Random Manics thoughts...

[Lee]

He was definitely hit with something at Cardiff as he stopped halfway through a song (at least once) to have a go at the fans.

I think he played Wembley and I can’t remember anything happening there. Pretty sure he didn’t play Brixton the next night but I can’t remember now.

A very weird support act.

[blackflower]

Originally Posted by Lee

He was definitely hit with something at Cardiff as he stopped halfway through a song (at least once) to have a go at the fans.

I think he played Wembley and I can’t remember anything happening there. Pretty sure he didn’t play Brixton the next night but I can’t remember now.

A very weird support act.

I was going to zoom in with gratuitous blog links re Wembley and Brixton, but it turns out I didn't mention Ian Brown in either of those blog posts! But my diary entry tells me that Ian Brown did play Wembley and the support for Brixton was Kinesis (who I vastly preferred).

I did go to the last night in Cardiff (gratuitous blog link here) and this is what I wrote about Ian Brown that night:

"He was an insufferable prat, spitting at the audience and pouring water over particular crowd members, just being generally childish and imbecilic. He nearly got chucked off the stage – as it was the lights came up during his last song, though he sang on regardless."

I don't think I've seen the Manics with a support band less suited or more badly received.

[LA ex]

Was he really that strange a choice? He was a bit more dancey than most of the support acts they've had over the years, but was still firmly on the indie scene.

I can't remember thinking him that bad when I saw the Greatest Hits tour at Glasgow. Worst reception I can remember a Manics support act getting Mogwai, with sections of the Dundee crowd singing at them to "F*** off and die"

On a completely different topic, the Manics have been supported by Ian Brown as well as being the support act for the Stone Roses. Can any other acts claim to have matched Ian Brown for being both above them and below them on the bill (not counting festival appearances...)?

[Tim]

Originally Posted by blackflower

"He was an insufferable prat, spitting at the audience and pouring water over particular crowd members, just being generally childish and imbecilic. He nearly got chucked off the stage – as it was the lights came up during his last song, though he sang on regardless."

This. Manics fans are notoriously antagonist and disrespectful to their support bands to the extent that james would bring it up soon as he gets on stage but ian brown really was an abusive piece of shit on certain tour dates.

[whiterevolver]

Originally Posted by socialist cook

Does anyone remember the Manics being supported by Ian Brown?

It always struck me as a strange choice!

The Greatest Hits tour, 2002? I remember he played Wembley and it didn't go down well. From memory the sound was awful, he was awful, and it felt more like a group of musicians who'd never met each other before being thrown on stage for their first gig.

That said, as has been highlighted, Manics fans are not always polite either. I remember Teenage Fanclub getting a hard time at Move 2003 for no reason that I could see, other than maybe not being as intense as what had come before (I can't remember the ordering, but I'm fairly sure they followed The Mars Volta, Super Furry Animals and were just before The Flaming Lips.)

To be fair to them they didn't get arsey, took the piss out of themselves and by the end of their set most of the crowd were cheering. But there were moments where it felt a bit embarrassing.

[blackflower]

Originally Posted by Tim

This. Manics fans are notoriously antagonist and disrespectful to their support bands to the extent that james would bring it up soon as he gets on stage but ian brown really was an abusive piece of shit on certain tour dates.

Things are a bit better these days as far as Manics fans go, aren't they? Thinking of the support at the Manics gigs I've been to in the past five years or so - Editors, the Anchoress and Gwenno - I think they've all had a pretty good reception.

[UEF]

I still think The Answering Machine should've ended up more famous than they did.

[UEF]

Originally Posted by LA ex

The most amazing thing I've discovered today is Sophie Ellis Bextor's kitchen disco.

Do you think if we bombard her with requests she'll do Black Holes for the Young?

I seem to remember she has at least made reference to it in an interview in the last year or so

[socialist cook]

Originally Posted by whiterevolver

The Greatest Hits tour, 2002? I remember he played Wembley and it didn't go down well. From memory the sound was awful, he was awful, and it felt more like a group of musicians who'd never met each other before being thrown on stage for their first gig.

It was certainly like that at Plymouth and he did a terrible cover of Billie Jean now I think of it.

[Son of Stopped]

We should how down to The Killers instead of the Manics.
New song by the Killers "Dying Breed" wow! Where do they get their ideas from?

https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-k...stream-2653629

[Tim]

Originally Posted by blackflower

Things are a bit better these days as far as Manics fans go, aren't they? Thinking of the support at the Manics gigs I've been to in the past five years or so - Editors, the Anchoress and Gwenno - I think they've all had a pretty good reception.

Sure, that's probably fair. Could be because a manics audience is trending on the older side these days and would rather have a nice sit down instead.

[rosetree]

I have been a fan for many years so I am am older fan, but the idea of sitting down at a Manics concert in my opinion is not really a better alternative. To be in the seats for a nice sit down seems like a generalisation of fans who dont go to every concert. I think it's nice to see a support act, especially if they are good, but I don't think it matters if they're a bit rubbish anyway and it can't be an easy task to play a set before the Manics.

[darkanddivine]

I remember seeing Ian Brown on the hits tour in Manchester. He's never been a particularly great live singer anyway - a reputation he lived up to rather effectively. Being Manchester, some "home" fans went to the gig to support him, so there might have been a little bit of needle there, but I didn't see anything particularly odd going on that night.

I have to admit I was never particularly receptive to MSP supports, mainly because most of the selections weren't very good. Yup, things calmed down a bit from the late 2000's onwards, but I think the band put less thought into the support than other bands in general. Ian Brown was (I think) the very tenuous link to the remix he did on Ocean Spray. Similarly, Nicky spoke glowingly once about Razorlight in an interview, and they were there on the Lifeblood tour.

But occasionally, they'd pick a band that seemed to fit the overall Manics feel, like Delays on PPF. And Joy Formidable did a great job. But other than that, most of the support acts have been fairly unmemorable compared to other bands I've seen.

[Son of Stopped]

ITV1 8.00pm MANICS In Mumbai

Oh!!!

ITV1 8.00pm Absolutely India : MANCS In Mumbai

Oh...

*Post relevant at time of listings https://www.ontvtonight.com/uk/guide...hannel-tv.html

[LA ex]

Have the Manics ever played a gig in India? I wonder how many countries in the world they have actually performed in.