At what point did you realise the Manics were for you?

[SeveredJoke]

About the time of Everything Must Go. I'd just started listening to the Evening Session and they played Design for Life and a few of the older tracks with a quick history lesson to explain the significance of EMG. It was the first CD I bought and I quickly sought out all the previous albums and then tracked down the b-sides from friends.

I was just getting into music and it was the Manics that made me want to pick up a guitar and learn. Naturally I went for an Epi Les Paul!

[jdb's nipple]

Originally Posted by pcp

1991. The Select magazine with Spectators of Suicide caught my attention. I still have the mag and tape. The article in that issue also got me interested.

i think this came out just before GT ive still got the tape and its one of my faves, spectators of suicide never sounds correct unless followed straight by The Byrds"eight miles High "( it was aropund this time i got into them !)

[exopotamie]

Originally Posted by MassCommunication

After a tough year I suddenly started listening to Everything Must Go, which then led to the new album release, and been going on a guided tour of their back catalogue since, I think this new one will always be 'my' album now, a defining point in my life.

It's cool to know that there are still new fans being brought in by PFAYM. Welcome, btw!

I don't really remember - I think I'd heard a few songs of theirs before and hadn't really gotten into them, but I found EMG in a shop for like $6 so I thought I'd give it a go, and fell in love. I was about seventeen. I ended up acquiring their entire back catalogue within about a month, including some really early demos, which I refused to believe were actually the Manics for a while!! I thought they'd been mislabeled...

[ooberfan]

They came across may radar initially with some of those "The Best Album In The World Ever...." series. I still have the compilation now and it had 'La Tristesse' on it ... enjoyed the song but wasn't overly enamoured. Then I was in the last year of secondary school and a friend of mine had bought 'The Holy Bible'. I listen to that maybe once when he made me a cassette copy of it and hated it at the time.

I picked up on them again when I was working a temp job between finishing school and going to college; I was working in a Pork abatoire ... on the meat packing end of the "line" (thankfully), and the radio (which was about the only saving grace) was on all day. And 'Design' was being played constantly. The same friend that had 'THB' had also gone and bought 'EMG' the album, and made me another rip off cassette. I gave the copy one listen before bolting to Virgin in Manchester to get me own copy .... incidentally there was something like a 3 for 20 deal on at the time I bought EMG so ended up buying GT, GATS and THB all in one fell swoop - the obsessive decline of it all was after seeing the gig in Manchester in May 97 (that became Everything Live) ...

They have been the most prominent and meaningful band for me since then .. 96/97 - I found my self really trying to read more of the authors that had been quotes in articles, on cd covers etc. I still think theyre one of (if not THE) most meaningful and poignant bands to emerge. Even during (what is for me ..imho) their lowest period of KYE and LB - I never "fell out of" adoration with them - its just not always my go to stuff .... yet I do have KYE and LB in the car at the moment ... 'Baby Elian' is a wonderous track.

What can I say - they were right - I do love 'em

[Inglorious]

After seeing pictures and interviews in the NME where they seemed so much more interesting than anyone else, I went to see them at the Hibernian in Fulham just after buying the You Love Us 12" and the fact they played for about half an hour and refused to play an encore won me over.

[vstephenson]

when i was an angry young(er) man and heard GATS and it blew my socks off

just spoke to me it did

[Nabby]

I saw the video for "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" and thought it was just one of the most perfect pop/rock songs I'd ever heard.

And I was in a phase of hearing one song and buying the full album just hoping it'd be any good. Thankfully I loved it and then I got into their older stuff (most of which I prefer...I feel bad that SATT is way down my list, but I still love it)

[Frozendiva]

I don't know exactly when. Probably at three different times. I lived in London in the early 90s for a bit of time. I remember seeing/hearing a band I liked, but didn't know the name. I then remember watching something on TV back in 1994 about a performance on 'Top of the Pops' that even made Canadian headlines. The third and final time was the Brit Awards - I was blown away by that performance.

[relic]

1) Grabbed my attention with Slash n Burn and Natwest ... on a late night radio session that I heard on my car radio.

2) Inspired a maternal / big sisterly affection with the Suicide Is Painless single.

3) Turned me into a fan of their music with La Tristesse / GATS.

4) Caught me hook, line and sinker with the Tolerate video (see Lindz's sig).

[contraries]

I'm still not really sure how I got into them, I think it was probably because I saw Nicky in Melody Maker or NME and thought he looked interesting (read: I fancied the arse off him)... I recently wrote a somewhat self indulgent blog post about how and why I like them.

[scott_laconia]

First time I can really remember hearing a song by them was Everything Must Go on TOTP's but Ive never really liked that song. Then heard James do Last Xmas on TFI Friday and adored it. I really got into them through This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and me and my band mate at the time went crazy for them and used to go to our local market every saturday and buy all the old bootlegs...first gig I saw them was Manic Millennium....

[relic]

Originally Posted by counterlanguage

Butt Naked, Channel 4, 1994. The whole programme, but esp. JDB with his head thrown back, playing You Love Us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ1ziiodu9M

I think if I'd seen that at the time, I wouldn't have had to wait for the Tolerate video

[riot_star]

Originally Posted by Nabby

I saw the video for "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" and thought it was just one of the most perfect pop/rock songs I'd ever heard.

And I was in a phase of hearing one song and buying the full album just hoping it'd be any good. Thankfully I loved it and then I got into their older stuff (most of which I prefer...I feel bad that SATT is way down my list, but I still love it)

That is exactly how it was for me. Word for word!

[scott_laconia]

Originally Posted by counterlanguage

Butt Naked, Channel 4, 1994. The whole programme, but esp. JDB with his head thrown back, playing You Love Us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ1ziiodu9M

its just fucking brilliant that loved the guitar sound of this era....heavy!

[Mr.Selfdestruct]

When Eddie Temple Morris put Motorcycle Emtiness on one day during his Up For It show, on MTV UK around 98, i was pretty turned on. Once i got the first three albums a few months later i was hooked. It had nothing to do with the manics output at the time.