30 years ago Manic Street Preachers’ Richey Edwards disappeared without a trace

‘I don’t think people think you are for real,’ NME journalist Steve Lamacq said to musician Richey Edwards in 1991. The Welshman was part of up and coming four-piece the Manic Street Preachers, a band which had just held a slightly underwhelming gig at the Norwich Arts Centre. Lamacq, then a young reporter sent to interview the band, witnessed a crowd member shout ‘plastic punks’ up at the stage. To prove how authentic the Manic Street Preachers were to NME readers, Richey reached for a razorblade.

Lamacq, who today works for BBC Radio 6, later recalled: ‘As Richey began to carve his arm open, I was as shocked as anybody was. But people always ask me: why didn’t you stop him? And there are two reasons, I think. One is that it happened so quickly. The cuts were deliberate but fast and got faster and lighter as he neared the end. The second is: do you think he wanted me to stop him?’. Richey had carved ‘4REAL’ into his arm and calmly watched as blood dripped beneath him onto the carpet. Photos of the shocking act of self harm were published in NME and a media frenzy ensued. A week later, the Manic Street Preachers were signed by Sony. But as the band’s fame sky-rocketed, Richey’s mental health spiralled downwards. The young rockstar’s time in the spotlight was not set to last.

Born in 1967, Richey was raised by hairdressers Graham and Sherry Edwards in the ex-mining town of Blackwood in Caerphilly, Wales. A happy child, he would scribble away stories and play football in fields near his home. In 2020, Richey’s sister told GQ magazine: ‘We shared a bedroom and he would construct these amazing, imaginative stories in his mind that I can still recollect now 40 years later.

‘When I was at school I used to have a lot of anxiety, particularly around schoolwork. When I went on to comprehensive school, he’d already been there for a couple of years. At the end of each day we’d walk our dog Snoopy, I’d talk to him about my homework and he’d help me. He’d allay my fears, which, I suppose in retrospect, is ironic given the anxiety that he suffered years later.’. Richey’s mood dipped as he became a teenager and struggled with the concept of growing up. He experimented with his appearance while he studied political history at the University of Wales in Swansea. Richie would later say: ‘If you’re hopelessly depressed like I was, then dressing up is just the ultimate escape. When I was young I just wanted to be noticed. Outrage and boredom go hand in hand.’.

Richie was initially a driver and roadie for Manic Street Preachers, whose members all hailed from Blackwood in Wales. The band’s lyrics dealt with subjects like prostitution, the Holocaust, serial killers and suicide – which both shocked and intrigued the British public. They gained the nickname ‘The Manics’ and built up an army of followers who could be recognised by their feather boas, leopard-print clothing and heavy eyeliner.

Richie had a knack for lyricism and the rawness of his words, inspired by literature and philosophy, resonated with fans. Despite the huge success of the Manic Street Preachers, Richie had demons which he openly discussed in interviews. He dealt with depression, anorexia and alcoholism and spent a spell in rehab at the Priory Clinic and had been admitted to Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital in Cardiff.

On January 3, 1995, Richey met with Japanese journalist Midori Tsukagoshi. The guitarist explained he had shaved his head due to ‘boredom’ and lamented the loss of his family’s dog Snoopy who had died two weeks before. Tsukagoshi asked Richey how his recent stay at the Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital had impacted him. The 27-year-old replied: ‘I don’t feel much different. I just realise I’ve got more time. ‘Cos my lifestyle has become “healthy.” I’ve quit the alcohol and everything. I can now use the whole day. I used to start drinking as soon as I woke up, so the day was shorter.

‘Some people maintain that all the best writing is done by alcoholics and junkies. That’s all crap: the more addicted you are, the less time you have to write. You just lose sight of your motivations and intentions. I wasted whole days. I’d wake up and feel so sick that I couldn’t do anything. I lost day after day.’. On February 1, 1995, Richey woke up in room 516 the Embassy Hotel in Bayswater Road, London. He was due to fly to America with bandmate James Dean Bradfield later that day. Richey checked out at 7am and headed to his flat in Cardiff.

A few hours later, James waited in the hotel lobby for his usually prompt friend. But when he didn’t appear and knocks went unanswered, a master key was used to unlock room 516’s door. On the hotel table was a copy of the play Equus and a note which said ‘I love you’ addressed to Richey’s on-off girlfriend, Jo. At his flat in Cardiff, Richey’s passport, some Prozac and a tollbooth receipt from the Severn Bridge were later discovered.