Manics confirm no singles from 'Lovers'

Manic Street Preachers have confirmed that their upcoming album Journal For Plague Lovers will not be promoted by the release of any singles.

Frontman James Dean Bradfield told XFM that the band had initial concerns that their record label may not understand their wishes.

Bradfield said: "It's hard to envisage some of these lyrics just being played as a single. When you go through the lyrics it's just such a body of work. You're actually reading the words and the concerns of somebody that doesn't care about commercial success.

"We did worry that our record company perhaps wouldn't know how to deal with this, but they've been pretty gracious."

Bassist Nicky Wire added: "I think there's an element of bafflement and bemusement on their behalf. But it's a tribute to Richey [Edwards] and his lyrics on this album. It's a tribute to the notion of an 'album'.

"It feels kind of old fashioned, it's pre-digital. It was written on a typewriter because Richey never had a mobile phone or a laptop. We recorded it on analogue tape with no computers with Steve Albini."

The band will play the whole album in track order on their UK tour in May and June.