:James Dean Bradfield

James Dean Bradfield was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, only son of Monty and Sue Bradfield. His father was a carpenter and trade unionist. Bradfield was raised in a terraced house at Pontllanfraith.{{cite web | title=Manic Street Preachers - James Dean Bradfield |website=BBC Wales |date=3 December 2008 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/manic-street-preachers/pages/james.shtml |access-date=1 May 2024}} He attended the local Oakdale Comprehensive School where he suffered years of cruelty and bullying (he claims he was "a Woody Allen-esque little nerd") for his name, lazy eye (nicknamed Crossfire), musical bent and small size. James formed a close relationship with three friends: his cousin Sean Moore, who lived with James and his family throughout their childhood after his own parents' divorce, and future bandmates Nicky Wire and Richey Edwards.{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/manic_street_preachers_james_dean_bradfield_sometimes_you_need_some_creative_failure_to_spur_you_on.html |title=Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield: 'Sometimes You Need Some Creative Failure to Spur You On' | Interviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com |access-date=25 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525203902/http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/manic_street_preachers_james_dean_bradfield_sometimes_you_need_some_creative_failure_to_spur_you_on.html |archive-date=25 May 2015 }}

Bradfield loved to run and was a steeplechaser, and soon grew fond of punk rock band The Clash, although his earliest musical love was ELO. He gave up his dream of "being like Napoleon" and decided that he wanted to be a rock star. He learned to play guitar by learning how to play Guns N' Roses's Appetite for Destruction with the curtains drawn in his parents' front room.

File:James Dean Bradfield with Manics in 2010.jpg in 2010]]

In late April 2006, a track from Bradfield's debut solo single entitled "That's No Way to Tell a Lie" premiered on Janice Long's show on BBC Radio 2. It became the first single from the album and was released on 10 July while the album, entitled The Great Western, was released on 24 July. The single debuted at No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart while the album debuted at No. 22 on the album chart. The positions were considered relatively successful considering the lack of promotion.{{cite book |last=Power |first=Martin |title=Manic Street Preachers |date=17 October 2010 |publisher=Omnibus Press}}

In support of the album, Bradfield played a series of solo gigs in May 2006 in Manchester, Glasgow, Dundee, Nottingham, Birmingham, and London. The setlists consisted of tracks from The Great Western as well as several Manics tracks including "This Is Yesterday" and "Ocean Spray". He also played one further date at London ULU in June 2006, featuring a similar setlist to the other gigs. Bradfield also performed at the 2006 V Festival in late August. He embarked on his first full UK tour – consisting of 15 dates – in October. A second single, "An English Gentleman", was lifted from The Great Western before the tour and entered the UK chart at No. 31 on 1 October 2006.

The second album by Bradfield, Even in Exile, was confirmed in March 2020 to NME alongside the announcement of a 2021 Manics album.{{cite web |last1=Trendell |first1=Andrew |title=Manic Street Preachers on their "expansive" new album and James Dean Bradfield's "electric" new solo record |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/manic-street-preachers-on-their-expansive-new-album-and-james-dean-bradfields-electric-new-solo-record-2624306 |website=NME |access-date=26 June 2020 |date=12 March 2020}} That June, the album was confirmed to be inspired by the life and death of Chilean communist activist Víctor Jara, with lyrics written as unpublished poetry by Patrick Jones. Two tracks, "There'll Come a War" and the instrumental "Seeking the Room With the Three Windows" were released the same day.{{cite web |last1=Trendell |first1=Andrew |title=Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield tells us about his two new solo songs: "One shows joy, the other shows fear" |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/manic-street-preachers-james-dean-bradfield-solo-album-therell-come-a-war-seeking-the-room-with-the-three-windows-2696195 |website=NME |access-date=26 June 2020 |date=26 June 2020}} The next week, the album was given a title and date alongside the launch of its first single, "The Boy From the Plantation", which debuted on Steve Lamacq's show on BBC Radio 6 Music. The album was released on 14 August 2020 on digital, CD, cassette, and vinyl{{cite web |title=James Dean Bradfield Announces New Solo Album 'Even in Exile' |url=https://www.manicstreetpreachers.com/cat-news/james-dean-bradfield-announces-new-solo-album-even-in-exile/ |website=Manic Street Preachers |access-date=2 July 2020 |date=2 July 2020}} and entered the UK charts at No. 6, giving Bradfield his first solo top 10 album.{{cite web |title=Even in Exile: Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/even-in-exile/ |website=officialcharts.com |access-date=21 August 2020 |date=21 August 2020}} Bradfield released a podcast alongside the album entitled "Inspired By Jara" where he interviewed the likes of Emma Thompson and Dafydd Iwan about the life of Jara. It was produced by Steff Garrero. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/inspired-by-jara/id1524301522

Bradfield also worked with Garrero on the music for the podcast The Socially Distant Sports Bar, although Bradfield is credited as "The Secret Guitarist. https://nation.cymru/culture/three-men-and-their-baby-the-unstoppable-rise-of-distant-pod/

Despite having once said "I always get bored of the company of women really quickly",{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/manic-street-preachers/pages/james.shtml |title=BBC Wales – Music – Manic Street Preachers – James Dean Bradfield |publisher=BBC |date=3 December 2008 |access-date=29 February 2012}} he married the band's PR agent Mylène Halsall in a ceremony in Florence, Italy, on 11 July 2004. The couple have two children.{{cite news|last1=Price|first1=Simon|title=Manics on New Football Single|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/20277-manics-on-new-football-single|website=The Quietus|access-date=23 May 2016}} He is a supporter of Cardiff Blues and Nottingham Forest. In 2015, Bradfield and fellow Manic Sean Moore went to Patagonia in aid of the Velindre charity.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/manic-street-preachers-31-1219727|title=Manic Street Preachers members to hike through Patagonia for charity|last=Britton|first=Luke Morgan|date=19 November 2014|work=NME}}

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• Gibson Les Paul Custom[http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/3454-the-manic-street-preachers-gear-guide.html The Manic Street Preachers Gear Guide] dolphinmusic.com Retrieved: 23 December 2009
• Gibson Les Paul Junior
• Gibson Flying V
• Gibson ES-330
• Gibson ES-335
• Gibson Explorer
• Gibson J-45{{cite web|url=http://www.manicstreetpreachers.com/uk/james-dean-bradfield|title=James Dean Bradfield – Manic Street Preachers|website=Manicstreetpreachers.com|access-date=3 October 2018}}
• Fender Telecaster
• Fender Thinline Telecaster
• Fender Jazzmaster
• Fender Stratocaster
• Fender Starcaster{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/james-dean-bradfields-guitar-collection-606679/2#!7|title=James Dean Bradfield's guitar collection|website=musicradar.com|access-date=3 October 2018|archive-date=23 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023025801/http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/james-dean-bradfields-guitar-collection-606679/2/#!7|url-status=dead}}
• Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins model
• Gretsch White Falcon
• Guild Black Star
• Burns 12 string model
• Rickenbacker 330
• Rickenbacker 360{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/james-dean-bradfields-guitar-collection-606679/2#!6|title=James Dean Bradfield's guitar collection|website=Musicradar.com|access-date=3 October 2018|archive-date=23 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023025801/http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/james-dean-bradfields-guitar-collection-606679/2/#!6|url-status=dead}}
• Gordon Smith GS-1 double cutaway
• Fret-King Ventura 60SSH

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• Fender Twin
• Fender Hot Rod DeVille
• Trace Elliot Speed Twin
• Blackstar Artisan 30
• Orange Amp head
• Orange cabinet
• Marshall JCM 900
• Vox AC30
• Mesa\Boogie Lone star Special

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File:Manic Street Preachers in London2005-4.jpg

{{main|Manic Street Preachers discography}}

• The Great Western (24 July 2006) – #22
• The Chamber: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (10 March 2017)
• Even in Exile (14 August 2020) – #6

• "That's No Way to Tell a Lie" (10 July 2006) – #18
• "An English Gentleman" (25 September 2006) – #31
• "The Boy From the Plantation" (2 July 2020)

• "Lopez" (1996) with 808 State on album Don Solaris
• "Inertia Creeps" (1998) with Massive Attack, remix for Inertia Creeps single
• "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (1999) with Tom Jones on album Reload
• "Commemoration And Amnesia" (1999) with Patrick Jones, 2 tracks
• "Tongues for a Stammering Time" (2009) with Patrick Jones, 4 tracks
• "Turn No More" (2017) with Public Service Broadcasting on their album Every Valley

• 1996: Northern Uproar – Northern Uproar (studio album)
• 1997: Kylie Minogue – Impossible Princess (studio album, co-producer on 2 tracks)
• 1999: Tom Jones – Reload (studio album, co-producer on 1 track)
• 2004: Johnny Boy – "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" (single)

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book | last=Price | first=Simon | author-link=Simon Price | year=1999 | title=Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers) | edition=first | publisher=Virgin Publishing | isbn=0-7535-0139-2 }}
• {{Cite book | last=Clarke | first=Martin | author-link=Martin Clarke (musicologist) | year=1997 | title=Manic Street Preachers: Sweet Venom | edition=first | publisher=Plexus Publishing | isbn=0-85965-259-9}}

{{commons category}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [http://www.manics.co.uk Official Manic Street Preachers Site]
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/james-dean-bradfield/ James Dean Bradfield biography from BBC Wales]

{{Manic Street Preachers}}

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