NME New Musical Express, 11 May 1991: Manic Street Preachers – Punk Rears Its Ugly Head; Sonic Youth, The Fall family tree, St Etienne, Gallon Drunk, Northside, Shirley Bassey

NME – New Musical Express, 11 May 1991 (cover price 60p; US $2.95), the weekly British music paper, with the Manic Street Preachers on the cover under the headline 'Manic Street Preachers – Punk rears its ugly head'. The cover photograph by Kevin Cummins shows the band in leopard print, lace and eyeliner, slogans daubed across their chests – the image that fixed the early Manics in the public mind. Cover lines: 'America eats its young: Sonic Youth way out West'; '14 years! 16 bands! The Fall family tree'; 'Stainless Seal? You must be joking!'; 'Wedding Present split: page 3'; and Tad, Northside, Kym Mazelle, St Etienne, Five Thirty, Funki Dreds, See See Rider, Gallon Drunk 'and, erm, Shirley Bassey'. The issue caught the Blackwood band in the year of their Heavenly singles 'Motown Junk' and 'You Love Us', and only days before the night of 15 May 1991 in Norwich when Richey Edwards cut '4 REAL' into his forearm in front of NME journalist Steve Lamacq, who had questioned the band's sincerity – one of the most famous episodes in the paper's history. An early NME cover for the Manic Street Preachers and a key collectable for fans of the band and of Richey Edwards. It is also a snapshot of British guitar and dance music in spring 1991, from Madchester (Northside) and the arrival of Saint Etienne to the American underground (Sonic Youth, Tad) and Mark E. Smith's ever-changing Fall. Inside, the paper's usual news pages, single, album and live reviews, gig guide and classified advertisements. Published by IPC Magazines, London. Newsprint, tabloid format, about 29 x 40 cm. Barcode 9770028636017 (issue 19). THEMES: Manic Street Preachers, Richey Edwards, Nicky Wire, James Dean Bradfield, NME, indie music 1991, The Fall, Sonic Youth, Saint Etienne, British music press, music memorabilia.

Author: New Musical Express (NME)

Publisher: New Musical Express (NME)/IPC Magazines

Publication Date: 1991

Binding: Single Issue Magazine

Condition: Used - Good