A Manic Street Preachers super fan has had some rare, customised Funko POP! figures made of the band – you can see them below.
Mish O’Leary contacted UK-based Glitz Customs – who can make customised Funko POP! figures to order – after deciding she wanted some figures made of the Welsh music icons.
Speaking to Nation. Cymru, O’Leary said: “I saw Glitz Customs on Facebook a while ago. I kept an eye on the page for a while and saw some of the pictures they were posting of the custom figures and realised they were really good.
“So I initially had the James Dean Bradfield figure made in March. I thought I would try one first to see what it looked like, and it was brilliant. I was so happy with it. I then decided to get the others made and was on their waiting list because they’re pretty busy. I had to wait about six months to get the other three done.”
You can see the figures here:
The Manics like you've never seen them before https://t.co/yrU7O2Ejiu
— Nation.Cymru (@NationCymru) August 20, 2021
The four figures show key phases from the group’s career. O’Leary explained: “I tried to choose iconic looks for all four of them, so that they would be instantly recognisable. The James Dean Bradfield figure I went with this Holy Bible balaclava, because that’s quite unique.
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“…With the Nicky Wire figure, there are some iconic photos of him from 1993 wearing a flowery dress, which he said in an interview once he bought in Dorothy Perkins in Southend.
“With the Sean Moore figure, it had to be him wearing his beret from the Holy Bible era, which is quite an iconic look. And with Richey [Edwards] there were so many different looks I could have picked, but in the end, I went for his leopard print coat, and white jeans, which was probably his best look.”
You can find out more about the customised figures here.
This week (August 19), the Manic Street Preachers claimed that “the upper echelons of society have tipped the cultural scales too heavily in their favour”, while vowing that things will soon sway back towards working-class music and art.
The Manics were talking to NME about their upcoming 14th album ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ when they were quizzed about a line from their new song ‘Don’t Let The Night Divide Us’, which sees frontman James Dean Bradfield sing: “Don’t let those boys from Eton suggest that we are beaten.”
The singer explained that the Nicky Wire-penned lyric was written with “a bit more humorous abandon” than it might have been in their past, but was still loaded with intent and a promise of things to come from the working-class.
“It’s not just us saying, ‘Hey, you guys over there – don’t forget we’re backstreet kids and still stood here, so watch your fucking step, mate’,” Bradfield told NME. “It’s more a nod and a wink. It’s us saying, ‘Don’t think you’re going to have your own way, because we still have something up our sleeves’. The working-classes will still give you an amazing band; they’ll still give you an amazing writer.”
‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ is out on September 10 via Columbia/Sony. The band’s upcoming tour dates are below. Visit here for tickets and information.
August 29 – Alcester, Camper Calling Music Festival
September 10 – Halifax, Live at Piece Hall
September 18 – Jersey, Electric Park Festival
September 19 – Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena (Free gig for NHS workers)
September 20 – Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena (Charity gig to benefit NHS charities)
September 26 – Newcastle, City Hall
September 28 – Edinburgh, Usher Hall
September 29 – Dundee, Caird Hall
October 1 – Stoke On-Trent, Victoria Hall
October 2 – Manchester, Apollo
October 4 – York, Barbican
October 5 – Glasgow, Barrowlands
October 7 – Leeds, Academy
October 8 – Portsmouth, Guildhall
October 10 – Bournemouth, Academy
October 11 – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
October 13 – Bath, Forum
October 14 – Bristol, Dome
December 3 – London, Wembley Arena