Manic Street Preachers announce Irish dates

Manic Street Preachers have announced two very intimate live dates in Belfast and Dublin this December. The Waterfront Hall and the Olympia Theatre are the venues on December 6 and 7 respectively.

This will be the Manic's first time on Irish soil since Witnness 2003. What's taken them so long, you ask? The recording of a new album for one.

And if the 'cultural consumption report' they've issued is anything to go by, it should be an interesting creation indeed. Bandmembers have been enjoying new music from Belle & Sebastian, The Killers, Razorlight and Scissor Sisters, as well as dipping back into New Order's Low Life, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk, U2's Unforgettable Fire and Abba Gold amongst others.

For the record, they've also been enjoying the writings of Oscar Neiyemer, Elizabeth Jennings, Emily Pankhurst and Niall Ferguson. And they seem to have taken a shining to Richard Nixon, who appears to have been the muse for their first single, 'The Love of Richard Nixon', which emerges October 18. The new album, titled Lifeblood, follows on November 1.

Tickets for both Irish dates are on sale now, priced from €38.50 and £25 (seated) and £22.50 (standing).