Bradfield 'always wanted Manics career'

James Dean Bradfield has revealed that he always wanted to have a long career with the Manic Street Preachers.

In an infamous Melody Maker interview in 1991, the group claimed that they planned to "get massive and throw it all away" by splitting after releasing their debut album.

However, asked if he ever imagined himself promoting the group's tenth studio LP, Bradfield told BBC Radio Scotland: "I think I kind of had that ambition for the band.

"I had The Clash blueprint, but Nick [Wire] and Richey [James Edwards] had more the Pistols blueprint, where they wanted to be a fiery phoenix and wanted to explode into a million Roman candles in the sky. Whereas I wanted more of a career, so I think that's where we were at the start."

Bassist Wire added: "There were definite divisions. Having said that there was some very strange inner belief in all of us that we had so much to say that we certainly couldn't say it all on our first album.

"I think we quickly realised that all the statements that me and Richey were making were probably pretty unrealistic.

"Then again, we were larger than life, we were coming out of Wales, we had to prove ourselves ten times over. There was a cartoon element to the band, which I think did help us in a lot of ways."

The band's latest album Postcards From A Young Man is released on September 20.