Withdrawn Traces
Page 31
Bethones John (Great Aunt Bessie). Bessie passed away just weeks before Richey vanished. Her death was close enough to the time of his disappearance to suggest that it may have impacted him.
Graham and Sherry Edwards. Richey’s mother and father.
Homework, Richey’s recollection of breaking his leg, Christmas 1978. ‘He was like Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol on his crutches.’
Richey’s high school report, 1980 – he excelled at art and history.
Richey won a prize of £3 for his drawing of a character from the magazine 2000 AD. He loved comic books from an early age.
Richey’s Christmas list, 1980.
Richey’s homework from the first year of high school, 1980. His devotion to academia was evident.
Richey’s homework, 1980. Here he mentions escaping over the Severn Bridge in a chilling passage. Even then, when things got tough, he saw crossing the Bridge as a means of escape.
Richey’s homework, 1981: ‘The Rebel’. A humorous story that firmly places Richey’s imagination in the early eighties, but what shouts most loudly is the act of social transgression culminating in a plan to escape and live on in freedom abroad.
Richey’s homework, 1981. This cheeky humour and sense of provocation would become apparent throughout his time with the Manic Street Preachers.
Richey’s final, John Betjeman-detailed address book, 1995. It contains only a very few names compared to address books from previous years.
Richey’s English homework, 1981. A year after Bobby Sands died from his hunger strike, Richey wrote this short story titled ‘The Intruder’ in which the protagonist set out to become a poet who would highlight political injustices. In Blackwood, Richey’s peers viewed his passionate stance on current affairs as eccentric.
Richey’s student desk in Swansea University with the lyrics to the Manic Street Preachers’ ‘Suicide Alley’, 1989.
Richey’s college file doodlings, 1985. Mark Hambridge recalls, ‘I don’t think it was until university he started to entertain the notion seriously about becoming a rock star. He’d try encouraging others to take the stage and I think that was because of that shyness he had, and because he was so self-conscious when it came to his skin.’
Richey’s college file doodlings, 1985. ‘People are just little sodding deadbeats who need beer/sex to give them an excuse for being the scum of the earth. Could it be that I’m going to be a great thinker …’
Richey’s press release for the Blue Generation, 1988. Taking inspiration from the Beat writers – Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey – the new collective began to write fiction, poetry, plays and journalism. By late spring 1988, the Blue Generation’s musical division was beginning to gather momentum.
Richey’s review of the television programme ‘Eye of a Dolphin’ from his personal file, 1988. Richey was shunning nights out, preferring to stay in reviewing documentaries.
Richey’s benefits claimant card, 1989. Richey was signing on for Job Seekers Allowance, but staff at the local dole office failed to sway him from his main purpose.
A water-damaged photograph of Richey performing in 1989 at the Horse and Groom, where the Manic Street Preachers played to seventeen people. The faces of the other three Manics have been corroded, but Richey’s remains intact.
The Manic Street Preachers’ first live review, Melody Maker, 1989.
Richey’s band file, set-list and gig photograph, 1989.
One of Richard Fry’s photos of teenage Richey with the family car. He wanted to document his life before he became famous so people could see his origins.
Richey at a Steve Strange gig, Blackwood, 1985.
Richey and Graham Edwards in Richey’s Blackwood bedroom, 1992.
Richey’s van hire certificate, 1989. ‘We used to hire a van from a nearby garage and spend the day driving down to the gig and the night driving back,’ recalls Mark.
Richey during the early years in the band.
Richey’s collage of his university friends in Swansea, 1989.
Richey on tour with the Manics.
Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire, Bangkok, Thailand, 1994. The Thai trip signalled a rupture between Richey and the other Manics; the first indicator perhaps of their later permanent split.
Postcard from Bangkok to Richey’s parents, 1994. Having so often described himself as asexual, Richey was apparently detached from what Bangkok had to offer.
Richey’s Gold Against the Soul folder. Richey created his own A4 folder for each of the Manics’ first three albums, filled with scribbled notes.
Richey and Martin Hall in a health farm sauna, 1993.
What really stood out in Richey’s Gold Against the Soul folder was the sheer volume of visual material, cut-outs from magazines, newspapers and posters.
Richey’s Holy Bible corrections, 1994. ‘He was still working despite being in hospital’ recalls Rachel. ‘He was making phone calls to the album designer and re-arranging lines ready for the printed lyric sheets.’
Richey’s ‘12 steps of AA’, The Priory, 1994. For Richey, the hardest part of his treatment was the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Step programme. It is frequently accused of having religious connotations, with confession and restitution at its commandment-like core.
Richey’s personal notes, The Priory, 1994. Its many dense pages capture a mind hurtling towards a deep existential crisis, fast losing faith in all around him.
The lure of hedonistic experiences, whether through drugs, self-harm, or other means is often known to give a semblance of identity and feeling back to the borderline patient.
Richey’s list of his favourite things, 1994. Throughout Richey’s archive, he would write out – sometimes repeatedly – quotes from favourite books, films, and albums in order to memorise them off by heart. Like many borderline patients, he often felt that others could define his thoughts and the contradictory opinions that inhabited his mind more succinctly than he could himself.
Richey performing at the Manchester Academy during the 1994 British tour. Tickets were oversold and the venue was densely packed. Backstage, the band were on eggshells.
Snoopy’s passing in January 1995 meant further beloved elements of Richey’s revered youth were slipping away, and with them an innocence and happiness he felt he might never experience again.
One of the last photocopies Richey printed was of a black-and-white newspaper clipping of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the 1962 film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Underneath the photograph, Richey wrote out an excerpt from Heart of Darkness. He made several further photocopies and kept them in his last known folders of writing, 1995.
Richey’s final diary, 1995. The entries span from Christmas Day through to the first week of the New Year, giving an inkling of what occupied Richey’s mind in the lead up to his disappearance.
Richey’s change of image in 1995 which shocked close friends.
‘Kevin Carter’ lyrics, 1995. James and Richey disagreed over the melody for ‘Kevin Carter’ which James would later describe as ‘an impasse in the band for the first time, born out of taste.’
Richey in 1995, sporting his changed image soon after Snoopy’s passing, the band’s differing trajectory, and the ending of his relationship with Jo. He wrote ‘I cut my hair after every emotional trauma’.
Richey’s passport and Severn Bridge toll ticket, which were found at his Anson Court property. Richey – or somebody else – must have visited and had placed the items in full view of anybody entering the flat.
Richey’s decorated typewriter, on which he wrote many of his famous lyrics.
Richey outside his Cardiff flat, Autumn, 1994.
Acknowledgements
Amanda Roberts, who made writing this book possible.
Jan Noakes for exploring the Edwards family tree.
Simon Molyneux and Mari Ellen Roberts for always being ready to read a draft.
Guy Mankowski, for being the voice of reason.
Emma Forrest, who years ago believed
in my writing from the beginning.
Kevin Pocklington, for being the best agent a writer could ask for.
Ian Gittins, an editor and a half and patient throughout.
Lorna Russell and Lucy Oates at Virgin Books for believing in this book and Richey’s legacy.
Thank you to all contributors: Simon Cross, Alistair Fitchett, Adrian Wyatt, Mark ‘Den’ Hambridge, Greg Noble, Alice Forward, Claire Forward, Rosie Dunn, Joanna Haywood, Jemma Hine, Tony Van Den Ende, Richard James, Richard Fry, Benji Webbe, Rachel Parks, Colin Blowers, Stephen Fulcher, Ian McCray, Andy Matheson, and the team at SARA (Severn Area Rescue Association).
Most of all, thank you to Rachel Edwards. A best friend and a true inspiration to us all.
Appendix
Letter to Mark Hambridge (Den), 1987. Richey talks about attending gigs and his love for music.
Letter to Mark Hambridge (Den), 1988. Richey encourages his friend Den to start a band.
Letter to Mark Hambridge (Den), 1988. Richey’s passion for starting a band can be evidenced in this letter to friend Den.
Letter to Mark Hambridge (Den), 1989. Richey talks about joining the Manic Street Preachers.
Letter to former girlfriend Claire Forward, 1988. Richey’s letter shows his love and devotion to Claire.
Letter to Scottish pen-pal Alistair Fitchett. Richey and Alistair would often write to each other about poetry and music.
References
The publishers will be happy to make good any omissions in future reprints. Only the first instance of a cited work has been included.
Introduction
‘Teenage Rampage’, Sounds Magazine, 1991
‘Blackwood Calling?’, Select, 1992
‘Boys from Blackwood’, Spiral Scratch, 1991
Chapter One
‘From Despair to … Despair’, Deadline, 1993
‘Pathetic’, Q Magazine, 1992
‘Bangkok Sucker Blues’, NME, 1994
Chapter Two
‘Manic’s Depressive’, NME, 1994
‘Depression = Drink = Mutilation’, Kerrang, 1994
Chapter Three
‘Dead End Street’, Vox, 1993
‘Drags to Riches’, Melody Maker, 1992
‘Manic Sheep Teachers’, NME, 1993
Chapter Five
‘It Couldn’t Be You’, Select, 1998
‘Five Years Gone’, Kerrang, 2000
‘Not So Manic Now’, Guardian, 2004
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, Esquire, 1998
In the Beginning: My Life With The Manic Street Preachers, Jennifer Watkins Isnardi, Blake Publishing, 2000
‘The Search for Richey Manic’, Vox, 1996
‘The Last Time I Saw Richey’, Guardian, 2000
‘I Think We’ve All Tried to Deny it at Some Point, but Being Unhappy and Dissatisfied is Part of Our Make-Up’, Volume, Autumn, 1994
‘Parental Guidance Advised’, Melody Maker, 1991
‘Gorgeous in Spite of Himself’, The Times, 1994
‘Attention All Pathetic, Unloved Sluts’, Check This Out, 1992
Impact Magazine, 1988
Chapter Six
‘Road Hogs!!’, RAW, 1994
Chapter Seven
‘Going 4 Gold’, Metal Hammer, 1993
‘Glam Racket’, Select, 1993
‘From Sneer to Maturity’, NME, 1993
‘Don’t Give up the Deity Job’, NME, 1994
‘It’s Not A Question of Compromise; It’s Just a Question of Clarity’, Pop Matters, 2005
‘Nicky Wire: Prime Minister,’ NME, 1997
‘Handjobs and Holy Bibles’, Kerrang, 1994
‘The Record That Changed Our Lives’, NME, 2014
Chapter Eight
The Hiding Place, Trezza Azzapardi, Picador, 2000
‘Archives of Pain’, Melody Maker, 1994
‘James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers on a year of hospital horror’, Select, 1995
‘Manic Depression’, Melody Maker, 1994
‘One Foot In The Past’, The Word, 2005
Sacred Sex: Erotic Writings from the Religions of the World, Robert Bates, HarperCollins, 1994
‘Manic Street Preachers – The Revolutionaries’, Q Magazine, 2009
‘Something Just Flipped In His Head’, RAW, 1994
‘Rapid Mood Swings’, Sky, 1994
‘Manic Street Preachers Interview Part 2’, NME, 2009
‘We Shall Overcome’, Select, 1996
Chapter Nine
‘Rant for Cover’, RAW, 1994
‘Manic Street Preachers: There’s just so much hate within this band. Why are we still like this?’, Uncut, 2014
‘Manic Street Preachers on The Holy Bible’, NME, 2014
‘Manic Street Preacher’, Music Life, 1995
‘Manics New Testament’, Melody Maker, 1994
‘Rant For Cover’, RAW, 1994
‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’, The Face, 1994
‘Smile, It Might Never Happen’, Q Magazine, 1994
‘Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers chooses his Men of the Year’, Melody Maker, 1993
‘All That Glitters’, Melody Maker, 1994
‘B Side: Manic Street Preachers’, MOJO, 2001
Chapter Ten
‘Everything Must Go … On’, NME, 1996
‘Culture, Alienation, Bordeaux and Despair’, Melody Maker, 1994
‘We’ve Never Quite Walked It Like We’ve Talked It’, NME, 1998
‘Manic Street Preachers Interview Part Three’, NME, 2014
Suede: Love and Poison, David Barnett, Andre Deutsch Ltd, 2003
‘Ooh, Aaah, Street Preach-Ah’, Melody Maker, 1994
‘How we made Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go’, Guardian, 2016
‘Everything Must Go Interview’, NME, 1996
Impact Magazine, 1988
‘Did Someone Order Gloom Service?’, The Face, 1998
‘And If You Need An Explanation: Manic Street Preachers interviewed’, The Quietus, 2016
‘Everything Must Grow Up’, Q Magazine, 1998
‘Manic Street Preachers’, Music Life, 1995
‘This Album Could Seriously Damage Us’, Guardian, 2009
Chapter Eleven
‘It Was The Best Of Times’, Q Magazine, 2016
‘The Point of No Return?’, The Sunday Times, 1995
Chapter Twelve
The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker, Souvenir Press Ltd, 1974
‘Manic Street Preachers’, EP Magazine, 1991
‘Manic Street Preachers Rewind The Film’, WalesOnline, 2013
Chapter Thirteen
‘Missing’, Independent, 1998
‘The Search for Richey Manic’, Vox, 1996
O’Hara’s Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 2013 edition
Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain, Ian Halperin and Max Wallace, Allison & Busby UK edition, 2014
Disasters on the Severn, Chris Witts, Tempus Publishing, 2002
Paint it Black: The Murder of Brian Jones, Geoffrey Giuliano, Virgin Books, 1994
Brian Jones: Who Killed Christopher Robin? The Truth Behind the Murder of a Rolling Stone, Terry Rawlings, Helter Skelter Publishing, 2005
‘Manic Street Preachers: Sublime and ridiculous’, Independent, 2004
‘From Despair to … Where?’, NME, 1995
Index
The page references in this index correspond to the print edition from which this ebook was created, and clicking on them will take you to the the location in the ebook where the equivalent print page would begin. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
RE indicates Richey Edwards.
Ageyev, M.: Novel with Cocaine 239
AIDS 101, 119
Albarn, Damon 121
Alice in Chains 122
Alighieri, Dante: Divine Comedy 199, 244–5, 247–8
Alle
n, Simon 257, 258
Ambrosini, Mrs 230
Anderson, Brett 195
Apocalypse Now (film) 121, 158, 193–4, 199, 214, 246
Asperger’s syndrome (AS) 207–10, 211
Astoria, Cardiff 192
Astoria, London 201–2, 215, 282
ataraxia (state of tranquillity that comes from the suspension of all beliefs) 149
Attwood, Tony 210
Avon & Somerset Police 223, 257
Azzopardi, Trezza: The Hiding Place 135
Bach, Richard:
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah 246
Jonathan Livingston Seagull 245–6
Bailie, Stuart 146
Ballard, J.G.: Crash 161
Bangkok, Thailand 12, 125–8, 130, 175, 239
Barrett, Rosemary 207
Barrett, Syd 3, 207, 216, 276
Bartlett, Rachel 61, 62–3, 75, 116
Bates, Robert: Sacred Sex: Erotic Writings from the Religions of the World 145