Guardian. The Globe
and Mail. Monday, January 1, 2001
London -- British rock band Manic Street Preachers is staging a comeback
concert in Cuba and will be the first western band to play there.
The band confirmed it would premiere its album Know Your Enemy on Feb. 17
and would charge 25 Cuban cents (24 U.S. cents) admission to the gig at the Karl
Marx theatre in Havana. The band members said they decided on Cuba because it
was the "last place that holds out against the Americanization of the
world." They added that they were feeling jaded with the whole process of
releasing records.
Bassist Nicky Wire said: "It could be a disaster. There might not be a
P.A. [amplification system] or whatever, but it's just the idea that it could be
a bit of an adventure. So many bands these days just come back in the usual way
and that's one thing we're not going to do this time." A spokesman for the
band said the concert had been organized by its manager, Martin Hall, of Hall or
Nothing management, who travelled to Cuba to negotiate terms. The group has been
out of the public eye since releasing the single The Masses Against the Classes
in January. | 