More NME nostalgia
As mentioned below, here is Sleeping With The NME, the B-side of the NME-sponsored, charity Manic Street Preachers single, Theme From M*A*S*H. The single, recorded as part of the paper's 40th birthday celebrations for the Ruby Trax album, reached number 7 in the charts in 1992 and spent three weeks in the Top 10. (Proceeds went to The Spastics Society, now Scope.)
The second b-side, chosen by the Manics, was an eight-minute extract from an hour-long documentary, Sleeping With The NME, made for Radio 5 - in its early, pre-Five Live days, when it was a "sport, children's and educational" station and had a "youth" element. The documentary, produced by John Yorke, now C0ntroller of BBC Drama Production, involved he and presenter Mark Thomas spending a week at the NME's office in 1992. Their chosen week just happened to be the one in which Richey Edwards carved "4 REAL" into his arm while talking to Steve Lamacq and Ed Sirrs photographed it, creating what is now one of the most iconic rock photos of all time, I'd say. Have a listen to the extract.
You'll hear James Brown, Danny Kelly, production editor Brendan Fitzgerald, Steve Lamacq, Ed Sirrs, art editor Pru Watkins, deputy art editor Marc Pechart, PA Karen Walter, news editor Iestyn George, assistant news editor Mary Anne Hobbs, and, sadly, me. (During the week, myself and Stuart Maconie had made ourselves totally available to Mark and John, and had become their point men, while some of the staff maintained a slightly snooty air about the BBC spies in our midst and kept their distance. This was, funnily enough, the start of our radio partnership - although Stuart was not present for the Richey discussion.)
Hey, it's a slice of NME office life in the early 90s, and very funny, and you'll hear what I used to sound like, aged 27, when I still had Northampton in my voice and had not yet learned how to speak on the radio - not having been on it before.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 6:57 AM
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17 Comments:
I'm very impressed by the Northampton. I think you should bring the Northampton back.
The comments on YouTube are reliably amusing. One seems to suggest that the NME staff are all "posh", another berates me for pronouncing the word "horrible" without an "h".
My favourite bit is Danny Kelly's bravado on being ushered into the art room and then the clear sound of shock when he actually looks at the photo through the viewfinder.
"Oi foind it extwemely owwible" Brilliant stuff. And James Brown's the squeaky Brummie at the end?
James is the squeaky Yorkshireman who says it's part of the fine tradition of self-expression.
I like the idea that the Manics actually sanctioned this as a b-side. They always did have a sense of humour, as well as a sense of their own importance.
You sound like a 40-a-day man who'd not been up very long! Really interesting to hear how many people were genuinely horrified and thought the pictures should not have been printed. I doubt there'd be a similar proportion of dissenting voices in a magazine office today.
Just to be a pedant, Theme From Mash was coupled with The Fatima Mansions' version of Everything I Do (I Do It For You) - this was track 3 on the CD single. It's less clunky the way you've written it however and it doesn't really matter!
Factually correct, but I didn't want to cloud the issue.
Having read the tale in TMITC (and indeed at the time, if I can rely on my memory) it is good to hear this.
I still like to surprise people with selections from Ruby Trax on mix cds.
I've said on here before that the Manics are my favourite band, so this was fascinating to hear, thanks Andrew.
I was too young for the NME at the time but remember reading the story in Smash Hits (not the picture though, unsurprisingly!). It was only a few years later when I got to 15/16 and realised what a significant event this was in music (and in my life).
I am just glad that the press back then weren't like they are now. It would be horrible if Richey did that now and was turned into a Pete/Amy character in the tabloids. Not to mention the effect 'being papped' would have had on his mental health.
Thanks again for the link Andrew!
Zoe
PS The new Manics material, all lyrics by Richey, is fantastic (but then I would say that)!
I was a big Manics fan from first hearing the New Art Riot EP, went off them after 'Everything Must Go' though.
I hadn't heard this for over a decade until I started digitizing my collection of Manics CD singles a few months back. It was about a minute in when I had my surreal 'oh wait, that's Andrew Collins!' moment.
I like the extreme reactions - James Brown showing his predilection for justifying publishing sensational images, Danny Baker silenced as AC mentioned and whichever lady it was feigning indifference...
I had the 7 inch, not the CD single but I remember hearing this around the time of release. I'm pretty sure I already like The Manics at the point the MASH single was released, but in a sort of ironic way... the tunes were superb whichever way you look at it.
"weeawee owwible!"
Excellent :-)
Interesting to hear how different both you and Stuart Maconie (on the earlier NME clip) now sound. Stuart in particular could be another person entirely. I wonder - is this just due to the passage of time, or the effect of regular broadcasting? I can imagine that having to speak ultra-clearly and brightly (and often to a script) must have a sort of neutralising effect on most accents - not necessarily intentional but somehow inevitable. Or, perhaps you were so horrified to hear your recorded voices for the first time (as we all are) that something had to be done...
Great clip, though. Steve L. sounded quite traumatised.
I've had a shit day, but listening to this and reading the rough transcript in 'That's Me In The Corner' at the same time has just cheered me right up.
I've been wanting to hear "I know, but I'm in the publishing caper aren't I?" for two years since I first read it and it lives up expectations.
(I was 12 when all this was happening, so it's new world to me. I've never actually liked the Manics at all though.)
You do realise I will now hear this voice mentally when I re-read your books, right?
"This is good, this is a good story"
Ah, the young (naive?) journo, thrilling at the idea of selling more copies on the back of a self-harming depressive's attention-seeking antics.
I don't mean to sneer, but it's interesting how your voice (and most others) is an enthusiastic contrast to poor Lamacq, who sounds pretty disgusted and shocked by his experience. Can't say I'd have been any less enthusiastic to have a story like that fall into my lap though.
Ah, this is absolutely brilliant to hear. Such a time capsule. Thanks Andrew!
Awesome slice of Manics history captured for posterity. Amazing! I've been a fan since 1995 and this is something I've NEVER heard before.
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