Manic Street Preachers Banned
Posted Fri 15 May 2009 11:34AM BST by Dave Rumour in Snap, Crackle and Pop
You probably wouldn't know it looking at their rather tired 21st century image but the Manic Street Preachers used to be a quite terrifying prospect for some, full of provoctive teen rage, playing "Top Of The Pops" in balaclavas, while tragic lost member Richey Edwards famously slashed the words "For Real" into his bloody arm in a bid to impress former music journalist Steve Lamacq. They might be a lot older now but that's not stopped their new album being banned by four of the UK's big retail giants, with one supermarket calling the artwork "inappropriate".The cover for "Journal For Plague Lovers" (pictured) depicts a girl seemingly with a bloody and battered face and has been painted by acclaimed artist Jenny Saville. The record is considered a follow-up to the Welsh rockers' landmark 1994 album "The Holy Bible", which also featured one of her controversial works. Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have all refused to stock it with the original image, as Nicola Williamson, music buyer for Sainsbury's explained: "We felt that some customers might consider this particular album cover to be inappropriate if it were prominently displayed on the shelf. "
The Manics have reacted with bafflement at the news, calling their decision "truly bizarre" and pointing to the fact that such shops regularly display products of a similarly graphic nature. "We just thought it was a beautiful painting. We were all in total agreement", explained singer James Dean Bradfield, continuing: "You can have lovely shiny buttocks and guns everywhere in the supermarket on covers of magazines and CDs, but you show a piece of art and people just freak out". "Journal For Plague Lovers" is released on Monday but will only be available in these stores in a special sleeve provided by the publisher.
Are you shocked by the artwork to the new Manic Street Preachers album? Or do you think Sainsburys and co have gone too far in banning it? Have your say here...
I was honestly expecting it to be something worse than that. Porn, possibly, or something else normally less publicly displayed.
It's funny, though, the same supermarkets who think this is inappropriate churn out alcohol in below cost value offers with impunity, affecting the health of the nation then sitting back smugly whilst the government taxes the beer and hits the producer rather than the public supplier.
Hardly the inhertitors of the moral right crown, then. Hypocrites.
if your a fan it really wount matter anyone else probably wount take any notice and as for the stores saying they will not display this cover -once on the shelves with everything else it will not be so out there .
I trust the big four will be consistent in their approach and remove other such images from their shelves and not discriminate against the Manics through less favourable treatment......
Also I am sure the big four will also not choose to advertise on tv channels which depict graphic scenes................?!?!?!?!?!?! (not likely I know!)
Perhaps I'm desensatised, perhaps it's because I go to art college, but this is a painting of a battered face, not an actual photograph of one. I agree with the Manics in that the colours here are beautiful, it didn't even register with me that there was an apparent inappropriate meaning behind it.
However finds this so very offensive should probably turn off their computer, internet and radio and live in their own "safe" little world decorated with pastel walls and cotton wool.
Perhaps if the girl was a few years older, semi-naked, and bent over a car it would be alright?