Mon, 9 Dec 2013

What Happened To Richey Edwards, The Guitarist In Manic Street Preachers?


Richard James Edwards was a Welsh musician who was the lead singer, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. At first he was the band's driver and roadie but soon his talents in song writing became the road to be accepted as a band's main spokesman and a fourth member.

On February 1, 1995, at a tender age of 27, Richey Edwards mysteriously vanishes and was later declared presumed dead on November 23, 2008.


Richey Was Depressed


What happened to Richey Edwards, the guitarist in Manic Street Preachers? Was he kidnapped? Did he commit suicide? Or had he simply chosen to disappear?

It is best to look back a little to gain insight on his disappearance. On May 15, 1991, Edwards carved the words "4 Real" into his forearm when asked about his sincerity towards his art. He openly talked about his severe bouts of depressions during interviews and he also injures himself by cutting his flesh and stubbing a lighted cigarette in his body.

Edwards explained that it made him forget his problems and makes him feel better to feel the pain. His drug and alcohol problems were well documented. He also was once admitted to a psychiatric hospital that forces his band to give a concert without him. It was also known that he shaved his head prior to his disappearance.


Richey Edwards Vanished


What happened to Richey Edwards, the guitarist in Manic Street Preachers? Two weeks prior he vanished; Richey Edwards began withdrawing money from his bank account that totaled to £2800 on February 1, 1995 of which he was supposed to fly for a promotional tour in the US with James Dean Bradfield.

In the fortnights that followed after his disappearance numerous sightings were reported. One cab driver claimed he fetched Edwards from the King's Hotel and driven him around the valleys which includes Blackwood, believed to be Edward's childhood home. He was also spotted at the Newport passport office and the Newport bus station.


Did Richey Commit Suicide

On Valentine's Day, Edwards' vehicle was spotted at a service station in Severn View, two days after the motor car was reported abandoned. The police searched the car and discovered that the battery was dead and there was substantial evidence that someone had lived in the car. Meanwhile, it was widely speculated that Edwards jumped off the bridge and took his own life, because of the distance of The Severn Bridge to the service station. The Bridge was famous for its suicide location.

Did he commit suicide? What happened to Richey Edwards, the guitarist in Manic Street Preachers? But friends refuted that speculation, saying that Edwards is not the kind to think about suicide. He himself said that it never enter his mind. He admits to being weak but he also said that he can take the pain.


Is Edwards Dead?

Family and friends never accepted that Edwards is dead possibly because there was a continued report of his sightings. Meanwhile his family never affirmed him dead though they have that option since 1992. He remained a missing person until on November 23, 2008 when Richey Edwards became officially declared legally dead.

"Richey Edwards was a very intelligent guy," Simon Price, an author of Everything (a book about the band) "if he wanted to disappear, he could've done it." Now whether he is alive or dead, family, friends, and fans hope that Richey Edwards is finally at peace.

But the main question still lingers in our mind: What happened to Richey Edwards, the guitarist in Manic Street Preachers?



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