I first entered the Manics story in 1991, when I was 13. I had seen a clip of Motown Junk on the Chart Show's Indie Chart and thought they looked pretty funny and then soon after taped You Love Us from the Evening Session. They were definitely different to all of the other bands featured in NME and Melody Maker etc. in looks and sound and after reading some early interviews it was clear that they were happy to set themselves apart even more than that with their words.
As I was starting to buy more records around that time, my first purchase was the cassette single of the second version of You Love Us and I never missed a release from that point on, snapping up anything I could get my hands on, official or unofficial. After I sent away for some fan club goodies and received a heap of fanzines, badges, stickers etc. in 1993, they managed to make the progression to being my favourite band.
There aren't many bands that can have such an effect on a person as to subtly shape them but the Manics are such a band. They've always been around and have been my favourite band for 22 years now, so I couldn't tell you what might have happened if they never existed, but I think I'd probably be a different person, in whatever subtle ways that might manifest itself.
The overall chart was incredibly difficult to compile, the Manics are a band with a massive back catalogue given all of their many B-sides and non-album tracks alongside the inevitable albums. As you can tell from the placings, I'm very much an old school type of fan, the first four albums are undoubtedly the best, but their career certainly didn't end in 1996, or even 1994 as some people may believe. The last 20 years of their career have seen some classic songs and excellent albums, sure as with all bands there have been a few moments that didn't work, but they're in the minority. Their B-sides and so called lesser songs can still eclipse a lot of bands' better songs and long may it continue.
Ian Lipthorpe @Pyfbrown
(Full list of 307 at http://harmonycorruption.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-big-manics-chart.html)
1. Motown Junk
2. Stay Beautiful
3. A Design for Life
4. From Despair to Where
5. Motorcycle Emptiness
6. This is Yesterday
7. Faster
8. You Love Us
9. Empty Souls
10. The Masses Against the Classes
11. La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
12. Yes
13. Little Baby Nothing
14. Sleepflower
15. Condemned to Rock 'N' Roll
16. Found That Soul
17. Archives of Pain
18. Enola/Alone
19. Your Love Alone is Not Enough
20. No Surface All Feeling
21. Baby Elian
22. Australia
23. PCP
24. The Girl Who Wanted to be God
25. Judge Yr'self
26. Imperial Bodybags
27. Everything Must Go
28. Tsunami
29. Show Me the Wonder
30. (It's Not War) Just the End of Love
31. Revol
32. 1985
33. The Everlasting
34. Sorrow 16
35. New Art Riot
36. Postcards From a Young Man
37. 4st 7lb
38. Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky
39. Of Walking Abortion
40. Die in the Summertime
41. Suicide Alley
42. Ready for Drowning
43. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
44. Slash N' Burn
45. Donkeys
46. Journal for Plague Lovers
47. This Joke Sport Severed
48. Fearless Punk Ballad
49. Repeat
50. Underdogs
By Era
Generation Terrorists 11
Gold Against the Soul 4
The Holy Bible 10
Everything Must Go 7
This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours 4
Know Your Enemy 2
Lifeblood 2
Send Away the Tigers 4
Journal for Plague Lovers 2
Postcards From a Young Man 2
Rewind the Film 1
Futurology 0
Others 1
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