Manic Street Preachers Blast New Breed of Bands

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There's a comforting reassurance to be had knowing that, 19 years after the release of their debut album, 'Generation Terrorists', Manic Street Preachers are still capable of spewing bile just as well as they ever did. The Glastonbury festival, shoegazers and R.E.M. have been among the band's many targets and now singer James Dean Bradfield has turned his sights on the new generation of bands entering the charts.

Bradfield told the Daily Record that being in a band lacks the allure that it once had and has accused today's new breed of musicians of making "gap year music."

He fumed, "I don't see a story unfolding with bands because it is gap year music. It seems like somebody has said, 'I think I'll do an album then my dad will give me a job in the accountancy firm.'"

He added, "It doesn't feel like being in a band is a badge of honour."

Bradfield also took a swipe at the state of today's Top 40. He said, "I was looking at the Top 40 and it's like the indie wars never happened. It's as if Manchester, Seattle and Britpop never existed. Britpop meant guitar bands were in the Top Five every week. For a guitar band to be in the Top 40 now is a rare thing. It's all pop music. It is really depressing."

And all that from the band that recently appeared on 'Strictly Come Dancing'...

Watch the Manic Street Preachers Perform on 'Later ... With Jools Holland'