Manic Street Preachers peerless classic third album The Holy Bible was released on the 30th August 1994.
Thirty years to the day since that album’s release, the band (in conjunction with Picturehouse Central and Scared To Dance) will mark the 30th anniversary of the album’s release with an exclusive one-off screening of Be Pure - Be Vigilant - Behave - the acclaimed concert film that captured the extraordinary live performances of The Holy Bible the band played on a ten date tour in December 2014.
The evening screening on Friday 30th August 2024 will be followed by a Q&A with Manic Street Preachers’ Nicky Wire and the film’s director Kieran Evans during which they will discuss the processes that went into making the film and the long standing creative collaboration between them.
Be Pure - Be Vigilant - Behave was pieced together from footage shot by Evans alone on each of the tour’s ten dates, culminating in three nights at London’s iconic Roundhouse. Arriving in each new venue, Evans would choose a different vantage point to capture James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore’s performances from in as intimate yet unobtrusive a way as possible.
The result is a stunning testament to the band, their history and the bond they share with their fanbase. During performances where the album was performed in full for the first and only time, the band dragged every inch of emotion and anger possible from their most painful, intense and blistered record, enthralling fans for whom that collection of songs is everything.
Propelled along by an astonishing live mix by long time Manics collaborator Dave Eringa, Be Pure - Be Vigilant - Behave has been described as "the Sex Pistols directed by Gaspar Noé” - an all out assault on the senses and a visceral, brutal yet transcendent document of a series of incredible shows by one of the country’s most vital rock’n’roll bands.
Nicky Wire on Be Pure - Be Vigilant - Behave: “We wanted to transfer the intense claustrophobia of the record onto film to reflect the sheer emotional intensity and physical demands of playing those songs. Armed with just one camera, dug in on stage, we knew Kieran could capture that energy.”
