James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a
Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the
lead vocalist
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
and
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
for the Welsh
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercia ...
band
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...
.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Tredegar,
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
, Bradfield attended the local
Oakdale Comprehensive School
Oakdale Comprehensive School was a comprehensive school located in the village of Oakdale, Caerphilly Oakdale in Caerphilly county, Wales. The total enrollment was about 660 pupils aged 11 to 16. Sixth-form provision was at Coleg Gwent in Cros ...
where he suffered years of cruelty and bullying (he claims he was "a
Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
-esque little nerd") for his name (nicknamed Crossfire), lazy eye, musical bend and small size. James formed a close relationship with three friends: his cousin
Sean Moore, who lived with James and his family throughout their childhood after his own parents' divorce, and future bandmates
Nicky Wire
Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers.
Prior to the group, Wire s ...
and
Richey Edwards.
Bradfield loved to run and was a steeplechaser, and soon grew fond of
punk rock band
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
, although his earliest musical love was
ELO.
He gave up his dream of "being like
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
" and decided that he wanted to be a rock star. He learnt to play guitar by learning how to play
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash (musician), Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, ...
's ''
Appetite for Destruction
''Appetite for Destruction'' is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records. The album was released to little mainstream attention in 1987. It was not until the following ...
''
with the curtains drawn in his parents' front room.
Solo career
In late April 2006, a track from Bradfield's debut solo single entitled "
That's No Way to Tell a Lie" premiered on Janice Long's show on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...
. It became the first single from the album and was released on 10 July while the album, entitled ''
The Great Western'', was released on 24 July. The single debuted at No. 18 in the UK singles chart while the album debuted at No. 22 on the album chart. The positions were considered relatively successful considering the lack of promotion.
In support of the album, Bradfield played a series of solo gigs in May 2006 in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mi ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of R ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The setlists consisted of tracks from ''The Great Western'' as well as several
Manics tracks including "This Is Yesterday" and "Ocean Spray". He also played one further date at
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
ULU in June 2006, featuring a similar setlist to the other gigs. Bradfield also performed at the 2006
V Festival in late August. He embarked on his first full UK tour – consisting of 15 dates – in October. A second single, "
An English Gentleman", was lifted from ''The Great Western'' before the tour and entered the UK chart at No. 31 on 1 October 2006.
The second album by Bradfield, ''
Even in Exile'', was confirmed in March 2020 to ''
NME'' alongside the announcement of a 2021 Manics album. That June, the album was confirmed to be inspired by the life and death of Chilean
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
activist
Víctor Jara
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a broad array of works, ran ...
, with lyrics written as unpublished poetry by
Patrick Jones. Two tracks, "There'll Come a War" and the instrumental "Seeking the Room With the Three Windows" were released the same day. The next week, the album was given a title and date alongside the launch of its first single, "The Boy From the Plantation", which debuted on
Steve Lamacq
Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music.
Early life
He attended The Ramsey Academ ...
's show on
BBC Radio 6 Music. The album was released on 14 August 2020 on digital, CD, cassette, and vinyl and entered the UK charts at No. 6, giving Bradfield his first solo top 10 album.
Personal life
He currently lives in
Llandaff
Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...
,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Ki ...
. Despite having once said “I always get bored of the company of women really quickly,” he married the band's PR agent Mylène Halsall in a ceremony in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
,
Italy on 11 July 2004. The couple have two children. He is a supporter of
Cardiff Blues and
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
.
In 2015, Bradfield and fellow Manic Sean Moore went to
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...
in aid of the Velindre charity.
Musical equipment
Guitars
*
Gibson Les Paul Custom
The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952.
History
The 1952 Gibson Les Paul was originally made with a mahogany body with a ...
*
Gibson Les Paul Junior
*
Gibson Flying V
*
Gibson ES-330
*
Gibson ES-335
The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor ful ...
*
Gibson Explorer
The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, " futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, whi ...
*
Gibson J-45
The Gibson J-45 is a dreadnought style acoustic guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is generally regarded as Gibson's most famous and widely used acoustic guitar model.
The J-45 is part of Gibson's round-shoulder "jumbo" ...
*
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes Paul had built a prototype solid body ...
*
Fender Thinline Telecaster
*
Fender Jazzmaster
The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in th ...
*
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...
*Fender Starcaster
*
Gretsch 6120
The Gretsch 6120 is a hollow body electric guitar with f-holes, manufactured by Gretsch and first appearing in the mid-1950s with the endorsement of Chet Atkins. It was quickly adopted by rockabilly artists Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and lat ...
Chet Atkins model
*
Gretsch White Falcon
*
Guild Black Star
*
Burns 12 string model
*
Rickenbacker 330
*
Rickenbacker 360
The Rickenbacker 360 is an electric, semi-acoustic guitar made by Rickenbacker, and part of the Rickenbacker 300 Series. The instrument incorporates many features standard on Rickenbacker guitars, including a three-ply maple/walnut neck, shallow ...
*
Gordon Smith GS-1 double cutaway
*
Fret-King Ventura 60SSH
Amplifiers
*
Fender Twin
*
Fender Hot Rod DeVille
*
Trace Elliot Speed Twin
*
Blackstar Artisan 30
*
Orange Amp head
*
Orange cabinet
*
Marshall JCM 900
*
Vox AC30
*Mesa\Boogie Lone star Special
Discography
With Manic Street Preachers
Solo discography
Studio albums
* ''
The Great Western'' (24 July 2006) – #22
* ''
The Chamber: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (10 March 2017)
* ''
Even in Exile'' (14 August 2020) – #6
Singles
* "
That's No Way to Tell a Lie" (10 July 2006) – #18
* "
An English Gentleman" (25 September 2006) – #31
* "The Boy From the Plantation" (2 July 2020)
Collaborations
* "Lopez" (1996) with
808 State
808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' Ne ...
on album ''
Don Solaris''
* "
Inertia Creeps" (1998) with
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was releas ...
, remix for Inertia Creeps single
* "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (1999) with
Tom Jones on album ''
Reload''
* "Commemoration And Amnesia" (1999) with
Patrick Jones, 2 tracks
* "Tongues for a Stammering Time" (2009) with
Patrick Jones, 4 tracks
* "Turn No More" (2017) with
Public Service Broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financi ...
on their album ''
Every Valley
''Every Valley'' is a studio album by British art rock band Public Service Broadcasting. The group's third original album, it is a concept album which focuses on a topic of modern history, much like the band's previous work. The album's story d ...
''
Production discography
* 1996:
Northern Uproar – ''
Northern Uproar'' (studio album)
* 1997:
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
– ''
Impossible Princess'' (studio album, co-producer on 2 tracks)
* 1999:
Tom Jones – ''
Reload'' (studio album, co-producer on 1 track)
* 2004:
Johnny Boy – "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" (single)
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Official Manic Street Preachers SiteJames Dean Bradfield biography from BBC Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradfield, James Dean
1969 births
Living people
Alternative rock guitarists
Alternative rock singers
Lead guitarists
Manic Street Preachers members
People from Blackwood, Caerphilly
People from Pontypool
Welsh male singers
Welsh rock guitarists
Welsh rock singers
Welsh songwriters
Welsh republicans