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A Design for Life
"A Design for Life" is a single by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers from their fourth studio album, Everything Must Go (1996). It was written by James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire, and produced by Dave Eringa and Mike Hedges. Released on 15 April 1996 by Epic Records, the song debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.
The title was inspired by the debut Joy Division EP, An Ideal for Living. The opening line of the song, 'Libraries gave us power', was inspired by the legend "Knowledge is Power" engraved in stone above the top floor central window of the library in Pillgwenlly, Newport, 15 miles from the band's home town of Blackwood. The next line, 'then work came and made us free', refers to the German slogan Arbeit macht frei that featured above the gates of Nazi concentration camps and which had been used previously by the band in their song "The Intense Humming of Evil" on the album The Holy Bible.
The song explores themes of class conflict and working class identity and solidarity, inspired by the band's strong socialist convictions. Speaking in 2017, Nicky Wire explained that he "was sick to death with the patronisation of the working class. We’re not just Jeremy Kyle – we did build libraries. My dad was a miner". Its video exemplifies this theme further. Various slogans promoting compliance and domesticity clash with scenes of fox hunting, Royal Ascot, a polo match and the Last Night of the Proms representing what the band saw as class privilege. James Dean Bradfield later described the song as "Trojan horse Manics", which utilised radio-friendly rock to deliver a clear political message.
Interviewed in 2014 by NME for their "Song Stories" video series, singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield recalled that the lyrics had come about as a blending of two sets – "Design for Life" and "Pure Motive" – sent to him by bassist Nicky Wire. The music was written "in about ten minutes" and Bradfield was ecstatic with the result. The band approached Mike Hedges to be involved in producing the song after hearing McAlmont & Butler's string-laden single "Yes", which Hedges had worked on. Wire dedicated the song to Dennis Potter, Dennis Skinner, Arthur Scargill and Antonio Gaudi.
The single was the first Manic Street Preachers release following the disappearance of guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards the previous year. With James Dean Bradfield later stating that the song kept the trio going during a period of trauma and that it validated them at a time of not knowing whether they could continue as a band. Nicky Wire described it as "a bolt of light from a severely dark place".
Author Rhian E. Jones described the release of "A Design for Life" as "a song which dispenses with reflections on personal memory and the current history of the band, acted as a cathartic release from The Holy Bible. Though less obviously a letting go of the past, this soaring paean to the working classes was actually the most decisive severing of ties to the previous incarnation of the band."
The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart on 27 April 1996 and was the first in a run of five consecutive releases to be top-10 hits. It spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart, with seven weeks in the UK top 40, being the best performing single by the band, along with "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". It has achieved platinum status in the UK (600,000 copies). With "A Design for Life" the band also began a run of 11 years where all their singles charted within the top 20 in the UK until 2007, when "Indian Summer" from Send Away the Tigers broke the run by peaking at number 22. The song peaked at number 48 in New Zealand and at number 50 in Australia. In both countries, it only charted for one week. In Ireland, it charted in the top 20, reaching number 17.
The CD single also included the songs "Mr Carbohydrate", "Dead Passive" and "Dead Trees and Traffic Islands", while the cassette included a live version of "Bright Eyes". As part of Record Store Day 2016, 2000 copies were released on 12" vinyl in a copper sleeve.[citation needed]
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A Design for Life
"A Design for Life" is a single by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers from their fourth studio album, Everything Must Go (1996). It was written by James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire, and produced by Dave Eringa and Mike Hedges. Released on 15 April 1996 by Epic Records, the song debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.
The title was inspired by the debut Joy Division EP, An Ideal for Living. The opening line of the song, 'Libraries gave us power', was inspired by the legend "Knowledge is Power" engraved in stone above the top floor central window of the library in Pillgwenlly, Newport, 15 miles from the band's home town of Blackwood. The next line, 'then work came and made us free', refers to the German slogan Arbeit macht frei that featured above the gates of Nazi concentration camps and which had been used previously by the band in their song "The Intense Humming of Evil" on the album The Holy Bible.
The song explores themes of class conflict and working class identity and solidarity, inspired by the band's strong socialist convictions. Speaking in 2017, Nicky Wire explained that he "was sick to death with the patronisation of the working class. We’re not just Jeremy Kyle – we did build libraries. My dad was a miner". Its video exemplifies this theme further. Various slogans promoting compliance and domesticity clash with scenes of fox hunting, Royal Ascot, a polo match and the Last Night of the Proms representing what the band saw as class privilege. James Dean Bradfield later described the song as "Trojan horse Manics", which utilised radio-friendly rock to deliver a clear political message.
Interviewed in 2014 by NME for their "Song Stories" video series, singer and guitarist James Dean Bradfield recalled that the lyrics had come about as a blending of two sets – "Design for Life" and "Pure Motive" – sent to him by bassist Nicky Wire. The music was written "in about ten minutes" and Bradfield was ecstatic with the result. The band approached Mike Hedges to be involved in producing the song after hearing McAlmont & Butler's string-laden single "Yes", which Hedges had worked on. Wire dedicated the song to Dennis Potter, Dennis Skinner, Arthur Scargill and Antonio Gaudi.
The single was the first Manic Street Preachers release following the disappearance of guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards the previous year. With James Dean Bradfield later stating that the song kept the trio going during a period of trauma and that it validated them at a time of not knowing whether they could continue as a band. Nicky Wire described it as "a bolt of light from a severely dark place".
Author Rhian E. Jones described the release of "A Design for Life" as "a song which dispenses with reflections on personal memory and the current history of the band, acted as a cathartic release from The Holy Bible. Though less obviously a letting go of the past, this soaring paean to the working classes was actually the most decisive severing of ties to the previous incarnation of the band."
The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart on 27 April 1996 and was the first in a run of five consecutive releases to be top-10 hits. It spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart, with seven weeks in the UK top 40, being the best performing single by the band, along with "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough". It has achieved platinum status in the UK (600,000 copies). With "A Design for Life" the band also began a run of 11 years where all their singles charted within the top 20 in the UK until 2007, when "Indian Summer" from Send Away the Tigers broke the run by peaking at number 22. The song peaked at number 48 in New Zealand and at number 50 in Australia. In both countries, it only charted for one week. In Ireland, it charted in the top 20, reaching number 17.
The CD single also included the songs "Mr Carbohydrate", "Dead Passive" and "Dead Trees and Traffic Islands", while the cassette included a live version of "Bright Eyes". As part of Record Store Day 2016, 2000 copies were released on 12" vinyl in a copper sleeve.[citation needed]