Oasis, one of the most successful British bands of all time, performed at Moles early in their career, and the venue is often credited as being instrumental in their rise to fame. Similarly, Ed Sheeran, who has become a global superstar, also graced the stage at Moles in his early days.

 Oasis                                                                                                      Ed Sheeran

The impact of Moles extends beyond just launching successful acts. Manic Street Preachers, a Welsh rock band, secured a record deal after their performance at the venue. Supergrass, another popular British band, even used Moles’ dressing room for the cover shoot of their debut album, highlighting the venue’s significance in the music industry.

Manic Street Preachers                                                                 Supergrass

The closure of Moles is a devastating blow to the local music community. The owners’ decision to file for insolvency reflects the harsh reality of the financial challenges faced by grassroots venues. The rising cost of living and increasing bills have made it increasingly difficult for small venues like Moles to stay afloat.

Co-owner Tom Maddicot’s statement about the economic viability of grassroots live music is a sobering reminder of the challenges faced by these venues. Without adequate support and a sustainable financial model, more small venues may face a similar fate. Tom said “Making the decision to close Moles was horrendous, but the reality is that live music at grassroots level is no longer economically viable.”

Moles’ rich history and contribution to the music scene in Bath cannot be understated. From hosting early performances by iconic bands like Blur, The Cure, and The Smiths, to providing a platform for up-and-coming artists, the venue has left an indelible mark on the industry.

As the doors of Moles close for the final time, the music community mourns the loss of a beloved institution. The memories and impact of this iconic venue will live on, but its closure serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by grassroots music venues in an increasingly challenging economic climate.

Recently, Moles hosted Slowthai, and the fast-rising indie band The Last Dinner Party. Unfortunately, the closure of Moles adds to the growing number of losses in the UK’s live music circuit.

Mark Davyd, the CEO of the Music Venue Trust, believes that the closure of Moles reflects a larger failure by the music industry and the government to invest in venues that support emerging artists.  The Music Venue Trust is looking to France as an example, where the government has implemented a ticket levy on arena shows to provide financial support to smaller venues and up-and-coming artists. Davyd has reached out to the UK government and opposition parties, urging them to take action and support the grassroots live sector. He said “Unless it gets serious about its responsibilities to encourage, nurture and develop the grassroots live sector, the music industry as a whole will face a catastrophic failure of artist development,”

The legendary rock band have taken to their Instagram to announce the news to fans.

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The broadcasting conglobate have planned a series of concerts for this year featuring various artists, the iconic welsh band are the third act announced to perform. Due to the limited sized audience available at the concert, from 11th September 2021, the performance will be available to view on BBC iPlayer and on BBC Sounds. The special gig’s highlights will also be broadcasted on BBC Radio 2 the next evening from 7 pm-9 pm.

The Brit award winners will perform at Cardiff’s famed venue, St David’s Hall, home to the annual concert Welsh Proms Cardiff. James Dean Bradfield, frontman of the ‘A Design For Life’ rockers, has spoken on the importance and symbolisation of the group’s performance at St David’s Hall. “We are really excited to be playing St David’s Hall in Cardiff on August 12th for Radio 2 Live. I’ve seen bands and artists including The Waterboys, Echo and the Bunnymen, John Grant and Gary Numan perform on stage there, and myself and Nicky Wire busked outside of it in the mid 80s. Hopefully we can add to the musical memories we have experienced there.”

Head of Radio 2, Helen Thomas has also expressed the station’s excitement for the new concert series. Thomas states the purpose of the new series, Radio 2 Live, whilst confirming the other two acts included within the station’s productions. “New for 2021 and beyond, Radio 2 Live will take the spirit of our very special radio station around the UK. Manic Street Preachers delivered an incredible performance for Radio 2 Live at Hyde Park in 2018, so we’re thrilled to be bringing them to Cardiff to perform an intimate set for their fans in Wales. Listeners and viewers can watch these exclusive performances from the Manic Street Preachers, Texas and Steps on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer in September.”

Other acts included within the exciting new series are 90’s pop band Steps and Glasgow rock band Texas, the Scottish group known for their long-standing music career and multiple hit songs. Steps are set to perform in Manchester on 10th August 2021, famed for their ‘5,6,7,8’ hit, the group have released the following statement expressing their excitement and stating what ticket-holders can expect from their performance. “We are beyond excited to be performing for Radio 2 Live in Manchester. It will be our first live performance in front of an audience in over three years and we cannot wait. It’ll be a great chance to play some of our latest singles and Steps classics and get warmed up ahead of our UK arena tour this November.”

BBC radio presenter Zoe Ball announced via her breakfast show the date and venue for Texas’ performance in partnership with BBC’s concert series, Radio 2 Live. Texas is confirmed to perform at St Luke’s on 4th August 2021, located within the band’s hometown. The front-woman of Texas, Sharleen Spiteri, has conveyed her thoughts concerning the group’s hometown show. “I’m always excited to play in Glasgow, our hometown! And I’m thrilled to be performing for the first time at St. Luke’s for Radio 2 Live.”

The head of Music for Radio 2, Jeff Smith, has provided the following statement concerning the new concert series’ mission statement whilst expressing his joy to be organising live performances once again. “Radio 2 is committed to bringing live music performance to its listeners as we know how much they love to listen and watch their favourite artists perform the songs they adore. Over the past year, Radio 2 House Music has done a brilliant job with performances from Joan Armatrading, Kelly Clarkson, Rag’n’Bone Man and many more, but now it’s time to get back to live performance in front of an audience. Radio 2 Live is going to feature incredible sets from major artists, in front of what I’m sure will be a very excited audience of Radio 2 listeners.”

In order to attend the event, fans are invited to register by the BBC’s website, the lucky ticket holders will then be chosen via a ballot. Click here to register and be in the running to see Manic Street Preachers, Steps and Texas live.

MAY 14TH #TUVL pic.twitter.com/wL4Neooyre

— Manic Street Preachers (@Manics) May 10, 2021

The thirty three seconds long clip contains partially seen objects, landscapes and mysterious three legged square in dim light that changes colours with every scene. It features lines form Joan Didion quote “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at and what it means. What I want and what I fear”. By the end, we can hear frontman James Dean Bradfield singing: “Is this just our beginning?”.

It looks like the full song will arrive in three days. The band’s fans shared their excitement commenting under the post: “I love it. No other band matches the ‘package’ on new releases” and “Oh my godddd, I can’t wait! And I’m getting Twin Peaks vibes from the visuals at the end too”. 

Back in January, the musicians shared a list of potential song titles for their fourteen studio album. Two months later they posted on Instagram a selfie with song lyrics: “And in the rhythm of your voice, I find space to rejoice/My complicated illusions leave me with no choice”. In the last print of MOJO magazine, the band shared some details of their upcoming new album saying: “It’s quite a subtle record. There are, always, guitars, but it’s very restrained for us, and really tasteful. It’s the usual thing, miserable lyrics and great pop”.

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Manic Street Preachers will play live shows starting July 2021. See full list of their tour below. Tickets are available here.

16/07/21 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
17/07 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
30/07 – Y Not Festival – Pikehall
31/07 – Olavsfest – Trondheim – Norway
07/08 – Party At The Palace – Linlithgow
29/08 – Camper Calling – Alcester
10/09 – Piece Hall – Halifax
18/09 – Electric Park Festival – Jersey
26/05/22 – Ashton Gate Stadium – Bristol
28/05 – Ricoh Stadium – Coventry
01/06 – Riverside Stadium – Middlesbrough
09/06 – Colorline Stadium – Alesund – Norway
11/06 – Tele 2 Arena – Stockholm – Sweden

The new adaptation of Spectators of Suicide will be the third interpretation of the song released by the Blackwood band. The original Heavenly Recordings version of the track was released as a B-side on their seminal 1991 single You Love Us (as well as the 2003 rarities compilation Lipstick Traces – A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers). A more ethereal, slowed-down version of the track then became a much-loved album track on the band’s masterful 1992 debut LP Generation Terrorists released on Columbia Records. The new rendition maintains the towering sonic feel of the Columbia version, blended with the faster tempo of the Heavenly original.

Massive thanks to @BBCRadMac for feat my @heavenlyrecs book on today’s + @Manics & @gwennosaunders exclusive new recording of Spectators of Suicide (listen from 1hr 45 mins in). Pictured here: Nicky’s handwritten lyrics for 2008’s Forever Heavenly gigs. https://t.co/lLi54Opkra pic.twitter.com/OnU05Bnu6b

— Robin Turner (@robinturner) November 7, 2020

Manics frontman James Dean Bradfield, Gwenno and Beth Orton are among those who have contributed to Robin Turner’s new book on the history of the Heavenly label, Believe In Magic: Heavenly Recordings, The First Thirty Years. The book, which is published tomorrow, promises to “capture the presiding personality of the label, its bands and the people associated with its story.”

Speaking ahead of the new release of the new book and the 30th anniversary, Manics’ bassist and wordsmith Nicky Wire said of Heavenly: “I feel very grateful and properly proud to have played a small part in this incredible story. MAGIC-FAITH-AESTHETICS. That to me is what Heavenly stands for.” Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh is also quoted on the label’s website saying “Heavenly is more than a record label, it’s the absolute nectar of all that’s brilliant in the culture of these islands. I love the shit out of them and everything they stand for.”

2021 looks set to be a big Manic Street Preachers year, with two epic sold-out shows in Cardiff in support of the NHS (re-scheduled from December due to Covid-19 restrictions) and a highly-anticipated (as-yet-unnamed) new album. James Dean Bradfield told Radio X that the locked-down months of 2020 had enabled the band to get stuck into song-writing, but was clear that the new material would not reference the ongoing pandemic. He said “We’re trying to make sure that we’re not writing about the situation too much. It would feel like it was adding insult to injury.”

2020 saw James Dean Bradfield release an acclaimed album of his own –  the Victor Jara-inspired Even In Exile – his second solo outing, coming fourteen years after the underrated gem The Great Western. Nicky Wire has also been at work on solo material. Bradfield, who will play guitar on the upcoming Wire solo effort (Wire’s first since 2006’s I Killed The Zeitgest), told the NME that his bandmate’s new recordings are “sounding great.” He said of their sessions in the studio: “There was one song on there that was fucking amazing but hard to describe. It was very modern, very electronic, and very soothsaying and prophetic.”

The Manics’ Spectators of Suicide collaborator Gwenno (aka Gwenno Saunders), who has released albums in the Welsh and Cornish languages via Heavenly, has also been busy at work in 2020. Most recently she teamed up with Paul Weller on a remix of his track Old Father Tyme and produced a new theme tune for the popular The Cinematologists podcast. The Guardian described it as “an instrumental theme for a podcast that’s better than most other artists’ entire back catalogues.”

The Euro 2016 song will be released at the same time as the 20^th anniversary edition of Everything Must Go on 20/5.

Mxdwn have already celebrated this anniversary of Everything Must Go – see the article dated January 26^th which makes fans think twice about precisely how long ago it was since the release of this album. An album that has remained timeless.

The video has been recorded and proceeds of the single will go both the Princes Gate Trust and Tenovus Cancer Care charities.

The Everything Must Go Tour is also a May occasion with the following dates and venues:

13/5 – Echo Arena – Liverpool

14/5 – Genting Arena – Birmingham

16/5 – Royal Albert Hall – London

17/5 – Royal Albert Hall – London

As ‘Together Stronger (C’mon Wales)’ is released, the tour continues:

20/5 – First Direct Arena – Leeds

21/5 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow

28/5 – Liberty Stadium – Swansea

Via the BBC, the Welsh football manager Chris Coleman said:

“It was fantastic to be involved with such an iconic Welsh band.

“Manic Street Preachers have been passionate Welsh football supporters and all the lads enjoyed the experience and joined in.”

Euro 2016 is a massive deal for Welsh football. This is only the second time they have qualified for an International tournament. The last being the 1958 FIFA World Cup where they reached the quarter-finals. Therefore being chosen to sing the official song is equally a massive deal for the Manic Street Preachers.