Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore, and Nicky Wire. They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.
Newport is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest principal authority with city status in Wales, and seventh most populous overall. Newport became a unitary authority in 1996 and forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area, also known as the Cardiff Capital Region. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Great Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 census, rising to 159,587, the largest growth of any unitary authority in Wales.
The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".
V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, is an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one location on Saturday and then swapped on Sunday. The sites were located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in South Staffordshire. In 2017, the final year of this format, the capacity of each site was 90,000.
The Darling Buds are an alternative rock band from Newport, Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
The Enemy are an English indie rock band formed in Coventry in 2006. The band's debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007) went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart on release. Their second album Music for the People (2008) went to Number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. Streets in the Sky, their third studio album, was released on 21 May 2012 and was also their third UK top 10 album. Their fourth studio album, It's Automatic, was released on 9 October 2015. After disbanding in 2016, the band reunited in 2022 for two reunion shows in their hometown of Coventry and a UK tour.
Norwich Arts Centre is a live music venue, theatre and art gallery located in St Benedict's Street in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It has a capacity of 300 for standing music concerts and 120 for seated events. In November 2014, it was named "Britain's Best Small Venue" by the NME.
Roadmender is a live music venue in Lady's Lane, Northampton, England. Set in a former school building, the venue has left an indelible print on generations of the town's teenagers as the only major live venue in the town and the most recognised indie club remaining in regular operation following the closure of Bass Clef in 1999 and the Irish Centre in 1997.
Limelight is a live music and night club venue complex in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which initially opened in 1987. The complex, located on the city's Ormeau Avenue, consists of Limelight 1 & Limelight 2, as well as a bar called Katy's Bar. The outdoor terrace is called The Rock Garden.
JB's Dudley, usually known simply as JB's, was a nightclub and live music venue located on Castle Hill near the centre of Dudley, West Midlands. Originally opened on a different site in 1969, it claimed to be the longest-running live music venue in the United Kingdom, and hosted early performances by acts such as Dire Straits and U2.
The Newport music scene, in and around Wales' third city, has been well documented and acclaimed for cultivating bands, singers, and famous music venues. Newport has been traditionally a rock city since the 1970s, but it has evolved over the years to include forms of punk, 1990s alt-rock, and more recently metal and hip-hop.
El Sieco's was a pub, bar, and music venue in Newport, Wales which opened in 2016 on High Street, Newport. The venue closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Le Pub is a bar, restaurant and nightclub located in Newport, South Wales. It opened in 1992 on nearby Caxton Place, and became a popular live music venue as part of the Newport music scene along with TJ's, later relocating as a co-operative on High Street.
Diverse Vinyl is a record store and independent record label based in Newport, Wales. It is the UK's largest retailer of new vinyl records.
Jack Perrett is a Welsh indie rock and roll musician from Newport, Wales, who has been performing live since 2014, and who released his first EP in 2015. He is self published but linked to the This Feeling label and the Horizons Gorwelion scheme.
Moles is a live music venue and nightclub in Bath, Somerset. With a capacity of 220 people, it is known as a grassroots venue and hosted notable acts such as Oasis, Ed Sheeran, The Killers, Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, The Cure, The Smiths, Whiteout, Blur, Pulp, Fatboy Slim, Bastille, King Crimson, Gabrielle, Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, George Ezra and Supergrass. The venue also has a recording studio, with Dummy, Lazer Guided Melodies, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, and Primary Colours being recorded here.
