Richey, 20 years on...

[Routine Builder]

Just creating a space to talk about Richey and what he means to people. I'll write something later...

[gracie]

I love Richey and his lil' panda eyes to pieces and he was what drew me to the Manics at first after delving into their back catalogue and what they were about.

That was after hearing This is My Truth in my stepdad's car and thinking that was all there was to the Manic Street Preachers.
Three welshmen all in white on a beach. But there was so much more to them and it was Richey that 'sealed the deal' for me, so to speak. My new favourite band and who would go on to inspire me daily and Richey, who went through the same shit I am, comforted me.

He was so much more than a 'poet who can't play guitar' and I really hope he knows how his words have helped change lives and how they have sculpted so many people into the people they are today. If he isn't here among us anymore, although that is very sad to think about, I hope he knew that his words have lived on and still pack just as much as a punch as they did twenty years ago. He was ahead of his time.

The way he was and his appearance I think draws people to him. He seems to just have this aura about him and it's a really strange thing. The way he looks, he's very captivating to look at. I know it's overused but he just had this aesthetic appeal and was so, so beautiful and photogenic.

When people say he was too intelligent for this time, I think that holds a lot of truth. He seemed to see behind ideas he was force fed by the world.
I just hope that he his brought back to his family and those that love him as soon as possible by any means.

I think he wanted to just 'be'.

In the words of Simon Price, I hope he's locked up in a cottage somewhere with a pile of books.

[Bambi]

Reading the interviews with Rachel linked to to in this thread http://www.foreverdelayed.org.uk/for...t=61393&page=3 has just reminded me of the ongoing impossible sadness of the loss of a son and brother, with no end, no closure. I didn't know Graham Edwards had died of cancer two years ago, still not knowing. I can't find anything further to say about that, it's something genuinely beyond words.

That's the most important thing, for me, to keep in mind that everything to do with the band Manic Street Preachers was just one part of his life. It was inevitable as the years go by that the distance from Richey as a person would grow, and he would become, to many, just a nice picture to stick on things. He probably would have professed to have quite liked that, of course. But while naturally not everyone in the wider world will be interested enough to seek out the person behind the iconography, let's take a moment to remember, blunt as it might sound, a young 20-something Welshman with serious mental health problems..... and an interesting job.

Sean is asked in No Manifesto, "can music change lives?". Sean thinks for a moment and says that it changed their lives, so yes, it can. It changed mine too, and Richey will always be a massive part of the single biggest cultural influence in my life. I want to look at that today as well as what I've said above; although it's natural to think about what he was doing right now 20 years ago, I'm trying not to.

And if this 'anniversary' (horrible word) can do something good, maybe it can give us a push to keep fighting for better mental health services, for libraries and education, helping families of missing people in whatever way possible.... taking whatever positive action we can.

[River Boy]

Originally Posted by Bambi

Reading the interviews with Rachel linked to to in this thread http://www.foreverdelayed.org.uk/for...t=61393&page=3 has just reminded me of the ongoing impossible sadness of the loss of a son and brother, with no end, no closure. I didn't know Graham Edwards had died of cancer two years ago, still not knowing. I can't find anything further to say about that, it's something genuinely beyond words.
.

Only found out this yesterday, it's both sad and inspiring that Rachel Elias continues to work to support those whose loved ones have gone missing: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-s...wales-31072777

What doesn't seem to have been given much scrutiny for a while are all the alleged accounts of people having seen Richey since his disappearance. I wonder if people still consider they might be genuine.

[gracie]

I can't get over how strong Rachel is.

[TheCasual]

I'm fairly to the Manics but I have tried to stay away from the cult iconicism that Richey has become.

I vaguely remember my dad telling me about this rock star going messing and I remember asking why and he it just got to much for him.

Where ever Richey is I hope he's at peace.

[richeysite]

In an index of recent deaths in England and Wales on ancestry.com, I found a Graham James Edwards, aged 77, who died in Blackwood, Wales on 5 October 2012. It's probably Richey's father.
I have some religious belief, and I believe we find out all the answers when we die. So, I believe Richey's father found out, when he died, what happened to his son (whether they met up again, is a different story). Unfortunately, there's no way for him to tell anyone else.

[ooberfan]

Originally Posted by richeysite

In an index of recent deaths in England and Wales on ancestry.com, I found a Graham James Edwards, aged 77, who died in Blackwood, Wales on 5 October 2012. It's probably Richey's father.
I have some religious belief, and I believe we find out all the answers when we die. So, I believe Richey's father found out, when he died, what happened to his son (whether they met up again, is a different story). Unfortunately, there's no way for him to tell anyone else.

I do believe Graham was Richey (and Rachel's) Dad. In more than one of the links to the interview(s) with Rachel she talks about (and I paraphrase here a little) basically one of the hardest things to deal with is the not knowing, and that she saw that amplify in her father, as he was facing his own mortality (I think he was diagnosed with cancer if I'm not making that part up) that he would likely (and sadly did) pass without knowing what happened what actually happened to his son ... and then realization that might be true for her and other members of her family. I found that particularly moving and sad to try and rationalize and process.

[Librarian On Fire]

Originally Posted by ooberfan

I do believe Graham was Richey (and Rachel's) Dad. In more than one of the links to the interview(s) with Rachel she talks about (and I paraphrase here a little) basically one of the hardest things to deal with is the not knowing, and that she saw that amplify in her father, as he was facing his own mortality (I think he was diagnosed with cancer if I'm not making that part up) that he would likely (and sadly did) pass without knowing what happened what actually happened to his son ... and then realization that might be true for her and other members of her family. I found that particularly moving and sad to try and rationalize and process.

It would also be really sad and difficult at the funeral not having the son there. A situation like this would have been very very difficult for Rachel and her family. I think Rachel is a remarkable person. Her whole life would have taken a different path from what she wanted to with Richey's ddisappearance. The actions of one person can alter and affect people's lives forever.

[starfucker]

Okay, here goes...

Richey, his words, his influence, his ideology have all been a massive influence on me since I discovered his work. I got into the Manics when ADFL was all over the radio then went back and discovered the old stuff. The Holy Bible floored me the first time I heard it. It's still a massive part of my life and an album I know will be with me always. As I got to know more about this band and the people in it, particularly Richey, talking about Camus, Sylvia Plath, Orwell etc was so refreshing to me. I'd never heard bands talking literature before. My previous favourite bands were Guns N' Roses, Nirvana and Oasis. Still love them but never once searched out and read a book after reading an interview by them. Richey recommended books I still love. Richey made something most of my friends considered geeky cool. I would never have read The Torture Garden if it wasn't for him mentioning it in an interview. I got into the Clash after reading about his love for them. Ok, I probably would have found them by now but still, again, it was him that "showed" them to the 16 year old me.

On a darker, more personal note, I started self-harming aged 12, was borderline anorexic and didn't even know these things had names and were actual things until I discovered the Manics and Richey in particular. He was the first person who made me realise that other people go through things that I was going through at the time. He made me feel that it was ok to be weak and ask for help. He made me understand that it's actually the strongest people who have the courage to admit when they need help and seek it.

I just wish that he had done the same.

[Scarecrow]

Richey's dad did indeed die not long ago. Rachel mentioned it during one of her many missing people campaign interviews. I cannot believe what she's put herself through in her search for Richey, just staggering.

[The Gutless Wonder]

I have great respect for Rachel and her tireless search for Richey as well as advocating for families of others who have gone missing.