Manic Street Preachers (w/ The Coral) @ First Direct Arena (Leeds, UK) on May 02, 2018 [Photos & Show Review]

Welsh rockers the Manic Street Preachers returned to Leeds for the umpteenth time and fans new and old flocked to the First Direct Arena to catch the band who were supporting their Resistence Is Futile album which dropped just a few weeks prior to this latest run of Arena shows.

Supporting the band on this latest run of shows was The Coral who ventured to this side of Saddleworth Moors and delivered the kind of set you come to expect from the band. Laid back on stage, the Wirral-based band saunter through their time on stage with the likes of “Secret Kiss” and “Jacqueline” doing enough to warm up a crowd who, with no disrespect meant to The Coral only had interest in one band.

The noise made by this fiercely loyal fan base as James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire stride out onto the stage, makes up for the fact that the Arena isn’t close to full and with the hardcore fans in fine voice on the front rows, Bradfield and his bandmates look to enjoy every moment of their latest visit to Yorkshire.

Treating fans to a twenty-four song set, the Welsh rockers plunder the back catalogue for classics like “Motorcycle Emptiness” and “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” while new album Resistence Is Futile is well represented throughout the night with the likes of “Distant Colours” showcasing the sound of a band who are well into the third decade of their career.

Part punk part trash rocker, Wire leaps around the stage grinning at the crowd while Bradfield pulls off plenty of rock poses and delivers a number of touching moments during the likes of “Faster” and their cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”.

The night comes to an end with the band throwing out one more classic in the form of the confetti-drenched “Design For Life” – the kind of massive anthem which shows exactly why the band quickly grew out of their trash rock roots and into the kind of fully-fledged arena headlining rock heavyweights they still are.