Richey Edwards facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richey Edwards
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Edwards in Japan, circa 1991
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| Born |
Richard James Edwards
22 December 1967 Blackwood, Wales
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| Disappeared | 1 February 1995 (aged 27) Cardiff, Wales |
| Status | Missing for 29 years, 9 months and 1 day; Declared dead in absentia 24 November 2008 |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Other names | Richey James Richey Manic |
| Alma mater | Swansea University |
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| Associated acts | Manic Street Preachers |
Richard James Edwards (born 22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his dark, politicised and intellectual songwriting which, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status. He has been cited as a leading lyricist of his generation, leading the Cool Cymru movement.
Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995. On 24 November 2008, he was declared presumed dead "on or since" 1 February 1995. The ninth Manic Street Preachers album, Journal for Plague Lovers, released on 18 May 2009, is composed entirely of songs with lyrics left by Edwards. As of 2005[update] the remaining members of Manic Street Preachers were still paying 25% royalties into an account in his name.
Contents
Biography
Richard James Edwards was born and raised in Blackwood, Wales to Graham and Sherry Edwards. He had one younger sister, Rachel (born 1969), with whom he was close. Edwards attended Oakdale Comprehensive School. From 1986 to 1989, he attended University of Wales, Swansea and graduated with a 2:1 degree in political history. The Edwards family lived in Blackwood. He met Nicky Wire, Sean Moore and James Dean Bradfield at Oakdale Comprehensive School.
Career
Edwards was initially a driver and roadie for Manic Street Preachers. He was accepted as the band's main spokesman and fourth member in 1989. Edwards showed little musical talent; his real contribution to the band was in their lyrics and design. He frequently mimed playing the guitar during early live performances and accordingly only played on two songs during the Manic Street Preachers studio career, but was, along with bassist Nicky Wire, principal lyricist. Edwards is said to have written approximately 80% of the lyrics on their third album, The Holy Bible. Both are credited on all songs written before Edwards' disappearance, with Edwards receiving sole credit on three tracks from the 1996 album Everything Must Go, and co-writing credits on another two.
Despite Edwards' lack of musical input, he contributed to their overall musical direction, and according to the rest of the band on the Everything Must Go DVD, he played a leading role in deciding the band's sound. Edwards expressed a desire to create a concept album described as "Pantera meets Nine Inch Nails meets Screamadelica". Lead guitarist and vocalist James Dean Bradfield later expressed doubt over whether the band would have produced such an album: "I was worried that as chief tune-smith in the band I wasn't actually going to be able to write things that he would have liked. There would have been an impasse in the band for the first time born out of taste."
Edwards had severe depression, and was open about it in interviews. He also had insomnia. Before the release of The Holy Bible in 1994, he checked into Whitchurch Hospital and later the Priory hospital, missing out on some of the promotional work for the album and forcing the band to appear as a three piece at the Reading Festival and T in the Park. Following his release from the Priory in September, Manic Street Preachers toured Europe with Suede and Therapy? for what would be the last time. Edwards' final live appearance was at the London Astoria, on 21 December 1994. On 23 January 1995, Edwards gave his last interview to Japanese music magazine Music Life.
Disappearance
Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995, on the day when he and Bradfield were due to fly to the United States on a promotional tour of The Holy Bible. In the two weeks before his disappearance, Edwards withdrew £200 a day from his bank account, which totalled £2,800 by the day of the scheduled flight. It is not known if he intended to spend the cash during the U.S. tour or whether a part of it was to pay for a desk that he had ordered from a shop in Cardiff. There is no record of the desk having been paid for.
On the morning of February 1, Edwards collected his wallet, car keys, and his passport. He reportedly checked out of the hotel at 7:00 a.m. In the two weeks that followed, Edwards was apparently spotted in the Newport passport office and at Newport bus station by a fan who was unaware that he was missing.
On 7 February, a taxi driver from Newport supposedly picked up Edwards from the King's Hotel, and drove him around the valleys, including Edwards' hometown of Blackwood. The driver reported that the passenger had spoken in a Cockney accent, which occasionally slipped into a Welsh one, and that he had asked if he could lie down on the back seat. Eventually they reached Blackwood and the bus station, but the passenger reportedly said "this is not the place", and asked to be taken to Pontypool railway station. It was later ascertained, according to Jovanovic's account, that Pontypool did not have a telephone. The passenger got out at the Severn View service station near Aust, South Gloucestershire and paid the £68 fare in cash.
On 14 February, Edwards' Vauxhall Cavalier received a parking ticket at the Severn View service station, and on 17 February, the vehicle was reported as abandoned. Police discovered the battery to be dead, with evidence that the car had been lived in. The car also had photos he had taken of his family days prior.
Since then, Edwards has reportedly been spotted in a market in Goa, India, and on the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. There have been other alleged sightings of Edwards, especially in the years immediately following his disappearance. However, none of these has proved conclusive, and none has been confirmed by investigators. In 2018, it was revealed that the bridge's toll receipt was timestamped with a 24-hour clock, meaning he would have crossed the bridge at 2:55 am, rather than 2:55 pm as previously thought for 23 years.
While his family had the option of declaring him legally dead from 2002 onwards, they chose not to for many years, and his status remained open as a missing person until 23 November 2008, when he became officially "presumed dead".
Literature and other cultural influences
As well as an interest in music, Edwards displayed a love for literature. He chose many of the quotes that appear on Manics record sleeves and would often refer to writers and poets during interviews. This interest in literature has remained integral to the band's music and lyrics. Albert Camus, Philip Larkin, Yukio Mishima, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Arthur Rimbaud are known to have been among his favourite authors. In a dressing room interview, he also mentioned admiration for Primo Levi. Edwards' lyrics have often been of a highly poetic nature and at times they reflected his knowledge of political history.
Books about Edwards
In 2009, Rob Jovanovic's book A Version of Reason: The Search for Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers was published. The book was written with the goal of providing an authoritative factual account, pieced together through testimonials from those close to Edwards before his disappearance. A novel by Ben Myers, entitled Richard: A Novel, was published on 1 October 2010 through Picador. Richard purports to be a fictionalised account of Edwards' life "as he might have told it." A 2015 novel by Guy Mankowski, entitled How I Left The National Grid, was heavily informed by Edwards and his disappearance. Howard Marks has also written a book about Edwards, Sympathy for the Devil, although his name has been changed to fictionalise the story.
In 2019, Sara Hawys Roberts and Leon Noakes published Withdrawn Traces: Searching for the Truth About Richey Manic, a book that claimed to provide fresh evidence that Edwards staged the disappearance. The book was published with consent from Edwards' sister, Rachel Edwards, who also wrote the foreword.
Discography and writing credits
- With Manic Street Preachers
- Generation Terrorists (1992)
- Gold Against the Soul (1993)
- The Holy Bible (1994)
- Everything Must Go (1996)
- Journal for Plague Lovers (2009)
See also
In Spanish: Richey James Edwards para niños
- Lists of people who disappeared
- 27 Club
