A highlight and launchpad for their acclaimed acclaimed 13th album ‘Resistance Is Futile‘, ‘International Blue’ feels like a ready-made greatest hit for a band with too many to mention. Watch the video above as Manic Street Preachers tell us the story behind the huge single.
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“I did one version straight away that sounded like ‘Boys Of Summer’ by Don Henley,” Bradfield tells NME. “That bit the dust, but I was convinced that it was just going to happen.”
Then inspiration struck, and he came up with the stadium anthem that you hear today – a slab of guitar hero mastery with a touch of Kraftwerk and Bowie.
Bradfield continued: “I became obsessed with it being a Mid-West driving song where you could see the heat haze in the distance, because the lyric conveyed a sense of freedom to me. But obviously the reference point to Yves Klein is so European that I just wanted to add that slightly European vibe to it too.”
Then of course, there’s the bold and opulent music video – a tribute to the track’s lyrical inspiration, French artist Yves Klein.
“Because the song was originally conceived in Nice and it’s such an amazing place to film, I really wanted to get the blue of Mediterranean and the bluest of Mediterranean skies,” Wire continued. “You’ve got Yves Klein place there too. I just said ‘can we updated Motorcycle Emptiness’, and then with Kieran’s [Evans, director and collaborator] amazing visual skills and the way he weaved the narrative into it, I think it’s one of our best videos.
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“Then all of a sudden you’re all over the radio and the video is everywhere, it just felt like a classic Manics first single.”