd be like, 'Wow, nobody's written anything like this before or for a long time.' How can you not want to be in a band when you're given lyrics like the ones on The Holy Bible to write music to?"
He went to elaborate further, prompting interviewer Stuart Clark to comment that it was one of the best answers to a question he'd ever been given.
Elsewhere in the interview, Bradfield talked about his favourite singles, Joe Strummer, just how much of a democracy the Manics really are and dealing with intense fans.

You can read it all in the Hot Press Annual, on sale now.