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X-clusive: The Manics Attack The White Stripes

added 28 October 2004 at 12.51

With the release of the Manics new album ‘Lifeblood’ imminent, bass player Nicky Wire has been sounding off about the White Stripes as part of the new Orange Playlist show. However, the band have declared their love for Bowie's ‘Ashes To Ashes’ inspired their new album.

Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire has attacked the White Stripes in a new interview with Xfm’s Lauren Laverne set to be screened on ITV1 tonight

"There are loads of sh*t bands out there,” he explains. “White Stripes - I just don't get that at all. When they say 'We recorded the whole album in 2 days' it's like, 'Yeah it sounds like it. It sounds f*cking crap because you recorded it in a second'."

Jet are another band to fall into the vocal bassist’s cross-hairs, with Wire stating that "Their music has the mental age of a foetus."

Wire chose the Sex Pistols' ‘God Save The Queen’ as his dedication track on the show commenting, "It seemed perfectly fitting to dedicate this to the Queen. ‘God Save The Queen’ helped me form many of my early political ideals at a very young age."

However, speaking to John Kennedy as part of the this week’s Xfm X-posure Album Playback of ‘Lifeblood’, Wire had only good things to say about David Bowie claiming he was the inspiration behind the Manics new LP. 

“I think David Bowie’s ‘Ashes To Ashes’ was a big influence on this album,” he explained. “Our idea was of an amazing pop single, but with a lyric about an astronaut on smack. You’ve got mums and dads singing along after it was on The Kenny Everitt Show and yet it’s a really dark and disturbing lyric. We aimed to match that by still reaching everybody, but being really subversive.

“I think pop’s become a filthy word, not just a dirty word,” he continued. “When we grew up, bands like New Order were a very alternative act, but just crossed all genres and were capable of three-and-a-half minutes of pop brilliance. That seems to have disappeared now so we just wanted to write something completely weird, but that could still get to number one.”

Hear the album ‘Lifeblood’ in full complete with the band's track by track by clicking here

The band tour the UK in December with support from Razorlight (all dates except Brighton) and Hope Of The States (Brighton only). Tickets are on sale now from the Xfm Xchange on 0871 222 1049 or by clicking here.

The dates are: 

• Brighton Centre (December 4) 
• Belfast Waterfront (6) 
• Dublin Olympia (7) 
• London Wembley Arena (9) 
• Plymouth Pavilions (10) 
• Nottingham Arena (11) 
• Cardiff International Arena (13) 
• Glasgow SECC (14) 
• Birmingham NEC (16)
• Manchester MEN Arena (17)

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Tagged as The White Stripes, archive

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