Yea makes sense. My bad.

This is what was said at the time - the family hadn't given up all hope, but as it had been so long, Richey's royalties were just sitting there and could be put to better use by his family. Completely understandable.

Precisely! While we all love Richey and admire his contribution to the band, they've existing for far longer without him than with him. They've paid him what he's owed in terms of royalties and, after that, they owe him precisely nothing. They don't even have to keep honouring him, or upholding his memory. They choose to do so and the fact that they do so in such a dignified and affectionate way is a credit to them. No cash-in book written by a spiteful, vindictive ex-fan will change my mind about that.

I remember SHR from the old official Manic Street Preachers forum, too. She was very abusive to people there and she just has not changed. At all. It's really quite sad to see she's still like this. Back then, she had youth on her side. But this was well over a decade ago now and she's stuck there, spouting the same abuse at the same people. It is quite sad.

I'm not sure what assumptions are being made here but the Declaration of Presumption of Death helps the family to settle his financial affairs which is obviously understandable. If the person concerned left no will then the closest next of kin assumes the role of adminstrator to deal with their affairs and distribute their assets. If no will then the assets go to next of kin. Richey will still be 'earning' as a lyricist of the band, those earnings, as far as I understand the law will go to next of kin. That will remain the case for 70 years after the declaration of his death. Richey wasn't just a contributor to JFPL he was the lyricist. All 4 are credited against just about all of their songs tgether...all will receive royalties on copyright, a 'death' doesn't change that it just goes to your estate instead. There's no financial axes here.
Possibly the band were putting more aside for him, or he was 'being paid' whatever he was earning as a member of the band which may have proved more than copyright alone, probably did, but a declaration of death would presumably halt that and from then on earnings would be copyright to the estate. Makes sense. Should he return a Variation Order can be applied for and Richey would receive copyright earnings from the date the order is granted directly

I don't think anyone really expects to make much from this book. Author earnings are truly crap and had they received a stonking advance it would have been publicised, such things always are. He wasn't on the level of Kurt etc fame wise after all

Kind of shocked to read the posts preceding this so it's worth repeating Raven's post.

I sort of dread looking this thread these days...

:up: Never ever would have thought I’d be tolerating, nevermind entertaining these ideas, but considering what’s been coming out with this book - just the slow drip of tidbits we’ve had from it, God knows what’ll come of the whole damn thing - I very sadly don’t think these wonderings are unreasonable anymore. I’m much more shocked at what has provoked them. We do not at all appear to be dealing with what we always assumed we were and so question marks are not undue. I think up til this point everyone has been extremely respectful and yes, this isn’t so much, but very well warranting consideration at this point.

Ok, im taking one for the team. Iv pre ordered the book so you all dont have to!

Please dont kill me, i dont approve of the book either but my curiosity has gotten the better of me. At least it'll be fun debunking it.

I don't think there's been a single thing out of order said on this thread. It's certainly better than letting the forum just die out!
And nobody has gone out of their way to be controversial.
Maybe I'm getting very cynical in my old age but I just have a feeling there will be a monetary element involved somewhere along the line. Otherwise I really, really don't get it.
All the reclaiming Richey crap is galling. Don't write a f'ing book then! I am flabbergasted that the authors haven't been told that this is a ridiculous soundbite to use. There isn't any noble intention behind it, its about stirring shit up and making a bit of money doing so.
Printing his letters and other personal stuff is pretty low in my opinion. If he is alive then maybe this would draw him out of the woodwork? I would be livid. So maybe that's their tactics? Doubt it though.

I will read the relevant sections of the book where the band is slated. I will be very objective and draw my own conclusions.

To come on this thread and say we shouldn't be discussing certain issues is pretty annoying. SHR started this shit so why shouldn't she and all involved be pulled up on their bullshit?

Sorry, I've seen implication that band waited for Richey to be declared dead, before releasing JPFL so that they could keep his royalties.

I'm not one to talk but I wish people would take a minute to think about what they've written before clicking the post button.

That's fine, honestly, I'm curious about the contents as well. Nothing can ruin my fandom affection for the band anyway. Besides that, it's not like you'll get hypnotised by the book. Taking in information with a grain of salt is our specialty, isn't it? :X

That was never implied! I'm gutted you feel that it was!
That is literally just putting words into mouths.

I am damn sure the band were only to happy to pay royalties and that it could be used by the Edwards family where necessary.
As he has been declared dead for a long time now and that they write all their own lyrics and music I think it would be more than reasonable for them to not have to pay anything further. I strongly suspect that they would look after Richey in the event of a return, financially and otherwise.

This has actually upset me that you've spoken like this.There has been nothing but respect shown by pretty much everything written on this thread.
I see nothing wrong with speculating on the reasons for this travesty of a book and as to the reasons why Rachel now clearly hates the band members.
I fail to see what the issue is from Rachels side. The lyrics for JFPL were used with permission. If there is something else then it should be stated.

The band has been so respectful, they didn't call this on. Without all the information and with SHR being to pussy to actually state what the issues are from Rachel then we have to cover all possibilities when discussing what could have happened.
The authors put this in the public domain, so I for one am not going to be scared of saying what I feel about it.

Oh God, that was not what I meant at all, apologies for being unclear! I meant perhaps Rachel’s issue with the band was either borne of, or exacerbated by, the change in payments to Richey’s estate - with the declaration/JFPL seeming the turning point for all that.

EDIT: bit lost as to how you arrived at that reading of what I said tbh, with all the surrounding posts clarifying the topic of conversation. See also: every other post I’ve ever made defending this band like a mama bear

You're a brave, brave soul and I salute you.

This is exactly my reasoning. Im perfectly capable of drawing my own conclusions.

I agree with that.

I'm looking forward to see the band in concert again in the next few months.

Is any of the cash from sales going to the Missing Persons charity?

I really, honestly don't see dollar being much of a motive for Rachel. I also can't see (but correct me if I'm wrong), that she'd have a problem with them "cashing in" on JFPL. The remaining members of the band are reasonably wealthy and appear to live a modest life considering their bank balance.

I even think that it isn't a driving factor for SHR (definitely NOT white knighting!), because as much of an ugly person she appears to be, she seems driven more by wanting some kind of notability in the world of Richey. I can only think of her as an obsessive fan at this point. I also think she might've thought this would help her climb the ladder to a career in writing which hasn't taken off so far (even though there seems to be a lack of self awareness and doesn't see how embarrassing this book really is).

Like everyone else, I have no idea why Rachel turned on the band so vehemently. Grief, as we've discussed. She believes the band contributed to whatever her bro decided to do.

I DO believe that SHR's really poured the petrol on the fire and fueled Rachel's dislike of the band. I even think she possibly egged her on to post here. She's given Rachel (probably) false information about how the band are cunts and from that seed it's grown into them being mega cunts and the reason for Richey to fuck off.

SHR is, as popular jargon goes, a very toxic person, and it appears to me that she's fucked with Rachel's mind, which is going to be fragile considering her tragedy.

In my opinion, if Richey was alive and not thought to be not alive, he would have the most respect for his sister than anyone. Because of her comittment and what must be constantly draining emotional work and with no regard to pay. I'm sure regardless that she can still think for herself, but obviously has most regard with her brother. She stated in the description of the book that it's 'open to the reader to draw their own conclusions'. From what has been stated, it doesn't seem she has hatred for the band, but possibly trying to find answers, compared to what's already known that lead to nothing. I think most of the hate on here seems to be aimed at SHR who obviously has problems, but Rachel has trusted someone with problems to write about Richey with a different view and clearly stirring controversy but I doubt any financial gain is important to her, possibly the same as Richey would think.

My main question is why the hell does SHR hate the band so much? I don't get how someone can show so much contempt for a band whose music she doesn't even care for.

I've mentioned that I'm an old fan and I really don't have much enthusiasm for the band's music any more, but I can still respect the fact that they're great musicians. With regards to Richey, they've always, always shown nothing but respect and the way they dealt with JFPL was admirable.

This vindictiveness really makes no sense at all. I'm not going to be armchair psychologist, but there're some really strange things going on in her head. As much as I dislike her, I hope she gets to deal with her issues and move on at some point because this is unhealthy.

I believe some of Rachel's anger and therefore some of SHR's anger should be directed at Richey himself.
Nobody forced him to leave. Or maybe this is what they are getting at. Maybe they are going down the route of the band forcing him to quit or whatever led him to going.
I don't believe that for a second, but it might be stuck in their heads.

If they believe that not enough was done when he first left then I can kind of understand, for about 2 minutes and then you only have to realise that he was a grown man, he clearly chose to go missing and he refused to contact anyone to let them know he was safe. If he had fallen out with the band surely he could have called his parents or his sister to let them know he was struggling but OK.

I think as has been said before by others that SHR is the main culprit and has latched onto Rachel's upset and blown it out of all proportion. The band do not deserve this.
My fears are being realised if that twitter link of the review by an ex manics fan is anything to go by. Some people believe any old tripe that's written down.

This is so strange. While I knew her as SHR on here, I recently realised I knew her far better as "4Real_03" on the Official Manics forum that was up and running many years ago now. It closed, I think, just over a decade ago. I forget why. Anyway, she was all over that place around 2004-2006 ish. She would have been a kid back then, so I cut her some slack for that. But she was unconscionably rude to people, abusive and vindictive towards the others posting there. There was a photo thread in which we posted pics of ourselves and she was fat-shaming people left, right and centre. She was purely hateful. And, of course, she loathed the remaining band members and everything they did. As far as the problems Richey had, she is part of it. She is part of that problem.

So not only does she hate the band with an all-consuming passion, she has done for many, many years. She's obsessed with them in the worst possible way. But she was too young to have been around when Richey first went and now she's trying to reopen those old wounds in the fandom. She's trying to divide them and make them choose between Richey and the others.

Obviously, she's not well herself. No one gets on like this if they're perfectly healthy, balanced individuals. They just don't. And while I'm sorry for her troubles, whatever they may be, I'm not going to enable her or validate her cruel behaviour in any way.

I read about that on the thisisyesterday board. She really made a name for herself.

Yeah, it's all very odd. One of her posts here say something like, *he* was the lyricists, there are tons of musicians. She doesn't get that what they were is all four of them as a whole, and what they were is a part of what they are now. Does she even like music? She makes Richey sound like a poet rather than a band's lyricist. Aye, very immature.

I'm not choosing any "side", if that's what she's up to. What's the point of that? I don't even think that's possible.

Thisisyesterday was where I saw it too and it all came back to me. I'm still in touch with a friend I made on that forum, but he's totally forgotten her!

What gets me is that she's been pursuing this vendetta for years now. I kinda hope the band have restraining orders against her, never mind redactions in her stupid book.

So much this.

Where can I read the thisisyestrday posts? Google isn't helping!

Here

There's really not much there. Most of it seems to be one person replying to themselves (unless I'm mistaken in how names are displayed there).

I remember Wymark from the archives chat room. I don't know the others, although they mention Slann and Nigel who were also from AoP. That message board's like something you'd see on a youtube video about weird sites. For YEARS Wymark's been posting random crap there. Never ending...

I remember the day the official forum was removed (I moved house and when I got in the new one it was gone!). Must have been the summer of 2006. Has Nigel really been posting messages like that to himself all that time?

Yeah, I went away for a weekend and when I got back the old forum had poofed into the ether. I heard some story about porn being posted there so Sony pulled the plug on it. But how true that is, I have no idea.

And yes, I remember Wymark from there too. Wasn't there some kind of split when he and a few others were banned from the official forum, so they set up another? There was a lot of drama there, so Sara wasn't alone.

Ah, the good old days!

No! That SHR might be accusing them of that! No ones accusing the band of anything

There was all sorts going on at the end... there was all sorts of allegations of bullying and racist behaviour, some of it allegedly coming from the volunteer moderators. And there were a few mass bannings which resulted in splinter forums forming.

But it was definitely a very interesting place and kept me entertained during my post uni unemployed days!

The official forum scared the shit out of me :lol:

Oooooh boy, book release pushed back again, 14th March now...

Seriously?! This is getting crazy now. I really, really hope it's the band suing the ever loving shit out of the authors.

Speaking of authors, we've focused exclusively on Sara. But who is Leon Noakes? Is he just some jobbing biographer, like Rob Jovanovic? Or is he another embittered ex-Manics fan who has latched on to Sara and Rachel?

This HAS to be because of a legal battle.
And I'm really hoping this thread has been looked at by the band and they see the support they have.

There's no other reason for it to get delayed. It has missed the all important anniversary of his disappearance that it tried to hit, so it's not due to a better release date. The book has been printed because there is some in circulation. So it has to be legal complications.
I really hope all the edits are costing them money and will force them to cancel.

Agree with all of that beautifuldisortion.

I don’t think we know anything about Leon Noakes, seems to be rather the silent partner so far. Whether he was brought in for research or writing purposes I have no idea, but have to wonder at the quality of writing we’ve seen so far from a book with potentially 3 authors...

https://www.facebook.com/lr.noakes
Not a lot on there but it's definitely him.
SHR has commented on one of his posts.

I, as many others have been posting on this thread, have remained quiet over the last few years, feel compelled to post something. I am a fan of the band, I am a huge Richey fan, and still a fan of the band. The times I've gotten to see them in concert have been wonderful and because I live in the States where they are not as well known, I've had opportunities to meet them and take pictures, even with Sean lol.

They have been nothing but polite, engaging, appreciative, funny etc. We are all human and we are all flawed, but hopefully learn from our mistakes and move on.

Having said that, to place all blame of suicide or disappearance, on anyone including his fans and in particular Richey's best friends, is so horrific to me, and I don't even know any of them personally. Unless Richey was physically forced to do something I cannot understand placing responsibility for his fate on others including him. He was not well mentally based on everything I have researched. It may appear that he could be selfish, and let's face it we all are to some degree, but people with severe depression are not necessarily thinking of others, more often than not if they are its because they feel they are a burden and people in their life might be better off without them. Or they are in so much pain they are not thinking of how others might feel at all. Selfish, maybe, but not with intent. To place all of Richey's problems solely on the shoulders of the remaining three members of the band is distressing, grossly inaccurate, and just unjustifiable to me particularly when you don't even know all the players. I sympathize with Rachel and I am more understanding of her feelings and this may be her way of coping.

Deep breathe, ok thanks for letting me get that all out. What I am really interested in discussing and/or reading in this book is about the timeline of crossing the bridge which opens up a lot more possibilities than I ever thought about. So I will try to wait patiently to discuss that.

You would think the time line change due to the ticket discovery would open us new possibilities wouldn't you!
But those possibilities haven't led to any new leads or we would've heard about them. So at the moment it's not really a massive deal.

I'll be honest I'm sceptical about it as well because SHR seems to have been digging for that ticket thing to be the case. I'm possibly wrong there but just call it a hunch.

Apparently, he was diagnosed by a few doctors as having Borderline Personality Disorder (I personally suspected for years that he had BPD), but one doctor apparently said he didn't think that Richey had it so now he has been diagnosed with Aspergers by the authors because he didn't have the RIGHT mental illness for the narrative they want to push.

Severe depression is a common problem for those with BPD. The pissy thing about it is, BPD is totally controllable with the right therapy.

I believe Rachel Edwards confirmed on that Richard Edwards FB page that the Metropolitan Police accept that the toll used a 24 hour clock, but still refuse to look into it despite acknowledging the initial error. Someone took his passport and some other items back to his flat in the early hours of Feb 1st. The question is, was he able to get to his flat in Cardiff mess about staging things for a little while and then make it back to the Embassy before 7 am (there were eyewitnesses who saw him leaving and heading towards the car park) or did Mr Edwards have help from someone?

This book may be a total crock, but they're right about one thing; his disappearance was poorly handled from the get go. Despite being an adult, his history of mental illness should have definitely been taken into account.

I can't imagine it making much difference, not after all these years.

But I do hope it sets Nicky's mind at ease. I remember him getting emotional when he recounted how he arrived at Richey's flat only to have missed him by a matter of minutes. Now he knows that the time on the receipt is from a 24hr clock, he would have missed him by twelve hours. Whatever consolation that can bring.