Monday 3 January 2022

Manics Top 50 - In Their Own Words

During the Manics Top 50 countdown on Twitter, the person who selected each of the 50 songs in the highest position was linked in to each tweet, which was also a call for those people to write about the song they love for this blog.  Since that call, some of you have come back with some typically verbose responses which are now presented here.

If you haven't managed to get round to writing yours yet, don't worry.....you can still send them and I'll add them on when they come through.  New additions as they are added after the first version will be shown in red font.  Happy Manics fan reading!

In Their Own Words

50. Europa Geht Durch Mich - 1002 points / 41 picks
Placed highest by: @MentalJargon (4th)



49. Golden Platitudes - 1006 points / 40 picks
Placed highest by: @30yearwar (1st)



48. Judge Yr'self - 1009 points / 43 picks
Placed highest by: @MildManics (2nd)



47. Rewind The Film - 1067 points / 43 picks
Placed highest by: @lonelyaesthetic (2nd)



46. Complicated Illusions - 1071 points / 42 picks
Placed highest by: @diapause78 (4th)



45. Mausoleum - 1075 points / 42 picks
Placed highest by: @porthjess @Chuzzwozza (3rd)



44. Revol - 1099 points / 45 picks
Placed highest by: citymanblue (4th)



43. Kevin Carter - 1103 points / 42 picks
Placed highest by: @gloomyok @amirsuleman (3rd)

@gloomyok - I could say I placed this one so highly because I love playing it on bass and it wouldn’t be a lie. But it wouldn’t be the whole truth either. 

Everything Must Go was the second Manics album I ever listened to (Lifeblood was my baptism of fire) but it was the first I started doing ‘research’ for, by which I mean googling stuff. I had so many questions! Who the hell is Willem De Kooning? But before that one, by sheer track listing order, the question was who the hell is Kevin Carter? and will looking up this mystery man allow me to understand these rather obscure lyrics?

I remember reading that Wikipedia page eagerly, slowly understanding, as if translating. Now the line ‘click, click, click / click himself under’ which sounded to me like a bunch of whatever revealed itself as an incredibly grotesque yet poignant statement about the man whose photographs slowly led him to despair.

To me Kevin Carter symbolizes the unique quality of the Manics work: the way it can be enjoyed on different levels. You can enjoy the very surface: catchy melodies, cool guitar solos (epic trumpet solo in this particular case) and all-around quality tunes. But you can also dip your toes and start looking up the references: all these books, politicians, poems, historical figures… And you can also straight up dive in and start reading these things, watch documentaries, spend an afternoon down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, even write a few paragraphs about one of their songs! Isn’t it lovely?

42. Sepia - 1108 points / 47 picks
Placed highest by: @ManicBeata @10000_manics (3rd)



41. Donkeys - 1145 points / 49 picks
Placed highest by: @porthjess @jackmansavfc (2nd)



40. This Joke Sport Severed - 1195 points / 49 picks
Placed highest by: @beksthebloody (1st)

@beksthebloody - I bought JFPL way back sometime and never listened to it properly until I went 0 to extreme Manics Fan in the space of a weekend listening to Do You Love Us.

Some part of JFPL immediately invaded my soul and has never left - it was like I had found something I didn't know I was missing and it was a musical comfort blanket I had sitting on my shelf all these years and never took down until maybe it was when I needed it most.

This Joke Sport Severed is the song that unlocked everything.  Played on repeat while I come to figure out the emotions I'm feeling.  It's the song that made me pick up the guitar and play music again.  It's a perfect piece of poetry to me.

39. Walk Me To The Bridge - 1223 points / 59 picks
Placed highest by: @jennifer_eileen (4th)



38. Condemned To Rock 'N' Roll - 1241 points / 46 picks
Placed highest by: @BrickingBadger @richierabs @RichKelly_ @0xytocinn (1st)



37. Slash N' Burn - 1260 points / 56 picks
Placed highest by: @marcsedison (2nd)



36. Found That Soul - 1262 points / 49 picks
Placed highest by: @MonkeyMarl @biscuitporpoise (5th)



35. Life Becoming A Landslide - 1282 points / 46 picks
Placed highest by: @marcsedison @dansm1th3 (3rd)

@dansm1th3Where to start with this song? It is perhaps able to bring out the most emotion in me from any Manics song. The melancholic opening, the brutal rise as the guitar and drums kick in, all build to the soaring stringed finale in the final chorus. On another day I could have very easily placed it at number one, if it had not been for the personal and nostalgic connections I have for Motorcycle Emptiness and All Surface No Feeling pipping it to the post. As I mentioned on Twitter I think the vocals are James’ best, the way he controls and alters his voice through the different sections of the song transcend my own understanding of singing to the point where I can’t help but just listen in awe.

The lyrics are hauntingly beautiful, this is Nicky and Richey at their best in portraying the harrowing realities of life, in a way only they can. ‘My idea of love comes from, a childhood glimpse of pornography’. I mean, how amazing is that? It’s poetry in motion. The song had such a deep impact on me early on in my Manics fanhood, and in my own opinion it is undoubtedly the high point of Gold Against The Soul and one that takes a long time to get off the turntable (I think my record for most consecutive listens is 14!). It’s a love that has stood the test of time and will undoubtedly continue to do so for many years to come!

34. Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky - 1327 points / 55 picks
Placed highest by: @PhilipM04217017 (4th)



33. Enola/Alone - 1328 points / 55 picks
Placed highest by: @AliceBoothLewis (2nd)

@AliceBoothLewisEMG was the album that turned me on to the Manics. It fast became a bit of an obsession for me. I'd fallen for this band in a big way. I loved the album - knew it word for word - but one track stood out. Every time it comes on - without fail, no matter how I'm feeling or what is going on around me - it takes me back to that exciting time. It lifts me; still, 27 years later. I feel a bit silly saying this, but it almost makes me feel like the real me whenever I hear it. Inhibitions gone, playing it loud and singing even louder. A song of glorious release.

32. Die In The Summertime - 1384 points / 48 picks
Placed highest by: @Wrestling20Yrs (1st)



31. The Everlasting - 1388 points / 52 picks
Placed highest by: @MovieEvangelist (1st)



30. Peeled Apples - 1417 points / 57 picks
Placed highest by: @KurtMarcECurtis @TinkHolloway (3rd)

@KurtMarcECurtis - That bridge to the chorus is exceptional, and it's got a bigger chorus than you remember. Best set of lyrics on an album of excellent lyrics. I adore a good ride cymbal and a bass breakdown. The guitar sound is cool af. Great way to start the second best album ever made!

29. Of Walking Abortion - 1458 points / 54 picks
Placed highest by: @myclwd (1st)



28. PCP - 1496 points / 57 picks
Placed highest by: @KurtMarcECurtis (1st)

@KurtMarcECurtis - This song for me is the finest example of the Manics I love. The lyrics, and the way they are delivered, are utterly tremendous. It has so many great touches, the drum breaks, the little bass runs, and the top guitar work. The heartpounding energy, the mind-blowing lyrics. What a way to end the greatest album ever made!

27. International Blue - 1520 points / 66 picks
Placed highest by: @TinkHolloway (2nd)



26. ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart - 1563 points / 55 picks
Placed highest by: @Chuzzwozza (2nd)



25. Still Snowing In Sapporo - 1594 points / 65 picks
Placed highest by: revolbiscuit (1st)

@revolbiscuit - Why is 'Sapporo' at the top of my list? Obviously, I love everything about it - its mood changes and its long theatrical stops; James' lonely, haunting vocal in the verses and the subtlety of the bridge picking its way in, with JDB's vox taking on a kind of calming assurance, before guitar blam-a-lams herald in the chorus. And what a chorus - like Hokusai's In The Well of the Great Wave of Kanagawa, it dips and crescendos beautifully with droplets and tsunamis of melody and meaning.

We know what it's all about. Nick misses Richey immeasurably, and here he's watching old videos, likely for the GATS anniversary boxset and Pieces of Sleep, and he's instantly back there, last date of a Japanese tour in '93. I watched the Japan 93 GATS tour TV special yesterday as well. Richey seemed at the top of his game, smiling, laughing, talking Japanese, smoking a cig. With a razor sharp memory, Wire recalls the time and place with his friend at his best, and the perfect symmetry of the 4....and now they're 3. And for me, this track has everything. It remembers, it grieves, it dissects and it celebrates. It's a singalong. And it fucking rocks. And that solo/riff is to die for.

24. 1985 - 1597 points / 56 picks
Placed highest by: @LondonLady70 (2nd)



23. Ready For Drowning - 1620 points / 59 picks
Placed highest by: Truba9 (2nd)



22. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - 1657 points / 67 picks
Placed highest by: @EdBiggsLGM @peterswan_ (4th)



21. Tsunami - 1749 points / 68 picks
Placed highest by: @GreenBitterfly @jackmansavfc @mylittlegempire (1st)



20. Roses In The Hospital - 1754 points / 65 picks
Placed highest by: @bentirs @w_onderwalls (2nd)



19. 4st 7lb - 1782 points / 61 picks
Placed highest by: @newartriot @gloomyok @ChorizoGarbanzo @A_J_T_1970 (2nd)

@gloomyok - I know that a lot of Manics fans have a very personal connection with this song, but not me. I can’t say I’ve ever suffered from an ED. I don’t relate to the lyrics. Still, I felt I had to place this one in my top 10. It was one of the first Manics songs I’d ever heard and I did so without knowing beforehand what it was about, who Richey was or what even happened to him. 

I couldn’t make out all of the lyrics then (I’m not a native speaker and JDB doesn’t make it any easier!) but I’ll never forget how the line ‘I want to walk in the snow and not leave a footprint’ felt like a punch in the gut. I just couldn’t believe how one could use such innocent words like “snow” and “footprint” and put them in such an order, in such a way that evoked a feeling so horrific. By the end of the song, I felt nauseous. It’s not everyday that someone gets such a visceral reaction for a song, is it? And it even has time for some pitch-black humor! ‘Choice is skeletal in everybody’s life’. I mean, what the hell!

No disrespect to JDB and Sean’s staggering musical translation of the lyrics but to me 4st 7lb is a testament to the power of words. It could have been just prose, black on white, and still be an incredibly powerful piece of art that would have left me feeling like shit. It’s diabolical. 

Like that photograph, The most beautiful suicide, there’s some guilt in finding beauty in a song like this. I feel terrible for staring, but I can’t take my eyes off. And I wouldn’t want to.

18. Everything Must Go - 1814 points / 62 picks
Placed highest by: @PatRedmond @DrGaryMarriner (2nd)



17. Prologue To History - 2027 points / 74 picks
Placed highest by: @LondonLady70 @enola_Ole (1st)



16. The Masses Against The Classes - 2037 points / 72 picks
Placed highest by: @MentalJargon @biscuitporpoise @enola_Ole (2nd)



15. Archives Of Pain - 2339 points / 68 picks
Placed highest by: @ricardlawless @MentalJargon (1st)

@ricardlawlessArchives of Pain sets its stall out pretty early. It starts with a mother whose child was a Peter Sutcliffe victim, and follows with a creeping bass line in drop D. (Drop D is a guitar tuning where you lower the top string by a tone) Other than The Intense Humming Of Evil, this is one of the darkest intros on what is a very dark album. Although it shares some similarities with metal music, it has a depth to that darkness, and introspection. It questions the band's intention, as well as society's intentions. Through graphic imagery it debates if murders should be subject to their own torture, and why we unjustly celebrate them. It also pulls the band into this, asking if they are also to blame for endorsing this?

The intensity of the performance only adds to this. The screamed vocals, the building crescendo of the guitar solo, the sinister stabs of guitar on the verses. I'm not sure, but is it the Manics song with the longest guitar solo, and the only one to be in drop D? Maybe it's obvious because I chose this as my number 1, but The Holy Bible is my favourite album. I think there are other songs on the album that may surpass this lyrically, but musically it speaks to me. It's not subtle in any way, it's a hammer blow to the skull. It has no pretensions of being a lovely melody, or delightful harmonies, it is to the point and abrasive. For me the music is a counter point to the lyrics. They are asking should we? Whilst the music is screaming do it!

Personally this is one of the few Manics songs I can play from start to finish, and one I have performed live. Maybe 19 year old me wanted to shock my music teacher by performing this live, I can't totally recall my intentions, but it was a great song to sing. As we were a college band on a music course, we were largely performing to parents. My friend's mother seemed to hang on for dear life as I screamed "Not punish less, rise the pain, sterilise rapists." The fact that it followed a Mark Knopfler song probably didn't help to prepare her. Ranking the songs for my top 50 was really difficult, and there are many changes I would make now. Archives would still be number 1 though. For me no song better encapsulates The Holy Bible and what it was trying to achieve. Kill Yeltsin, who's saying?

14. This Is Yesterday - 2367 points / 74 picks
Placed highest by: @marcsedison @oldcornc @ManicBeata (1st)

@oldcornc - There is no doubt that Edwards, Jones, Bradfield and Moore write songs that reach into people and drag things from them that they didn’t know were there.  They spark emotion, they remind us of who we are and what makes us tick, or not. For me, this is yesterday is a bridge. It’s the bridge between the first and second incarnation of the band, Musically and lyrically.

Is it longing for a return to the past or is it a realisation that everything is futile? Is it a call from Nick that he can see the iceberg? Who knows?

If this song was a year younger, it’d be a perfect response to Richey’s disappearance. In fact in many ways it fits better on EMG than it does on The Holy Bible.

But why is it the best? It’s a song I can play when happy or sad. It’s a song I can sing along to. It’s a song that takes me to places I loved with people I loved.

There’s been a few comments about acoustic versions and whilst they’re good, they miss the dynamic of being performed by a full band, especially when we get the guitar solo and Sean’s snare! For me the best version was on the 1999  NME annual probe compilation CD, which I believe was recorded live in Cardiff.  A band who had truly crossed over, but who still kept in touch with their past.

13. Stay Beautiful - 2423 points / 83 picks
Placed highest by: @DiscoDollie75 @jenvidg (1st)



12. Sleepflower - 2618 points / 91 picks
Placed highest by: @AndDarkWithin @_happycactus @MildManics (1st)



11. Motown Junk - 2628 points / 79 picks
Placed highest by: @ofmilesfromhome @Pyfbrown @liars_honey (1st)

@PyfbrownThis was always going to be my number one, that position was never in doubt. I've always thought that this is the perfect song to play on vinyl - maybe it's because for years I only ever had it as the B-side to the 'Slash N' Burn' 7", so it's now ingrained in my memory as such. It's also the first Manics song I ever heard.....was it on the Indie Chart on the Chart Show, was it on Snub, I'm not sure which came first, but it didn't mean much to me at the time. 

As time has gone on my favourite songs have changed, but eventually this just pushed its way to the front and is unlikely to be beaten. The guitar crackling into life, the primal energy as it warms up, before Wiring you into the mains (pun intended) for the next 168 seconds or so. Not only my number one Manics song, arguably my number one song. Full stop.

10. You Love Us - 2722 points / 90 picks
Placed highest by: @Diagrid3 @AChinnick90 @sdrake767 (1st)



9. From Despair To Where - 2754 points / 86 picks
Placed highest by: @RicheyJones1234 @densk14 (1st)



8. La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) - 2776 points / 87 picks
Placed highest by: @PatRedmond Maddie Caridad @havinaradox @WelshDragonHQ (1st)

Maddie Caridad - I love the lyrics, that fabulous riff and the fact the title was taken from a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh to his brother.

7. Little Baby Nothing - 2839 points / 82 picks
Placed highest by: @democracycoma1 (1st)

@democracycoma1 - As I understand it, the video is one of the band’s least favourite – I mean only James Dean Bradfield is even in it and the symbolism and iconography are on overdrive. In a way, it’s a bit ridiculous, but there’s still something mesmerising about it.

And there’s something mesmerising about the whole song. From the opening instrumental (truncated for the single version) to the closing refrain – the melody captures you and it carries you – and it makes my hairs stand up – every single time I hear it.

Kylie Minogue was the band’s first choice for the song’s duet but wasn’t available for contractual reasons – though she did later perform the song live. But it’s good that she wasn’t, because the vocals of former pornographic actress Traci Lords (who isn’t in the video either) are incredible and I don’t think it would or could be the same song without her – as she explained, they were lyrics she identified with.

This is of course a song about the exploitation of women and the sex industry. There are hints perhaps of Richey’s feelings of emasculation too, but as clever a lyricist as he was his verses and his metaphors here are actually pretty blunt – I mean, how could you be more literal than “used, used, used by men”? Every word bites and every line paints a picture.

His use of the word snow as a synonym for purity is something he returned to in the Holy Bible track 4st 7lbs, and the slogan-like refrain of “culture, alienation, boredom and despair”, according to Richey the central theme for every Manics song, will forever resonate. No other band could have written the song. No other band could take such dark subject matter and turn it into something so beautiful – and that’s ultimately why I’ll never tire of it.



6. No Surface All Feeling - 3120 points / 93 picks
Placed highest by: @emilymjhyatt @yekim_mikey @Truba9 (1st)

@emilymjhyatt - It’s very stirring for me; it’s a well of emotions where I can find joy, rapture, sadness, nostalgia and happiness. Its incredible live and when I see them play it its always a beautiful, uplifting and almost spiritual experience. 

I first heard it when they played The White Room in 1996. I'd got Everything Must Go on CD but I hadn't really bothered with it, I was still obsessed with The Holy Bible and had TV appearance induced A Design For Life overkill! They played No Surface All Feeling and it just floored me, it's so big and beautiful and powerful yet it had a gentle element to it. I taped it and played it so often the tape for creased! That version led me to engage properly with Everything Must Go and I instantly adored the album version. 

One particular live outing of it in Llangollen in 2017 took my breath away, a massively intense experience that had me crying, sitting on the floor with my head against the barrier, just absorbing everything in waves. I’d just been told my best friend was dying, that gig and that track were incredible catharsis for me. That was the date No Surface, officially surpassed Faster as my favourite Manics song. It continued to be there for me after he died, I made some artwork whilst listening to it and that became one of the pieces approved to be on a Secret 7” copy of No Surface All Feeling. That record is now one of my prized possessions. 

It’s got everything I need in a song, it can be played loud or quiet, it can be emotionally huge or tender, it sounds a bit magical.

5. Yes - 3274 points / 90 picks
Placed highest by: @keenomanjaro @jplanasuk @davidwells661 @Raindogtaylor (1st)



4. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - 3309 points / 89 picks
Placed highest by: @adamglasspool @BraddersCentric @BorgoBarbara @hcd199 @10000_manics @gunnerdave83 @diapause78 @PhilipM04217017 @JKgiro85 @jennifer_eileen (1st)



3. A Design For Life - 4567 points / 116 picks
Placed highest by: @SilentRefusal Emmy @heather1917 @iamstevemurphy @cam_sh @EinBleistift @deporbags @Dai_Howells @LaMurphF1 @Barnspaul31 @jkhoman @SarahEyles1 @A_J_T_1970 @biscuitporpoise @PaulMatthewman @traceyw1981 @peterswan_ (1st)

@deporbags - Well I'm not going to tell people who aren't Manics fans that ADFL is the greatest song ever written and not have it as my No 1. How a band came back from losing Richey to release this will always amaze me. Fck Thatcher and fck tories. Nicholas Wire you legend.

Emmy - Part of the draw the Manics had to 13-year-old me back in late 1991 was they were like me, albeit male, older & from a few mountains over. Yet, there was little true working class, Welsh representation during my formative years & when they burst into my consciousness via NME, tele slots, Radio 1’s Evening Session, I knew I’d found my band. As the 90s rolled by, I held my fandom lightly & was unsure what the future held following Richey’s disappearance. Knowing they were not the boorish live-for-the-weekend types like Oasis, not sneering class tourists like Blur, kept me listening. Having a band exist, which upheld the mind-set, which was instilled in me & which small pockets of the Valleys still held dear: that education broadens you & sets you free – was enough for me, even if there was nothing more from them. I would enjoy what existed & be grateful that it did.

Then, the release of A Design for Life changed everything for me. There are moments in your life that a song gets you, it looks you square in the eye & sees every fibre of your soul & very being. A Design for Life is that song for me.

Basic you say; yes, it is. Overexposed you shout; most definitely. Overplayed you shrug; of course it is. Too popular you sneer; absolutely I agree.

The criticisms flung its way all have their truth, but for me it is more than just a song. It is an unveiling; an exposing of the truth of the reality of what it means to be from the post-industrial, working class valleys of South Wales.

From the opening strum all the way through to the closing beat, ADFL takes me on that, almost, mythical hiraeth journey of the longing for something now gone, perhaps a something that never was. Every line is a statement of intent, to me both a lament & call to arms around what has been & what could still be. Hearing the landscape, which surrounded me expressed in a song, was something else. It captured my heart in a way no other song had ever done before, or has done since.

It is no exaggeration to describe 90s Wales as a bleak place. The miners’ welfare libraries, which had once stood as cathedrals of learning in every valley, were, like the rest of the landscape, derelict or decaying. Work had all but disappeared; raising the question if there was no work, then what was the purpose of the place & us as a people. The dignity work brings had been lost in the mire of sneers, dismissal & ignorance from those who had created the mess that the communities found themselves in. People were lost in a melee of drink & violence as there was literally nothing else to do, the tools, which allowed us to stand tall, had been removed or depleted. It is the reference to being scarred by a bottle, which sears through me the most. The valleys are a tough place to live; the tough dangerous work created a tough people. The violence which took place was very much part of daily life, it was met with a shrug & acceptance rather than pearl clutching outrage. Something, which I often forget having moved out over twenty years ago. That all we were left with was a drinking culture saddened me, surely, there was more to life than boozing, fighting & shagging. The hope there was more led me to put my head down & study hard enough to go to university (am I ever thankful I was the last cohort before the fees landed) & escape. Yet I carried, & still do, the feeling that experiences & opportunities in the world were not for people like me – the insidious message that we were “other” refuses to leave no matter how hard I push against it.

Yet there is hope coursing through the song’s core. Hope that maybe one day there could be an embracing of the parts of the culture, which gave power, dignity & pride. Hope that freedom can be found through meaningful, appreciated existence. The bittersweet admiration for a place that has had its soul torn out but still keeps on trying to be its authentic self.

It is the song that when played life I have a tear in my eye, pride in my heart & I sing loudest. Sometimes I wonder if it could be an alternative Welsh National Anthem! ADFL is the song, which I fall deeper in love with as I get older. This was the easiest placing on my chart & the one Manics song I really would never let go.

2. Faster - 4820 points / 117 picks
Placed highest by: @AliceBoothLewis @LeesonPalmer @Chuzzwozza @wadedc1 @porthjess @archivesofjames @Paul_Franklyn @jacarnie @bentirs @LaPoose @dreamingac1ty @SteveBurnett_ @newartriot @ApolloScream @rickl80 @smudger63 @EdBiggsLGM @HollyBaleen Peter Stockdale (1st)

@AliceBoothLewisThe Rolling Stones were always my absolute favourite band, until I got into the Manics and they quickly equalled The Stones. Both bands were my obsessions during my formative years - against the grain of what 99.9% of teenagers were into in my home town. But as much as I adore The Stones still now, they never wrote anyrhing lyrically or musically that comes anywhere close to Faster. And as much as I would like to think I'm a pretty intelligent person, there's no way I could put so many ideas together especially with so much venom and eloquence all rolled into one. This song says everything I'd want to say, but in such a perfect way. And the music just matches flawlessly. It has seen me through tough times, where some of the lyrics seemed to mirror my situation. Just complete genius. My favourite song by anyone, ever.

1. Motorcycle Emptiness  - 4910 points / 119 picks
Placed highest by: @roisinmckeon @lonelywreckage @Parky1977 @dr__alex @mark_ness @w_onderwalls @Matt_Nixey_1985 Jennifer @domlikesrabbits @dansm1th3 @DrGaryMarriner @ChrisBickley1 @glorygerbil @MarshFactor @_DerekMcHugh_ Steven Gill @tomsky11 (1st)

@roisinmckeon - This song is absolute perfection. Imagine writing those lyrics at that age - it blows my mind. The guitar riff - kills me every time. My first concert in over 18 months was the NHS gig in Cardiff. I was so happy to be at a gig again. And the Manics too!

I was not prepared for how emotional it was going to be. When they opened with Motorcycle Emptiness , I bawled crying. All the frustration of the pandemic just melted away in seconds, the song was such a release. Like a cloud had been lifted. 

I'm here for the 6'09" album version too. An epic and powerful song that for me is the Manics.

@dansm1th3 - As I am one of seventeen (!) who voted for Motorcycle Emptiness to be crowned the winner, I shall leave the intrinsic discussion of the song to those who can undoubtedly do it more justice than I, and instead tell a story about how I discovered a certain band from Wales…

January 2nd 2017. Deep inside a YouTube wormhole of 1990s Top of the Pops appearances, I came across a video from a band called Manic Street Preachers. The somewhat aggressive name stood out to my angsty, disillusioned teenage self, and within that short 3 minute clip, I began a journey that changed my life and that I never, ever want to end. Adorning a stage of red roses and Nicky draped in his signature leopard print, the band were introduced and James’ infamous Les Paul Custom gave me perhaps one of the defining moments of my life to that point.

What stood out first was the riff. Oh, that riff. It still rattles triumphantly around my brain almost everyday like a treasured memory you just can’t displace. Not that I would ever want to of course. It gives me the same level of comfort as a warm summers day and still fills me with the same amount of awe and wonder today as it did when I first heard it. The lyrics are undoubtedly politically charged, but they also carry a theme of resilience that appeals to everyone who has ever felt alone, scared, or directionless. Words which I carry around with me to this day like a badge of honour, ‘under neon loneliness’ acts as a sort of mantra to live your life, the loneliness of being surrounded by everything. It’s a feeling that only the Manics themselves and the fans can truly understand. The feeling of being a sort of mainstream outsider. Emerging and cementing themselves at a time where grunge and later Britpop were the taste of the day, the Manics always remained true to themselves, and the fans always stuck with them. I’ve never experienced such a close relationship between a band and their fans than the Manics, and to me, Motorcycle Emptiness is the epitome of that relationship. A universal language that brings a community together.

It’s certainly had that defining impact on me, introducing me to the greatest band in the world, without whom I honestly do not know where or who I would be today. That’s the real magic of the Manics, they change lives. Once the Manics have reached you it’s hard to let them go, and let’s be honest, why would you want to? 

I remember the first version I heard was the 4 minute radio version, with the guitar outro significantly shortened. When I finally realised the album version was longer, that outro blew me away, how can somebody possibly play guitar THAT good? Nowadays it’s taken it’s place live as the set opener, which always gets the blood pumping from the off and on some occasions, the emotions flowing. It’s perhaps a lot of people’s first introduction to the band, their first dip into the pool of mainstream music, and here we are today, discussing why it has been voted the fandoms favourite track. To reach that accolade against the rest of the Manics’ back catalogue, it must be doing something right! What a band, what a song. Long may it reign.

@mark_ness - "Possibly the only song to successfully combine stadium rock with bedsit angst" is how I once remember this song being succinctly and accurately described.

And although the G'n'R vibes of the music are very much rooted in the era of classic rock, the themes of Motorcycle Emptiness are still as relevant today, maybe even more so? Neon signs have just been replaced by targeted ads while you doom scroll social media, that's all.

I've found it to be an odd choice of set opener in recent years for the Manics; in my opinion it still deserves to be at the climax of their gigs. Even if you've heard it live hundreds of times before, it is still exciting to hear how JDB will ad lib the "All we want from you are the kicks..." middle 8 and those guitar solos.

I remember the first time I heard it on the radio. It was late 1996 and at the time, the only Manics songs I knew were the 4 recent singles from Everything Must Go. But that riff and chorus immediately elevated this song above all of those (yes, even ADFL), and 25 years on, Motorcycle Emptiness has remained not just my favourite Manics song, but my favourite song by anyone. Ever.

Sunday 12 December 2021

The Unofficial Fans' Manics Top 50 2021

The chart below was compiled from 127 different top 50s submitted by Manic Street Preachers fans between September and December 2021.  Points were awarded based on 50 for number 1, 49 for number 2 etc, down to 1 point for number 50, and the final tally for each song is shown after the name of each one alongside the number of charts it appeared in.

The numbers in brackets show the position in the last chart from 2015.  Thank you to all people who took part in, followed or promoted these charts, it has been great fun again!!!

See also the full chart of all 338 eligible songs and sub-charts below with all manner of Manics-related lists that came out of these selections!!

Manics Fans' Final Top 50 2021
1. (1) Motorcycle Emptiness - 4910 pts / 119 picks
2. (2) Faster - 4820 pts / 117 picks
3. (3) A Design For Life - 4567 pts / 116 picks
4. (5) If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - 3309 pts / 89 picks
5. (4) Yes - 3274 pts / 90 picks
6. (16) No Surface All Feeling - 3120 pts / 93 picks
7. (10) Little Baby Nothing - 2839 pts / 82 picks
8. (8) La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) - 2776 pts / 87 picks
9. (12) From Despair To Where - 2754 pts / 86 picks
10. (6) You Love Us - 2722 pts / 90 picks
11. (7) Motown Junk - 2628 pts / 79 picks
12. (14) Sleepflower - 2618 pts / 91 picks
13. (9) Stay Beautiful - 2423 pts / 83 picks
14. (15) This Is Yesterday - 2367 pts / 74 picks
15. (29) Archives Of Pain - 2339 pts / 68 picks
16. (20) The Masses Against The Classes - 2037 pts / 74 picks
17. (23) Prologue To History - 2027 pts / 74 picks
18. (36) Everything Must Go - 1814 pts / 62 picks
19. (24) 4st 7lb - 1782 pts / 61 picks
20. (18) Roses In The Hospital - 1754 pts / 65 picks
21. (25) Tsunami - 1749 pts / 68 picks
22. (13) Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - 1657 pts / 67 picks
23. (47) Ready For Drowning - 1620 pts / 59 picks
24. (17) 1985 - 1597 pts / 56 picks
25. (-) Still Snowing In Sapporo - 1594 pts / 65 picks
26. (28) ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart - 1563 pts / 56 picks
27. (-) International Blue - 1520 pts / 66 picks
28. (11) PCP - 1496 pts / 57 picks
29. (34) Of Walking Abortion - 1458 pts / 54 picks
30. (21) Peeled Apples - 1417 pts / 57 picks
31. (27) The Everlasting - 1388 pts / 52 picks
32. (30) Die In The Summertime - 1384 pts / 48 picks
33. (48) Enola/Alone - 1328 pts / 55 picks
34. (22) Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky - 1327 pts / 55 picks
35. (32) Life Becoming A Landslide - 1282 pts / 46 picks
36. (33) Found That Soul - 1262 pts / 49 picks
37. (65) Slash N' Burn - 1260 pts / 56 picks
38. (51) Condemned To Rock 'N' Roll - 1241 pts / 46 picks
39. (43) Walk Me To The Bridge - 1223 pts / 59 picks
40. (39) This Joke Sport Severed - 1195 pts / 49 picks
41. (45) Donkeys - 1145 pts / 49 picks
42. (64) Sepia - 1108 pts / 47 picks
43. (58) Kevin Carter - 1103 pts / 42 picks
44. (19) Revol - 1099 pts / 46 picks
45. (35) Mausoleum - 1075 pts / 42 picks
46. (-) Complicated Illusions - 1071 pts / 42 picks
47. (41) Rewind The Film - 1067 pts / 43 picks
48. (57) Judge Yr'self - 1009 pts / 43 picks
49. (60) Golden Platitudes - 1006 pts / 40 picks
50. (42) Europa Geht Durch Mich - 1002 pts / 41 picks

By Era
Generation Terrorists 7
Gold Against The Soul 6
The Holy Bible 12
Everything Must Go 7
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 5
Know Your Enemy 1
Lifeblood 1
Send Away The Tigers 1
Journal For Plague Lovers 2
Postcards From A Young Man 1
Rewind The Film 1
Futurology 2
Resistance Is Futile 1
The Ultra Vivid Lament 2
Others 1

By Era By Score
(i.e. points allocated by position)
Generation Terrorists 240
Gold Against The Soul 181
The Holy Bible 305
Everything Must Go 178
This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 159
Know Your Enemy 15
Lifeblood 27
Send Away The Tigers 29
Journal For Plague Lovers 32
Postcards From A Young Man 2
Rewind The Film 4
Futurology 13
Resistance Is Futile 24
The Ultra Vivid Lament 31
Others 35

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Manics Fans' Full Chart
1. (1) Motorcycle Emptiness - 4910 pts / 119 picks
2. (2) Faster - 4820 pts / 117 picks
3. (3) A Design For Life - 4567 pts / 116 picks
4. (5) If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - 3309 pts / 89 picks
5. (4) Yes - 3274 pts / 90 picks
6. (16) No Surface All Feeling - 3120 pts / 93 picks
7. (10) Little Baby Nothing - 2839 pts / 82 picks
8. (8) La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) - 2776 pts / 87 picks
9. (12) From Despair To Where - 2754 pts / 86 picks
10. (6) You Love Us - 2722 pts / 90 picks
11. (7) Motown Junk - 2628 pts / 79 picks
12. (14) Sleepflower - 2618 pts / 91 picks
13. (9) Stay Beautiful - 2423 pts / 83 picks
14. (15) This Is Yesterday - 2367 pts / 74 picks
15. (29) Archives Of Pain - 2339 pts / 68 picks
16. (20) The Masses Against The Classes - 2037 pts / 74 picks
17. (23) Prologue To History - 2027 pts / 74 picks
18. (36) Everything Must Go - 1814 pts / 62 picks
19. (24) 4st 7lb - 1782 pts / 61 picks
20. (18) Roses In The Hospital - 1754 pts / 65 picks
21. (25) Tsunami - 1749 pts / 68 picks
22. (13) Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - 1657 pts / 67 picks
23. (47) Ready For Drowning - 1620 pts / 59 picks
24. (17) 1985 - 1597 pts / 56 picks
25. (-) Still Snowing In Sapporo - 1594 pts / 65 picks
26. (28) ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart - 1563 pts / 56 picks
27. (-) International Blue - 1520 pts / 66 picks
28. (11) PCP - 1496 pts / 57 picks
29. (34) Of Walking Abortion - 1458 pts / 54 picks
30. (21) Peeled Apples - 1417 pts / 57 picks
31. (27) The Everlasting - 1388 pts / 52 picks
32. (30) Die In The Summertime - 1384 pts / 48 picks
33. (48) Enola/Alone - 1328 pts / 55 picks
34. (22) Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky - 1327 pts / 55 picks
35. (32) Life Becoming A Landslide - 1282 pts / 46 picks
36. (33) Found That Soul - 1262 pts / 49 picks
37. (65) Slash N' Burn - 1260 pts / 56 picks
38. (51) Condemned To Rock 'N' Roll - 1241 pts / 46 picks
39. (43) Walk Me To The Bridge - 1223 pts / 59 picks
40. (39) This Joke Sport Severed - 1195 pts / 49 picks
41. (45) Donkeys - 1145 pts / 49 picks
42. (64) Sepia - 1108 pts / 47 picks
43. (58) Kevin Carter - 1103 pts / 42 picks
44. (19) Revol - 1099 pts / 46 picks
45. (35) Mausoleum - 1075 pts / 42 picks
46. (-) Complicated Illusions - 1071 pts / 42 picks
47. (41) Rewind The Film - 1067 pts / 43 picks
48. (57) Judge Yr'self - 1009 pts / 43 picks
49. (60) Golden Platitudes - 1006 pts / 40 picks
50. (42) Europa Geht Durch Mich - 1002 pts / 41 picks

51. (38) Jackie Collins Existential Question Time - 991 pts / 46 picks
52. (75) Nobody Loved You - 984 pts / 41 picks
53. (-) Hold Me Like A Heaven - 979 pts / 42 picks
54. (50) Ocean Spray - 977 pts / 43 picks
55. (55) This Sullen Welsh Heart - 968 pts / 43 picks
56. (72) Black Dog On My Shoulder - 964 pts / 36 picks
57. (31) Autumnsong - 931 pts / 41 picks
58. (46) Show Me The Wonder - 901 pts / 38 picks
59. (37) Theme From MASH (Suicide Is Painless) - 900 pts / 34 picks
60. (53) Australia - 897 pts / 34 picks
61. (-) Diapause - 890 pts / 38 picks
62. (56) Send Away The Tigers - 887 pts / 41 picks
63. (49) Some Kind Of Nothingness - 878 pts / 37 picks
64. (59) Door To The River - 877 pts / 33 picks
65. (26) Solitude Sometimes Is - 867 pts / 39 picks
66. (108) I Live To Fall Asleep - 864 pts / 38 picks
67. (69) All Is Vanity - 858 pts / 35 picks
68. (74) The Girl Who Wanted To Be God - 831 pts / 34 picks
69. (104) Be Natural - 806 pts / 26 picks
70. (52) Empty Souls - 787 pts / 40 picks
71. (105) Comfort Comes - 778 pts / 31 picks
72. (-) Afterending - 735 pts / 34 picks
73. (67) You Stole The Sun From My Heart - 732 pts / 31 picks
74. (63) 4 Ever Delayed - 719 pts / 31 picks
75. (114) Miss Europa Disco Dancer - 713 pts / 37 picks
76. (-) Distant Colours - 709 pts / 28 picks
77. (68) Further Away - 700 pts / 37 picks
78. (76) You're Tender And You're Tired - 695 pts / 28 picks
79. (-) The Secret He Had Missed - 690 pts / 37 picks
80. (70) Let Robeson Sing - 675 pts / 29 picks
81. (40) 30-Year War - 656 pts / 33 picks
=81 (54) She Is Suffering - 656 pts / 28 picks
83. (79) A Song For Departure - 638 pts / 27 picks
84. (80) Dreaming A City (Hughesovka) - 636 pts / 25 picks
85. (86) To Repel Ghosts - 611 pts / 28 picks
86. (44) Postcards From A Young Man - 588 pts / 30 picks
87. (131) Born A Girl - 580 pts / 23 picks
88. (98) There By The Grace Of God - 573 pts / 25 picks
89. (88) Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier - 569 pts / 26 picks
90. (82) Intravenous Agnostic - 565 pts / 29 picks
91. (62) Anthem For A Lost Cause - 563 pts / 25 picks
92. (101) William's Last Words - 554 pts / 28 picks
93. (71) Marlon JD - 549 pts / 27 picks
94. (77) (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love - 543 pts / 24 picks
95. (85) Love's Sweet Exile - 525 pts / 21 picks
96. (91) Spectators Of Suicide - 515 pts / 23 picks
97. (106) Journal For Plague Lovers - 511 pts / 21 picks
98. (66) Patrick Bateman - 510 pts / 21 picks
99. (84) My Little Empire - 500 pts / 23 picks
100. (175) Gold Against The Soul - 482 pts / 21 picks

101. (87) Bag Lady - 457 pts / 22 picks
102. (95) The Next Jet To Leave Moscow - 448 pts / 23 picks
103. (78) Mr Carbohydrate - 437 pts / 22 picks
104. (97) The Second Great Depression - 433 pts / 18 picks
105. (100) Black Square - 423 pts / 17 picks
106. (94) Epicentre - 422 pts / 19 picks
107. (-) People Give In - 417 pts / 22 picks
108. (134) Removables - 412 pts / 17 picks
109. (61) Futurology - 400 pts / 21 picks
110. (153) Nostalgic Pushead - 387 pts / 15 picks
111. (112) Methadone Pretty - 373 pts / 14 picks
112. (96) Glasnost - 371 pts / 18 picks
113. (81) Imperial Bodybags - 367 pts / 21 picks
114. (113) Indian Summer - 359 pts / 19 picks
115. (130) The Convalescent - 358 pts / 14 picks
116. (73) Me And Stephen Hawking - 353 pts / 21 picks
117. (124) Cardiff Afterlife - 352 pts / 17 picks
=117 (111) Interiors (Song For Willem de Kooning) - 352 pts / 20 picks
=117 (89) The Love Of Richard Nixon - 352 pts / 17 picks
120. (170) Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children - 334 pts / 16 picks
121. (150) The Intense Humming Of Evil - 332 pts / 16 picks
122. (121) So Why So Sad - 331 pts / 19 picks
123. (127) Automatik Teknicolour - 323 pts / 13 picks
124. (147) Misguided Missile - 315 pts / 17 picks
125. (143) Firefight - 303 pts / 13 picks
126. (102) Baby Elian - 299 pts / 15 picks
127. (199) Montana/Autumn/78 - 297 pts / 12 picks
128. (118) A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun - 295 pts / 15 picks
129. (103) Sorrow 16 - 294 pts / 16 picks
130. (126) Dead Martyrs - 286 pts / 13 picks
131. (-) Orwellian - 276 pts / 11 picks
132. (-) Dylan & Caitlin - 271 pts / 15 picks
133. (109) Crucifix Kiss - 269 pts / 12 picks
134. (156) Black Holes For The Young - 267 pts / 13 picks
135. (148) This Is The Day - 264 pts / 14 picks
136. (125) Born To End - 263 pts / 12 picks
137. (-) Quest For Ancient Colour - 261 pts / 13 picks
=137 (115) Yourself - 261 pts / 11 picks
139. (128) Running Out Of Fantasy - 256 pts / 13 picks
140. (142) Let's Go To War - 255 pts / 13 picks
141. (92) Between The Clock And The Bed - 254 pts / 13 picks
142. (137) Dead Trees And Traffic Islands - 249 pts / 12 picks
143. (-) Don't Let The Night Divide Us - 248 pts / 12 picks
144. (119) So Dead - 247 pts / 9 picks
145. (193) Always/Never - 244 pts / 10 picks
146. (93) Underdogs - 243 pts / 13 picks
147. (140) Nat West - Barclays - Midlands - Lloyds - 242 pts / 10 picks
148. (133) Democracy Coma - 241 pts / 11 picks
149. (135) Another Invented Disease - 239 pts / 13 picks
150. (-) In Eternity - 237 pts / 13 picks

151. (132) My Guernica - 235 pts / 10 picks
152. (123) Divine Youth - 231 pts / 13 picks
153. (99) Virginia State Epileptic Colony - 230 pts / 12 picks
154. (168) The Year Of Purification - 229 pts / 13 picks
155. (177) His Last Painting - 219 pts / 8 picks
156. (210) Tennessee - 214 pts / 8 picks
157. (117) New Art Riot - 209 pts / 13 picks
158. (110) Hibernation - 206 pts / 10 picks
159. (107) Bored Out Of My Mind - 204 pts / 12 picks
=159 (-) Sequels Of Forgotten Wars - 204 pts / 7 picks
161. (122) As Holy As the Soil (That Buries Your Skin) - 196 pts / 8 picks
162. (138) Too Cold Here - 190 pts / 12 picks
163. (176) (I Miss the) Tokyo Skyline - 187 pts / 12 picks
=163 (157) Ballad Of The Bangkok Novotel - 187 pts / 8 picks
165. (161) Umbrella - 186 pts / 8 picks
166. (-) A Song For The Sadness - 183 pts / 12 picks
= 166 (83) She Bathed Herself In A Bath of Bleach - 183 pts / 7 picks
168. (120) Sculpture Of Man - 180 pts / 9 picks
169. (90) Doors Closing Slowly - 178 pts / 8 picks
170. (172) The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever - 173 pts / 8 picks
171. (233) Boxes & Lists - 172 pts / 5 picks
=171 (144) Repeat - 172 pts / 11 picks
173. (191) Anorexic Rodin - 165 pts / 8 picks
=173 (219) Love Letter To The Future - 165 pts / 7 picks
175. (179) RP McMurphy - 162 pts / 9 picks
176. (-) Blank Diary Entry - 160 pts / 7 picks
177. (196) The View From Stow Hill - 159 pts / 10 picks
178. (183) Masking Tape - 158 pts / 8 picks
179. (230) Vision Blurred - 157 pts / 4 picks
180. (188) I'm Just A Patsy - 156 pts / 13 picks
=180 (166) Rendition - 156 pts / 9 picks
182. (194) Us Against You - 154 pts / 8 picks
183. (208) Welcome To The Dead Zone - 153 pts / 9 picks
184. (259) The Vorticists - 152 pts / 7 picks
185. (182) We Are All Bourgeois Now - 147 pts / 7 picks
186. (129) Facing Page: Top Left - 139 pts / 9 picks
=186 (189) The Descent (Pages 1 & 2) - 139 pts / 6 picks
188. (185) Emily - 136 pts / 7 picks
=188 (151) We Her Majesty's Prisoners - 136 pts / 10 picks
190. (184) Winterlovers - 135 pts / 9 picks
191. (169) Hazelton Avenue - 134 pts / 7 picks
192. (149) All We Make Is Entertainment - 127 pts / 6 picks
193. (152) Wattsville Blues - 126 pts / 6 picks
194. (158) Sex, Power, Love And Money - 121 pts / 9 picks
195. (180) Leviathan - 119 pts / 6 picks
=195 (155) Symphony Of Tourette - 119 pts / 6 picks
197. (226) Valley Boy - 116 pts / 8 picks
198. (136) Drug Drug Druggy - 113 pts / 7 picks
=198 (212) Socialist Serenade - 113 pts / 7 picks
200. (163) Builder Of Routines - 111 pts / 5 picks

201. (237) Dead Yankee Drawl - 110 pts / 9 picks
202. (-) The Left Behind - 107 pts / 8 picks
203. (225) Empty Motorcade - 102 pts / 5 picks
204. (204) 4 Lonely Roads - 100 pts / 5 picks
205. (272) Pedestal - 99 pts / 4 picks
206. (272) Horses Under Starlight - 98 pts / 5 picks
=206 (146) Just A Kid - 98 pts / 6 picks
208. (159) Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - 97 pts / 6 picks
209. (-) Broken Algorithms - 96 pts / 7 picks
=209 (241) Caldey - 96 pts / 3 picks
211. (218) First Republic - 93 pts / 3 picks
212. (145) Strip It Down - 92 pts / 6 picks
=212 (207) The Soulmates - 92 pts / 3 picks
214. (224) I Know The Numbers - 91 pts / 4 picks
215. (190) Are Mothers Saints - 85 pts / 7 picks
216. (-) Happy Bored Alone - 84 pts / 8 picks
=216 (197) Love Torn Us Under - 84 pts / 5 picks
218. (187) A Vision Of Dead Desire - 83 pts / 3 picks
219. (255) The Ghost Of Christmas - 82 pts / 7 picks
=219 (-) Together Stronger (C'mon Wales) - 82 pts / 5 picks
221. (162) Hanging On - 75 pts / 3 picks
=221 (165) I'm Not Working - 75 pts / 6 picks
=221 (-) Vivian - 75 pts / 5 picks
224. (-) Liverpool Revisited - 74 pts / 5 picks
225. (174) Can't Take My Eyes Off You - 72 pts / 3 picks
=225 (154) Locust Valley - 72 pts / 4 picks
=225 (223) No One Knows What It's Like To Be Me - 72 pts / 5 picks
228. (272) Distractions - 68 pts / 4 picks
229. (200) Askew Road - 67 pts / 3 picks
230. (116) Suicide Alley - 66 pts / 3 picks
231. (272) Ain't Going Down - 65 pts / 4 picks
232. (272) What Happened To The Blue Generation - 64 pts / 2 picks
233. (198) 3 Ways To See Despair - 63 pts / 5 picks
=233 (239) I'm Leaving You For Solitude - 63 pts / 5 picks
235. (-) A Soundtrack To Complete Withdrawal - 62 pts / 2 picks
=235 (232) Buildings For Dead People - 62 pts / 5 picks
237. (160) Manorbier - 61 pts / 5 picks
238. (-) Into The Waves Of Love - 60 pts / 4 picks
=238 (201) Last Exit On Yesterday - 60 pts / 3 picks
240. (261) SYMM - 58 pts / 3 picks
241. (139) We Were Never Told - 55 pts / 2 picks
242. (173) Close My Eyes - 53 pts / 5 picks
=242 (247) Morning Comrades - 53 pts / 3 picks
244. (246) Everyone Knows/Nobody Cares - 52 pts / 3 picks
245. (203) Never Want Again - 51 pts / 3 picks
246. (141) I Think I Found It - 49 pts / 4 picks
247. (251) Auto-Intoxication - 48 pts / 5 picks
248. (272) Fear Of Motion - 47 pts / 1 pick
249. (268) Antarctic - 46 pts / 1 pick
250. (272) Black Garden - 45 pts / 3 picks
=250 (272) Midnight Sun - 45 pts / 2 picks

252. (256) Antisocialmanifesto - 44 pts / 1 pick
=252 (222) Fearless Punk Ballad - 44 pts / 6 picks
=252 (256) Groundhog Days - 44 pts / 3 picks
=252 (215) Melancholyme - 44 pts / 1 pick
256. (272) T.E. Lawrence On A Bike - 43 pts / 2 picks
=256 (272) Wake Up Alone - 43 pts / 1 pick
258. (202) Fragments - 42 pts / 2 picks
259. (-) (Feels Like) Heaven - 41 pts / 2 picks
260. (241) Charles Windsor - 40 pts / 3 picks
261. (167) Don't Be Evil - 39 pts / 3 picks
262. (243) Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel - 38 pts / 1 pick
=262 (252) Red Sleeping Beauty - 38 pts / 2 picks
264. (272) All Alone Here - 35 pts / 2 picks
=264 (272) Kodawari - 35 pts / 1 pick
266. (209) Mayakovsky - 34 pts / 3 picks
=266 (217) Starlover - 34 pts / 2 picks
268. (171) Red Rubber - 32 pts / 1 pick
269. (211) Out Of Time - 30 pts / 3 picks
=269 (272) Wrote For Luck - 30 pts / 1 pick
271. (186) Broken Up Again - 28 pts / 3 picks
=271 (164) Pretension/Repulsion - 28 pts / 3 picks
273. (272) Voodoo Polaroids - 27 pts / 1 pick
274. (245) Primitive Painters - 26 pts / 2 picks
=274 (220) Teenage 20/20 - 26 pts / 3 picks
276. (239) Everything Will Be - 25 pts / 2 picks
=276 (181) Take The Skinheads Bowling - 25 pts / 3 picks
278. (272) Ostpolitik - 24 pts / 1 pick
279. (271) The Instrumental - 23 pts / 1 pick
=279 (213) The Last Time I Saw Paris - 23 pts / 3 picks
=279 (220) Under My Wheels - 23 pts / 1 pick
282. (272) Foggy Eyes - 21 pts / 1 pick
=282 (-) Mirror Gaze - 21 pts / 1 pick
284. (272) The Long Goodbye - 20 pts / 2 picks
285. (214) Working Class Hero - 19 pts / 2 picks
286. (249) Heyday Of The Blood - 18 pts / 3 picks
=286 (228) Unstoppable Salvation - 18 pts / 1 pick
288. (230) A Secret Society - 17 pts / 2 picks
289. (-) My Drowning World - 16 pts / 1 pick
290. (-) Concrete Fields - 13 pts / 2 picks
=290 (263) It's So Easy - 13 pts / 2 picks
292. (272) Litany - 12 pts / 1 pick
=292 (205) The Drowners - 12 pts / 1 pick
294. (206) Picturesque - 9 pts / 1 pick
295. (195) Been A Son - 8 pts / 1 pick
=295 (178) Velocity Girl - 8 pts / 1 pick
297. (272) Happy Ending - 7 pts / 1 pick
=297 (192) Royal Correspondent - 7 pts / 1 pick
299. (272) Evidence Against Myself - 6 pts / 1 pick
=299 (252) Last Christmas - 6 pts / 2 picks
=299 (272) Lost Voices - 6 pts / 1 pick

302. (261) Dying Breeds - 3 pts / 1 pick
=302 (258) The Sound Of Detachment - 3 pts / 1 pick
=302 (235) You Know It's Going to Hurt - 3 pts / 1 pick
305. (272) The Passing Show - 2 pts / 1 pick
306. (268) Death Of A Digital Ghost - 1 pts / 1 pick
=306 (272) Rock 'N' Roll Genius - 1 pts / 1 pick
308. (227) 1404 - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (216) Alien Orders/Invisible Armies - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (228) Blistered Mirrors - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (238) Bright Eyes - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (263) Damn Dog - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (244) Dead Passive - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Dixie - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Engage With Your Shadow - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Failure Bound - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Glory Glory - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (-) Holding Patterns - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Inky Fingers - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) It's All Gone - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Kiss My Eyes For Eternity - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (268) Lady Lazarus - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Little Girl Lost - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Little Trolls - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (267) No Jubilees - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (265) Penny Royalty - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (234) Quarantine (In My Place Of) - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (254) Rock And Roll Music - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (250) See It Like Sutherland - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Slow Reflections - Strange Delays - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (265) Soul Contamination - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Start Me Up - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (248) Stay With Me - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (236) The Endless Plain Of Fortune - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (-) These Dark Roads - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Time Ain't Nothing - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Train In Vain - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (259) What's My Name - 0 pts / 0 picks

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Sub-Charts

In this section you will find all manner of sub-charts breaking down the Manics Fans' Chart in various ways, these include:
  • Album Chart (by scores)
  • Album Chart (by average score per song, so no cheating 'Generation Terrorists'!)
  • Album Chart (by number of picks)
  • Album Chart (by number of picks per song)
  • Number Ones (from the individual charts)
  • Number Ones by Album
  • Chart for each Album (Songs ordered by scores, includes both discs of Lipstick Traces)
  • B-Sides Top 20
  • Covers Top 10
  • National Treasures Chart (see how those big songs got on at a glance)
  • Duets Top 10
  • How many did each participant share with the final top 50?

So did you have an idea of which album would come out on top of the favourite album chart?  There were no surprises at the top of the first chart where it shows which album purely scored the most points.  Compared with 2015, however, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours managed to leapfrog Gold Against The Soul, while Know Your Enemy climbed above Lifeblood and Send Away The Tigers into 7th position.  The Ultra Vivid Lament did brilliantly to debut in at 9th, while Resistance Is Futile slipped in a little more unnoticed in 13th. (Note: this doesn't include hidden tracks)

Album Chart By Score
1. (1) The Holy Bible 23645
2. (2) Generation Terrorists 18454
3. (3) Everything Must Go 17020
4. (5) This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 13460
5. (4) Gold Against The Soul 12546
6. (6) Journal For Plague Lovers 7186
7. (9) Know Your Enemy 7038
8. (7) Lifeblood 6861
9. (-) The Ultra Vivid Lament 6069
10. (11) Futurology 5501
11. (8) Send Away The Tigers 5324
12. (10) Rewind The Film 5129
13. (-) Resistance Is Futile 4872
14. (12) Postcards From A Young Man 4019

In the second chart, where those total scores are divided by the number of eligible songs on the album, the story changes for those albums with more songs, particularly Generation Terrorists and Know Your Enemy.  The likes of Damn Dog, which got 0 points, and Royal Correspondent with 7 points, had a negative effect on the score.  Compared with 2015, Lifeblood managed to climb above Journal For Plague Lovers to take the number six slot, while The Ultra Vivid Lament did even better than the chart above on its debut in 8th position.

Album Chart By Average Score per Song
1. (1) The Holy Bible 1819
2. (2) Everything Must Go 1418
3. (3) Gold Against The Soul 1255
4. (4) Generation Terrorists 1086
5. (5) This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 1035
6. (7) Lifeblood 572
7. (6) Journal For Plague Lovers 553
8. (-) The Ultra Vivid Lament 552
9. (8) Send Away The Tigers 532
10. (12) Know Your Enemy 440
11. (9) Rewind The Film 427
12. (10) Futurology 423
13. (-) Resistance Is Futile 406
14. (11) Postcards From A Young Man 335

Points are the key part of these charts, but if you ignore them for a second and look at how many times songs were picked you get the following charts.  As above it's the total number of picks in the first chart and then divided by the number of songs for the second, having the same effect for those albums with more songs.

It's interesting in the first chart that the order is exactly the same as the points!  I was intrigued to see if some of the later albums might do better here as I had noticed a trend where they would often sneak in at the bottom of people's charts, gaining few points but appearing fairly regularly. 

Album Chart By Picks
1. The Holy Bible 755
2. Generation Terrorists 609
3. Everything Must Go 591
4. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 485
5. Gold Against The Soul 435
6. Journal For Plague Lovers 323
7. Know Your Enemy 321
8. Lifeblood 299
9. The Ultra Vivid Lament 271
10. Futurology 264
11. Send Away The Tigers 251
12. Rewind The Film 235
13. Resistance Is Futile 230
14. Postcards From A Young Man 185

Album Chart By Average Picks per Song
(Averages have been rounded below but are ordered by their more exact figures)
1. The Holy Bible 58
2. Everything Must Go 49
3. Gold Against The Soul 44
4. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 37
5. Generation Terrorists 36
6. Send Away The Tigers 25
7. Lifeblood 25
8. Journal For Plague Lovers 25
9. The Ultra Vivid Lament 25
10. Futurology 20
11. Know Your Enemy 20
12. Rewind The Film 20
13. Resistance Is Futile 19
14. Postcards From A Young Man 15

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So, out of 127 charts, we had 41 different number ones!!!  That's a lot of variation, although we still had some recurring favourites, as you can see below with the top 4 unsurprisingly being made up of the same songs as the chart's top 4.  However, Faster took the honours here as a kind of consolation prize, with two more number ones than Motorcycle Emptiness.  

The Masses Against The Classes was the highest placed song at number 16 not to have been selected as a number one, while Little Baby Nothing was the only one of the top 15 to have been selected as number one only once.  Condemned To Rock 'N' Roll was selected four times yet only made number 38!

Also, 16 of the number one selections didn't even make the final top 50!  Autumnsong and Ocean Spray even had two number ones, but those 100 points couldn't help them over the line and into the final 50.  So, look at your chart and feel content with the fact that other people also like your number one choice as much as you do, or that you are unique!!

Number Ones
1. Faster 19
2. A Design For Life 17
=2. Motorcycle Emptiness 17
4. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next 10
5. Condemned To Rock 'N' Roll 4
=5. La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) 4
=5. Yes 4
8. Motown Junk 3
=8. No Surface All Feeling 3
=8. Sleepflower 3
=8. This Is Yesterday 3
=8. Tsunami 3
=8. You Love Us 3
14. Archives Of Pain 2
=14. Autumnsong 2
=14. From Despair To Where 2
=14. Ocean Spray 2
=14. Prologue To History 2
=14. Stay Beautiful 2
20. A Song For Departure 1
=20. Born A Girl 1
=20. Born To End 1
=20. Cardiff Afterlife 1
=20. Die In The Summertime 1
=20. Distant Colours 1
=20. Door To The River 1
=20. Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children 1
=20. Futurology 1
=20. Golden Platitudes 1
=20. Indian Summer 1
=20. Intravenous Agnostic 1
=20. Jackie Collins Existential Question Time 1
=20. Little Baby Nothing 1
=20. My Little Empire 1
=20. Of Walking Abortion 1
=20. PCP 1
=20. Show Me The Wonder 1
=20. Still Snowing In Sapporo 1
=20. Tennessee 1
=20. The Everlasting 1
=20. This Joke Sport Severed 1

As well as the top 50 having representation from every album, so did the number ones, even Lipstick Traces and the Forever Delayed bonus track were included!

Number Ones By Album
1. The Holy Bible 31
2. Generation Terrorists 29
3. Everything Must Go 20
4. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours 16
5. Gold Against The Soul 9
6. Others (Motown, Prologue, Door) 6
7. Know Your Enemy 4
8. Send Away The Tigers 3
9. Journal For Plague Lovers 2
=9. Lifeblood 2
11. Futurology 1
=11. Postcards From A Young Man 1
=11. Resistance Is Futile 1
=11. Rewind The Film 1
=11. The Ultra Vivid Lament 1

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So, you may have your favourite on all the albums, but do others agree with you?  There weren't too many surprises here, although as in the top 50 Golden Platitudes beating the three singles from Postcards was something I didn't see coming!

Generation Terrorists, Gold Against The Soul and The Ultra Vivid Lament all seem quite polarised, with a definite dividing line between the points scored by the top 5 or 6 and the rest of the songs, while the other albums see the points decline more gradually.  Damn Dog was the only album track to get no points (not counting Lipstick Traces).

Generation Terrorists
1. (1) Motorcycle Emptiness - 4910 pts / 119 picks
7. (10) Little Baby Nothing - 2839 pts / 82 picks
10. (6) You Love Us - 2722 pts / 90 picks
13. (9) Stay Beautiful - 2423 pts / 83 picks
37. (65) Slash N' Burn - 1260 pts / 56 picks
38. (51) Condemned To Rock 'N' Roll - 1241 pts / 46 picks
95. (85) Love's Sweet Exile - 525 pts / 21 picks
96. (91) Spectators Of Suicide - 515 pts / 23 picks
111. (112) Methadone Pretty - 373 pts / 14 picks
133. (109) Crucifix Kiss - 269 pts / 12 picks
136. (125) Born To End - 263 pts / 12 picks
144. (119) So Dead - 247 pts / 9 picks
147. (140) Nat West - Barclays - Midlands - Lloyds - 242 pts / 10 picks
149. (135) Another Invented Disease - 239 pts / 13 picks
156. (210) Tennessee - 214 pts / 8 picks
=171 (144) Repeat - 172 pts / 11 picks
=308 (263) Damn Dog - 0 pts / 0 picks

Gold Against The Soul
8. (8) La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) - 2776 pts / 87 picks
9. (12) From Despair To Where - 2754 pts / 86 picks
12. (14) Sleepflower - 2618 pts / 91 picks
20. (18) Roses In The Hospital - 1754 pts / 65 picks
35. (32) Life Becoming A Landslide - 1282 pts / 46 picks
100. (175) Gold Against The Soul - 482 pts / 21 picks
110. (153) Nostalgic Pushead - 387 pts / 15 picks
=137 (115) Yourself - 261 pts / 11 picks
=195 (155) Symphony Of Tourette - 119 pts / 6 picks
198. (136) Drug Drug Druggy - 113 pts / 7 picks

The Holy Bible
2. (2) Faster - 4820 pts / 117 picks
5. (4) Yes - 3274 pts / 90 picks
14. (15) This Is Yesterday - 2367 pts / 74 picks
15. (29) Archives Of Pain - 2339 pts / 68 picks
19. (24) 4st 7lb - 1782 pts / 61 picks
26. (28) ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart - 1563 pts / 56 picks
28. (11) PCP - 1496 pts / 57 picks
29. (34) Of Walking Abortion - 1458 pts / 54 picks
32. (30) Die In The Summertime - 1384 pts / 48 picks
44. (19) Revol - 1099 pts / 46 picks
45. (35) Mausoleum - 1075 pts / 42 picks
=81 (54) She Is Suffering - 656 pts / 28 picks
121. (150) The Intense Humming Of Evil - 332 pts / 16 picks

Everything Must Go
3. (3) A Design For Life - 4567 pts / 116 picks
6. (16) No Surface All Feeling - 3120 pts / 93 picks
18. (36) Everything Must Go - 1814 pts / 62 picks
33. (48) Enola/Alone - 1328 pts / 55 picks
34. (22) Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky - 1327 pts / 55 picks
43. (58) Kevin Carter - 1103 pts / 42 picks
60. (53) Australia - 897 pts / 34 picks
68. (74) The Girl Who Wanted To Be God - 831 pts / 34 picks
77. (68) Further Away - 700 pts / 37 picks
89. (88) Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier - 569 pts / 26 picks
108. (134) Removables - 412 pts / 17 picks
=117 (111) Interiors (Song For Willem de Kooning) - 352 pts / 20 picks

This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
4. (5) If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - 3309 pts / 89 picks
21. (25) Tsunami - 1749 pts / 68 picks
23. (47) Ready For Drowning - 1620 pts / 59 picks
31. (27) The Everlasting - 1388 pts / 52 picks
52. (75) Nobody Loved You - 984 pts / 41 picks
56. (72) Black Dog On My Shoulder - 964 pts / 36 picks
69. (104) Be Natural - 806 pts / 26 picks
73. (67) You Stole The Sun From My Heart - 732 pts / 31 picks
78. (76) You're Tender And You're Tired - 695 pts / 28 picks
87. (131) Born A Girl - 580 pts / 23 picks
99. (84) My Little Empire - 500 pts / 23 picks
=221 (165) I'm Not Working - 75 pts / 6 picks
240. (261) SYMM - 58 pts / 3 picks

Know Your Enemy
36. (33) Found That Soul - 1262 pts / 49 picks
54. (50) Ocean Spray - 977 pts / 43 picks
75. (114) Miss Europa Disco Dancer - 713 pts / 37 picks
80. (70) Let Robeson Sing - 675 pts / 29 picks
90. (82) Intravenous Agnostic - 565 pts / 29 picks
106. (94) Epicentre - 422 pts / 19 picks
115. (130) The Convalescent - 358 pts / 14 picks
120. (170) Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children - 334 pts / 16 picks
122. (121) So Why So Sad - 331 pts / 19 picks
126. (102) Baby Elian - 299 pts / 15 picks
130. (126) Dead Martyrs - 286 pts / 13 picks
151. (132) My Guernica - 235 pts / 10 picks
154. (168) The Year Of Purification - 229 pts / 13 picks
155. (177) His Last Painting - 219 pts / 8 picks
193. (152) Wattsville Blues - 126 pts / 6 picks
=297 (192) Royal Correspondent - 7 pts / 1 pick

Lipstick Traces - Disc 1
17. (23) Prologue To History - 2027 pts / 74 picks
41. (45) Donkeys - 1145 pts / 49 picks
42. (64) Sepia - 1108 pts / 47 picks
48. (57) Judge Yr'self - 1009 pts / 43 picks
71. (105) Comfort Comes - 778 pts / 31 picks
74. (63) 4 Ever Delayed - 719 pts / 31 picks
96. (91) Spectators Of Suicide - 515 pts / 23 picks
103. (78) Mr Carbohydrate - 437 pts / 22 picks
129. (103) Sorrow 16 - 294 pts / 16 picks
142. (137) Dead Trees And Traffic Islands - 249 pts / 12 picks
148. (133) Democracy Coma - 241 pts / 11 picks
159. (107) Bored Out Of My Mind - 204 pts / 12 picks
168. (120) Sculpture Of Man - 180 pts / 9 picks
=188 (151) We Her Majesty's Prisoners - 136 pts / 10 picks
197. (226) Valley Boy - 116 pts / 8 picks
=198 (212) Socialist Serenade - 113 pts / 7 picks
206. (272) Horses Under Starlight - 98 pts / 5 picks
=206 (146) Just A Kid - 98 pts / 6 picks
212. (145) Strip It Down - 92 pts / 6 picks
242. (173) Close My Eyes - 53 pts / 5 picks

Lipstick Traces - Disc 2
185. (182) We Are All Bourgeois Now - 147 pts / 7 picks
208. (159) Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - 97 pts / 6 picks
225. (174) Can't Take My Eyes Off You - 72 pts / 3 picks
262. (243) Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel - 38 pts / 1 pick
269. (211) Out Of Time - 30 pts / 3 picks
=269 (272) Wrote For Luck - 30 pts / 1 pick
=276 (181) Take The Skinheads Bowling - 25 pts / 3 picks
=290 (263) It's So Easy - 13 pts / 2 picks
295. (195) Been A Son - 8 pts / 1 pick
=295 (178) Velocity Girl - 8 pts / 1 pick
=299 (252) Last Christmas - 6 pts / 2 picks
=308 (238) Bright Eyes - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (254) Rock And Roll Music - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (272) Train In Vain - 0 pts / 0 picks
=308 (259) What's My Name - 0 pts / 0 picks

Lifeblood
24. (17) 1985 - 1597 pts / 56 picks
65. (26) Solitude Sometimes Is - 867 pts / 39 picks
66. (108) I Live To Fall Asleep - 864 pts / 38 picks
70. (52) Empty Souls - 787 pts / 40 picks
83. (79) A Song For Departure - 638 pts / 27 picks
85. (86) To Repel Ghosts - 611 pts / 28 picks
112. (96) Glasnost - 371 pts / 18 picks
117. (124) Cardiff Afterlife - 352 pts / 17 picks
=117 (89) The Love Of Richard Nixon - 352 pts / 17 picks
145. (193) Always/Never - 244 pts / 10 picks
188. (185) Emily - 136 pts / 7 picks
258. (202) Fragments - 42 pts / 2 picks

Send Away The Tigers
22. (13) Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - 1657 pts / 67 picks
57. (31) Autumnsong - 931 pts / 41 picks
62. (56) Send Away The Tigers - 887 pts / 41 picks
104. (97) The Second Great Depression - 433 pts / 18 picks
113. (81) Imperial Bodybags - 367 pts / 21 picks
114. (113) Indian Summer - 359 pts / 19 picks
146. (93) Underdogs - 243 pts / 13 picks
180. (188) I'm Just A Patsy - 156 pts / 13 picks
=180 (166) Rendition - 156 pts / 9 picks
190. (184) Winterlovers - 135 pts / 9 picks

Journal For Plague Lovers
30. (21) Peeled Apples - 1417 pts / 57 picks
40. (39) This Joke Sport Severed - 1195 pts / 49 picks
51. (38) Jackie Collins Existential Question Time - 991 pts / 46 picks
67. (69) All Is Vanity - 858 pts / 35 picks
92. (101) William's Last Words - 554 pts / 28 picks
93. (71) Marlon JD - 549 pts / 27 picks
97. (106) Journal For Plague Lovers - 511 pts / 21 picks
116. (73) Me And Stephen Hawking - 353 pts / 21 picks
153. (99) Virginia State Epileptic Colony - 230 pts / 12 picks
= 166 (83) She Bathed Herself In A Bath of Bleach - 183 pts / 7 picks
169. (90) Doors Closing Slowly - 178 pts / 8 picks
186. (129) Facing Page: Top Left - 139 pts / 9 picks
=271 (164) Pretension/Repulsion - 28 pts / 3 picks

Postcards From A Young Man
49. (60) Golden Platitudes - 1006 pts / 40 picks
63. (49) Some Kind Of Nothingness - 878 pts / 37 picks
86. (44) Postcards From A Young Man - 588 pts / 30 picks
94. (77) (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love - 543 pts / 24 picks
128. (118) A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun - 295 pts / 15 picks
170. (172) The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever - 173 pts / 8 picks
=186 (189) The Descent (Pages 1 & 2) - 139 pts / 6 picks
191. (169) Hazelton Avenue - 134 pts / 7 picks
192. (149) All We Make Is Entertainment - 127 pts / 6 picks
246. (141) I Think I Found It - 49 pts / 4 picks
247. (251) Auto-Intoxication - 48 pts / 5 picks
261. (167) Don't Be Evil - 39 pts / 3 picks

Rewind The Film
47. (41) Rewind The Film - 1067 pts / 43 picks
55. (55) This Sullen Welsh Heart - 968 pts / 43 picks
58. (46) Show Me The Wonder - 901 pts / 38 picks
81. (40) 30-Year War - 656 pts / 33 picks
91. (62) Anthem For A Lost Cause - 563 pts / 25 picks
139. (128) Running Out Of Fantasy - 256 pts / 13 picks
161. (122) As Holy As the Soil (That Buries Your Skin) - 196 pts / 8 picks
163. (176) (I Miss the) Tokyo Skyline - 187 pts / 12 picks
200. (163) Builder Of Routines - 111 pts / 5 picks
204. (204) 4 Lonely Roads - 100 pts / 5 picks
233. (198) 3 Ways To See Despair - 63 pts / 5 picks
237. (160) Manorbier - 61 pts / 5 picks

Futurology
39. (43) Walk Me To The Bridge - 1223 pts / 59 picks
50. (42) Europa Geht Durch Mich - 1002 pts / 41 picks
84. (80) Dreaming A City (Hughesovka) - 636 pts / 25 picks
102. (95) The Next Jet To Leave Moscow - 448 pts / 23 picks
105. (100) Black Square - 423 pts / 17 picks
109. (61) Futurology - 400 pts / 21 picks
124. (147) Misguided Missile - 315 pts / 17 picks
140. (142) Let's Go To War - 255 pts / 13 picks
141. (92) Between The Clock And The Bed - 254 pts / 13 picks
152. (123) Divine Youth - 231 pts / 13 picks
177. (196) The View From Stow Hill - 159 pts / 10 picks
194. (158) Sex, Power, Love And Money - 121 pts / 9 picks
266. (209) Mayakovsky - 34 pts / 3 picks

Resistance Is Futile
27. (-) International Blue - 1520 pts / 66 picks
53. (-) Hold Me Like A Heaven - 979 pts / 42 picks
76. (-) Distant Colours - 709 pts / 28 picks
107. (-) People Give In - 417 pts / 22 picks
132. (-) Dylan & Caitlin - 271 pts / 15 picks
150. (-) In Eternity - 237 pts / 13 picks
=159 (-) Sequels Of Forgotten Wars - 204 pts / 7 picks
166. (-) A Song For The Sadness - 183 pts / 12 picks
202. (-) The Left Behind - 107 pts / 8 picks
209. (-) Broken Algorithms - 96 pts / 7 picks
=221 (-) Vivian - 75 pts / 5 picks
224. (-) Liverpool Revisited - 74 pts / 5 picks

The Ultra Vivid Lament
25. (-) Still Snowing In Sapporo - 1594 pts / 65 picks
46. (-) Complicated Illusions - 1071 pts / 42 picks
61. (-) Diapause - 890 pts / 38 picks
72. (-) Afterending - 735 pts / 34 picks
79. (-) The Secret He Had Missed - 690 pts / 37 picks
131. (-) Orwellian - 276 pts / 11 picks
137. (-) Quest For Ancient Colour - 261 pts / 13 picks
143. (-) Don't Let The Night Divide Us - 248 pts / 12 picks
176. (-) Blank Diary Entry - 160 pts / 7 picks
216. (-) Happy Bored Alone - 84 pts / 8 picks
238. (-) Into The Waves Of Love - 60 pts / 4 picks

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The B-side chart was headed by the same three songs as in 2015, and in the same order, but the difference this time was that Sepia was joining them as a fully-fledged member of the top 50!  Comfort Comes jumped from number 7 in the 2015 B-side chart to number 4 here.  

It's interesting that the last three songs are the only three to break into the top 20 that date after Lipstick Traces, although having said that there are a number of songs that make the top 20 that weren't selected for that collection.

Top 20 B-Sides
17. (23) Prologue To History - 2027 pts / 74 picks
41. (45) Donkeys - 1145 pts / 49 picks
42. (64) Sepia - 1108 pts / 47 picks
71. (105) Comfort Comes - 778 pts / 31 picks
98. (66) Patrick Bateman - 510 pts / 21 picks
103. (78) Mr Carbohydrate - 437 pts / 22 picks
123. (127) Automatik Teknicolour - 323 pts / 13 picks
127. (199) Montana/Autumn/78 - 297 pts / 12 picks
129. (103) Sorrow 16 - 294 pts / 16 picks
134. (156) Black Holes For The Young - 267 pts / 13 picks
142. (137) Dead Trees And Traffic Islands - 249 pts / 12 picks
148. (133) Democracy Coma - 241 pts / 11 picks
158. (110) Hibernation - 206 pts / 10 picks
159. (107) Bored Out Of My Mind - 204 pts / 12 picks
162. (138) Too Cold Here - 190 pts / 12 picks
=163 (157) Ballad Of The Bangkok Novotel - 187 pts / 8 picks
168. (120) Sculpture Of Man - 180 pts / 9 picks
171. (233) Boxes & Lists - 172 pts / 5 picks
173. (191) Anorexic Rodin - 165 pts / 8 picks
=173 (219) Love Letter To The Future - 165 pts / 7 picks

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As you can see from the chart below, cover versions seemed to be relatively unpopular in terms of votes, none of them made the top 50 and I actually had to downgrade it from a top 20 to a top 10 this time because of a lack of votes!  Maybe it's because a lot of them are tucked away, hidden from view and memory as B-sides/hidden tracks etc. or maybe they just don't stand up as well when you put them next to the originals.  No surprises with the chart topper here, the only cover to make the top 100.

Top 10 Covers
59. (37) Theme From MASH (Suicide Is Painless) - 900 pts / 34 picks
135. (148) This Is The Day - 264 pts / 14 picks
165. (161) Umbrella - 186 pts / 8 picks
179. (230) Vision Blurred - 157 pts / 4 picks
185. (182) We Are All Bourgeois Now - 147 pts / 7 picks
208. (159) Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - 97 pts / 6 picks
225. (174) Can't Take My Eyes Off You - 72 pts / 3 picks
=256 (272) Wake Up Alone - 43 pts / 1 pick
259. (-) (Feels Like) Heaven - 41 pts / 2 picks
260. (241) Charles Windsor - 40 pts / 3 picks

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With 38 songs on it, you might expect all of the 'National Treasures' songs to get in the top 50.  Not at all, competition for places was fierce and 17 of them ended up missing out, leaving plenty of places for your favourite album tracks, B-sides and songs that post-date that collection.  13 out of the final top 20 and 8 out of the top 10 were singles though, so they did provide many of the high scorers.

National Treasures
1. (1) Motorcycle Emptiness - 4910 pts / 119 picks
2. (2) Faster - 4820 pts / 117 picks
3. (3) A Design For Life - 4567 pts / 116 picks
4. (5) If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - 3309 pts / 89 picks
7. (10) Little Baby Nothing - 2839 pts / 82 picks
8. (8) La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) - 2776 pts / 87 picks
9. (12) From Despair To Where - 2754 pts / 86 picks
10. (6) You Love Us - 2722 pts / 90 picks
11. (7) Motown Junk - 2628 pts / 79 picks
13. (9) Stay Beautiful - 2423 pts / 83 picks
16. (20) The Masses Against The Classes - 2037 pts / 74 picks
18. (36) Everything Must Go - 1814 pts / 62 picks
20. (18) Roses In The Hospital - 1754 pts / 65 picks
21. (25) Tsunami - 1749 pts / 68 picks
22. (13) Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - 1657 pts / 67 picks
31. (27) The Everlasting - 1388 pts / 52 picks
35. (32) Life Becoming A Landslide - 1282 pts / 46 picks
36. (33) Found That Soul - 1262 pts / 49 picks
37. (65) Slash N' Burn - 1260 pts / 56 picks
43. (58) Kevin Carter - 1103 pts / 42 picks
44. (19) Revol - 1099 pts / 46 picks
54. (50) Ocean Spray - 977 pts / 43 picks
57. (31) Autumnsong - 931 pts / 41 picks
59. (37) Theme From MASH (Suicide Is Painless) - 900 pts / 34 picks
60. (53) Australia - 897 pts / 34 picks
63. (49) Some Kind Of Nothingness - 878 pts / 37 picks
70. (52) Empty Souls - 787 pts / 40 picks
73. (67) You Stole The Sun From My Heart - 732 pts / 31 picks
80. (70) Let Robeson Sing - 675 pts / 29 picks
=81 (54) She Is Suffering - 656 pts / 28 picks
86. (44) Postcards From A Young Man - 588 pts / 30 picks
88. (98) There By The Grace Of God - 573 pts / 25 picks
94. (77) (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love - 543 pts / 24 picks
95. (85) Love's Sweet Exile - 525 pts / 21 picks
114. (113) Indian Summer - 359 pts / 19 picks
=117 (89) The Love Of Richard Nixon - 352 pts / 17 picks
122. (121) So Why So Sad - 331 pts / 19 picks
135. (148) This Is The Day - 264 pts / 14 picks

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With the last few albums seeing duets becoming more common with our heroes, I've updated the top 10 from 2015 below to see how they measure up.  Two of the newest ones have already made a name for themselves!
Top 10 Duets
7. (10) Little Baby Nothing - 2839 pts / 82 picks
22. (13) Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - 1657 pts / 67 picks
47. (41) Rewind The Film - 1067 pts / 43 picks
50. (42) Europa Geht Durch Mich - 1002 pts / 41 picks
55. (55) This Sullen Welsh Heart - 968 pts / 43 picks
63. (49) Some Kind Of Nothingness - 878 pts / 37 picks
79. (-) The Secret He Had Missed - 690 pts / 37 picks
132. (-) Dylan & Caitlin - 271 pts / 15 picks
134. (156) Black Holes For The Young - 267 pts / 13 picks
141. (92) Between The Clock And The Bed - 254 pts / 13 picks

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Now we all know that no one chart is any more valid than the others, we all have 1275 points to share out and share them we did.  But just out of interest, how many did you share with the final top 50?  It's ranked in order but remember it doesn't mean your chart was any better or worse than anyone else's!  If you had one of the lower numbers that just means you're special and unique.  And a little bit weird.  Even for a Manics fan.....

There was also a prize of Marc Burrows' book 'Manic Street Preachers Album By Album', which featured four of our top 50 participants (Dom, Adam, Tracey and Emily), and went to Heather for sharing the most songs with the final 50.  Adam (@MarshFactor) relinquished his title from 2015 and had to be content with second place this time along with myself.  That would have been embarrassing if I had won!

Participants' Picks Shared With The Final Top 50
38 - @heather1917
36 -@Pyfbrown @MarshFactor
35 - @Diagrid3 @democracycoma1
34 - @archivesofjames @deporbags Peter Stockdale
33 - @Parky1977 @jacarnie @domlikesrabbits
32 - @_happycactus @SteveBurnett_ @cam_sh @RicheyJones1234 @RichKelly_ @MovieEvangelist
31 - @LeesonPalmer @havinaradox @Paul_Franklyn @MonkeyMarl @AChinnick90 @Raindogtaylor @oldcornc @traceyw1981
30 - @keenomanjaro @sweetsaturm1ne @gunnerdave83 @_Jen175_ @JKgiro85
29 - @roisinmckeon Maddie Caridad @Matt_Nixey_1985 @richierabs @LaMurphF1 @EdBiggsLGM
28 - @citymanblue @ricardlawless @iamstevemurphy @dansm1th3 @A_J_T_1970 @PaulMatthewman Steven Gill
27 - @lonelywreckage @30yearwar @bentirs @LaPoose @rickl80 @yekim_mikey @ChrisBickley1 Daisy @glorygerbil @_DerekMcHugh_ @peterswan_
26 - @AndDarkWithin @AliceBoothLewis @adamglasspool @marcsedison @PatRedmond @KurtMarcECurtis @MildManics @ofmilesfromhome @Barnspaul31 @HollyBaleen
25 - @BorgoBarbara @LondonLady70 @dr__alex @davidwells661 @10000_manics @Dai_Howells @sdrake767 @PhilipM04217017 @jennifer_eileen @0xytocinn
24 - @wadedc1 @BrickingBadger @karenedavies68 @jplanasuk @pineyewoman666 @EinBleistift @DrGaryMarriner @ChorizoGarbanzo @SarahEyles1 @myclwd @amirsuleman @tomsky11
23 - @GreenBitterfly @RichardE1875 @Chuzzwozza @hcd199 @MentalJargon @newartriot @jackmansavfc @beksthebloody @Truba9 @DiscoDollie75
22 - @BraddersCentric Emmy @gloomyok @ApolloScream @TinkHolloway @densk14 @enola_Ole
21 - @revolbiscuit @jkhoman @Wrestling20Yrs @biscuitporpoise @ManicBeata @WH2000_
20 - @porthjess @mark_ness @w_onderwalls @WelshDragonHQ @jenvidg
19 - @smudger63 @KB2X @liars_honey
18 - @SilentRefusal Jennifer (Mother of @Pyfbrown)
17 - @emilymjhyatt @diapause78
15 - @S_jul @mylittlegempire
14 - @corpseinsnow
12 - @lonelyaesthetic
11 - @KhizzyJ @MrTeenWordpower