Manic Street Preachers: Sweet Venom by Martin Clarke

When Manic Street Preachers burst onto the music scene in 1990, they quickly became both the most loved and the most hated band around. With their androgynous punk rantings and preposterous all-conquering ambitions, they bewildered, fascinated and outraged both the press and their fans, and have continued to do so ever since. Author Martin Clarke attempts to cut through the swathes of rumour and hearsay with this incisive portrait of a complex, multi-layered and frequently self-contradictory band.