Richey Edwards
Richey James Edwards is the missing member of the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.
About
Born on December 22 1968 he attended Oakdale Comprehensive and later (1986-1989) University of Wales Swansea where he graduated with a 2:1 degree in history.
He has one sister named Rachel and was raised by his grandmother because his parents were too poor to keep him.
Richey played the rhythm guitar, wrote lyrics and was responsible for the band's design and image.
Literature and other cultural influences
As well as a deep interest in rock music, Richey's other love was/is literature. He chose many of the of the quotes that appear on Manics records and would often refer to writers and poets during interviews. This interest in literature has been taken up by many Manics fans and has become as much a part of their appeal as the band's music.
Richey's lyrics have often been of a highly poetic nature, particuarly on the bands third album The Holy Bible, and have often reflected his knowledge of political history.
Many of Richey's icons/heroes had a profound effect on him and his work. Many of them, like Kurt Cobain and Sylvia Plath, committed suicide at a young age following a short but exceptionally productive life. J.D. Salinger became a recluse, living a hermit-like existence after releasing his only book, The Catcher in the Rye, now recognised as a classic, and Arthur Rimbaud disappeared aged 19 after burning all of his work. It was this interest in the unusual that helped shape Richey's own career, particuarly during the early days, with the promise of one classic album and then burn out.
Disappearance
He disappeared on February 1 1995 on the day that the Manics were due to fly to America for a promotional tour. He checked out of the London Embassy hotel at seven in the morning and was never to be seen again. His silver Vauxhall Cavalier car was discovered thirteen days later near the Severn Bridge with a flat battery. He was declared legally dead in February 2002 after being missing the required seven years.
General
In the beginning Richey was basically the driver / roadie to the band but after Flicker the bass guitarist left he stepped in, more often than not miming on his guitar. But he did write about seventy percent of their lyrics.
1991 saw him gain notoriety when, on May 15, in response to the Manics' seriousness being questioned by NME journalist Steve Lamacq at Norwich Arts Centre, he took out a razor blade and carved 4 Real into his forearm. The injury required a trip to hospital where he received seventeen stitches.
He suffered severe bouts of depression and often self-harmed mainly by stubbing out cigarettes on his body cutting himself. His frequent problems with alcohol and drugs were well known and after the release of the bands third album The Holy Bible he checked into The Priory clinic missing out on all of the promotional work and forcing the band to appear as a three piece at a few festivals.
After coming out of the clinic Richey toured Europe with the Manics, Suede and Therapy? but was never the same again.
Silly Fact
He was very often obsessive and, when aged only thirteen, wrote a school project on William Shakespeare that was 859 pages long, simply because he needed to be doing something.
External links
- #8 in the NME's 100 rock moments - Richey's self-mutilation
- National Missing Persons official site