Richey James: Manic Street Preachers [Interview + Nicky Wire]

Richey James: Manic Street Preachers [Interview + Nicky Wire]

RICHEY JAMES of Manic Street Preachers disappeared in February 1995 at age 26 and is assumed dead. “The alcoholic and anorexic James kept his word and vanished, perhaps affected by Kurt Cobain’s suicide” (Penguin Encyclopedia). It is probable that he jumped off the Severn Bridge into fast-moving currents. His car was found near the bridge. One of James’ last songs is about a photographer who killed himself. James had been very sick for a long time. He frequently mutilated himself with knives. “While most people are content to pass the time watching TV or reading a book, Richey would absent-mindedly carve up his arms with a knife” (Alan Cross, Over the Edge: The Revolution and Evolution of New Rock, p. 232). During an interview in May 1991, he carved the words 4REAL in his arm with a razor blade. He would also extinguish burning cigarettes on his skin. He was admitted to the Cardiff Hospital in the summer of 1994 because he feared that he was going insane.