Manic Street Preachers & Suede – Live Review – Millennium Square, Leeds
By Graham Clark, July 2024
Manic Street Preachers and Suede were two of the biggest alternative acts of the nineties. The bands are currently on a joint headline tour which arrived at Leeds’ Millennium Square.
The Manics kicked things off though, unfortunately, when a significant proportion of the audience were still queuing outside to get into the venue. As ‘You Love Us’ opened up a greatest hits set, lead singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield sung the track with the power and conviction just as he did on the recorded version back in 1991.
Nicky Wire fondly remembered the time the band first played a gig at the Duchess of York in Leeds 34-years ago with Richey Edwards, the bands former rhythm guitarist and co-songwriter who disappeared in 1995. The band have continued to play bigger venues each time they have visited the city from the sadly missed Cockpit to the Arena.
“We are no longer spring chickens anymore” jested Bradfield, though the mellowing of the band’s repertoire could be heard as the former ‘Generation Terrorists’ played more radio friendly tracks, such as ‘A Design For Life’.
“Thrilling”
As Bradfield dedicated ‘Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier’ to Edwards the heavens opened and the rain tipped down – it felt like Edwards was having a last laugh on the Leeds audience. As the band performed as impromptu version of ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’, the aptly chosen song seemed justified.
When hearing all the band’s hits together you realise you had forgetten how many they have had and just how prolific they are. There was no encore, The Manics have said all that was needed to be said in a celebration of their career to date.
Suede rose to fame around the same time as the Manic Street Preachers. With frontman Brett Anderson, Suede has one of the best of his kind to have emerged over the last few decades. The enigmatic and charismatic singer had all eyes focused on him throughout their 75-minute set.
“Come on Leeds” he goaded the audience frequently like a pantomime star, though with Suede their best days are not behind them as the band gave a performance that was thrilling, entertaining and engaging. Anderson was a natural on stage, performing as if his life depended on it: by the third song he was already a ball of sweat and perspiration – by the fourth number is was out in the audience singing the tracks.
“Devoted”
‘Turn Your Brain Off and Yell’, a track from their recent Autofiction album might not have been the best number to open up, though we can forgive them as ‘Animal Nitrate’ followed, still their most recognisable track.
A new track, ‘Antidepressants’ was premiered which is due on their forthcoming new album. The track seemed to get lost on the majority of the audience who were there to hear the band’s more memorable numbers, especially on a shorter set like tonight.
“Does anyone in the audience know a rock song which mentions Leeds?” Anderson asked. After a stumped response he gave them an answer in the guise of ‘She Still Leads Me On’, the track got the atmosphere back on track with Anderson standing aloft at the top of his monitor speakers preaching out to the devoted fans, who were still rain soaked after the earlier rain shower.
As ‘Metal Mickey’ and ‘The Beautiful Ones’ closed a superb set, Suede, along with Manic Street Preachers, had indeed both been beautiful tonight.
images: Graham Clark