The Return of the Manics Top 50s!!!

Some of you may remember the original Manics Top 50s from summer 2013 or the return in 2015 where each time more than 60 of us locked ourselves away and deliberated for days, weeks and months over what to include, what to leave out and the vital battle of what would be your number 1 Manics song.  

Some of you weren't part of the coolest gang on Twitter at that point though and so there are occasional whispers as to when it will make a return.  So, with the release of The Ultra Vivid Lament and the return of live music, now seemed like as good a time as any!!!

Since 2015 we have of course also had Resistance Is Futile seeping into our consciousness, so it will be interesting to see how the songs from that album do against the rest.  And how have Rewind the Film and Futurology settled into the back catalogue after they were still fresh in the mind in the first two editions of the chart?  Will they trouble the older classics in the higher echelons of the chart?

Wherever your loyalties lie, the only way to affect the outcome is by sitting down, re-listening to the back catalogue (a chore I know...any excuse) and compiling your chart.  This time you also get the opportunity of writing about your choices and your own personal Manics journey if you wish, see the rules below.

I'm sure I've gained loads more Manics friends since last time, so it would be great to break the 100 barrier in terms of number of participants and make it even bigger than last time, not to mention statistically more reliable.  So spread the word, grab all your Manics-loving friends and get voting!!!!

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If you're taking part in selecting your 50 favourite Manics songs then it's obviously predominantly all about fun and revisiting all of the albums, B-sides etc. to make your choices!  But, for consistency, we need a few rules just so we're all working the same way.

The Rules!

• Each chart contains 50 songs, in order of preference from 1 to 50 (the ordering is important as scoring for the overall fans' chart at the end will depend on this - see below***).
• Each selection will be based on songs rather than versions.  Therefore 'You Love Us', 'Spectators of Suicide' etc. appear once only regardless of which version you prefer.
• Live tracks can be included if they have appeared on an official release, for example as a B-side, but don't have a corresponding studio version e.g. 'It's So Easy'.
• Cover versions are perfectly valid entries.
• Remixes are not included as they are other artists' interpretations of Manics songs.
• Solo tracks by James or Nicky are not included.
• Guest appearances by any Manics member under another band's name are not included.
• Songs released on bootlegs are not included (most will be covered by the above anyway).
• For a full list of valid entries go here (and do let me know if you think I'm missing any!!).

Submitting your Entry

Once you have your final 50, participants have various different options to submit their entry - firstly you can count down from 50 to 1 in true chart style on Twitter for a lively debate with your followers!!  If you do this, you could put your own personal hashtag against each entry (e.g. #ManicsTop50IanL) and let me know @Pyfbrown so that I can compile and publish your chart.  Each entry will go up on this blog with your Twitter name for anyone that misses the countdown to study and critique!!

However, if you would rather blog your own chart, make it into an artistic piece (like with some of the fantasy setlists) or just send me your chart without counting down on Twitter in this way that's fine too, you can send it to me at pyf78 @ hotmail . com (obviously remove the spaces, just trying to beat the spammers!).

This time, you can also have the opportunity (if you wish) of talking about your top 50.  With lots of different entries it can become difficult for me to find anything new to say in the blog the more charts we receive, so it's over to you.  Alongside your chart you can let me know the thoughts behind your choices, at what point in their story you were first introduced to the Manics, favourite albums, reminiscences about seeing them live, meeting them etc.  Bear in mind that you may be sharing your blog entry with others so a few paragraphs will suffice, but we want to hear YOUR truth!

Alternatively you may find that compiling a chart is just too hard, or you just don't have the time, as some did last time.  No problem, you can write a small piece detailing your Manics history and why ordering them was just too difficult and you can have your say even if your vote isn't included!

The deadline for entries to be considered for the overall fans' chart is November 30th 2021. But if you don't hit the deadline feel free to still compile your chart!!  All this means is your chart won't be considered when compiling the Unofficial Manics Fans Favourite Songs!!  Happy ordering!!



***Scoring will be on the basis of 50 points for a number 1, 49 for a number 2, all the way down to 1 point for number 50.  The scores from each entry will be added together to produce the overall chart.