Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield has been sharing his thoughts on U2’s controversial iTunes giveaway of Songs of Innocence last year. Although the 46-year-old Welsh musician declares himself a devout fan of U2, he didn’t agree with their method of release.
“It’s really strange because I try not to blast U2 because, number one, they’re an easy target,” Bradfield told Hot Press’ Olaf Tyaransen. “Number two, I think it’s one of my favourite records. I’m very selective about what version of U2 I like, but I always thought that War was one of the most original sounding rock ‘n’ roll garage albums of all time, and there’s lyrical high points on there as well for Bono.
“And we’re all massive fans of The Unforgettable Fire, the record itself and the song. I think between myself, Nick [Wire] and Sean [Moore], we all absolutely think that the song ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ is just genius, just a masterpiece. So there’s certain parts of U2’s career which I think are kind of unsurpassable in a way, which obviously other people feel that, too.
“I didn’t agree with what they did, but more so on the basis that I thought the actual record that they created deserved better. I thought it was their best album for a long time, and I thought it just deserved better than just to be uploaded in somebody’s fucking iPhone. That was from a point of just thinking, this record deserves to stand on its own two feet, because it’s a real return to form. That’s the basis I didn’t agree with it on.”
Manic Street Preachers are among the headliners at Electric Picnic in September. You can read the full interview with James Dean Bradfield in the next issue of Hot Press, out March 19th.