Nicky Wire

Nicky Wire was born Nicholas Allen Jones on 20 January 1969 in Blackwood, in the South Wales valleys. He attended Oakdale Comprehensive School, where he met cousins James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore, and later Richey Edwards, the four schoolfriends who would go on to form Manic Street Preachers. Wire went on to study law and political science at the University of Wales, Swansea, before committing fully to music.

As bassist for Manic Street Preachers, Wire has been part of one of the most successful and enduring rock bands to come out of Wales, known for albums such as Everything Must Go, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and The Holy Bible. He co-wrote the band's lyrics with Richey Edwards from 1989 until Edwards' disappearance in 1995, after which Wire became the band's principal lyricist, shaping the group's distinctive blend of politics, working-class Welsh identity and literary ambition.

Alongside his work with the Manics, Wire has released two solo albums, I Killed the Zeitgeist (2006) and Intimism (2023). He and his bandmates have remained closely associated with Blackwood and the Welsh valleys throughout their career, frequently referencing their upbringing in the band's music and public identity.