The band was born in a Gwent bedroom in the early Nineties and when they burst onto the music scene they polarised the critics with their foppish attire, eyeliner and outrageous attitude.

Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, James Dean Bradfield and Richey Edwards proved a little too clever for some music fans, although by the time they scored their first hit with a cover of the MASH theme, Suicide is Painless, the tide started turning.

Over the years, they released a host of albums dealing with alienation, anorexia and depression. By the time Gold Against the Soul was released in 1993, the price of fame started to take its toll on guitarist Richey Edwards. His dark and downbeat lyrics subsequently took their toll on the rest of the band who weren't too keen about going on tour and singing about depression every night.

In July 1994, James was admitted to hospital suffering from nervous exhaustion. Full-scale nervous collapse was closer the mark, allegedly induced by a schedule of heavy drinking, poor diet and a self-abusive routine.

When DJ Steve Lamacq asked him a question about how serious the band were, Richey carved '4 Real' into his left arm with a razor blade.

"I didn't know what I could possibly say to him to make him understand", Edwards said later. "Other bands hit journalists and it's very macho. I would never want to do that."

While everyone else was suitably shocked by the incident, the rest of the band thought little of it. To them, that was just Richey.

Bradfield was quick to dismiss the notion that Richey's breakdown was an outcome of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. "I don't think of it as a natural extension of being in a rock group," he remarked in one interview. "It might have accelerated it but that's all. In some ways Richey's a very Richard Briers person, very cardigan, pipe and slippers. But I think if he'd gone on to become a lecturer - which he might well have done - the same thing could have very easily happened, perhaps in a more private way."

"It had become this tragic, grotesque downward spiral," remarks Sean Moore. "It was hard to understand where he was coming from. He got pretty confused."

On February 1, 1995, Edwards left his Prozac and his car at a notorious suicide spot. He hasn't been seen since.

Despite many fans fearing the worst James Dean Bradfield refuses to believe it.

"I never think he's dead. It's too easy to imagine that he's not dead. I've always been in love with rock and roll mythology, and I know I'm over imaginative but the scenario in my head is very vivid indeed."

Losing Richey could have destroyed the band but in some ways it made them stronger. When Everything Must Go - partly written by Edwards - was released in 1996, it seemed like the group had finally arrived with tracks such as Australia, Kevin Carter and the title song scoring massive chart success.

Their latest album, This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours - inspired by Socialist Aneurin Bevan - gave the Manics their first number one hit, albeit for just a week.

"I don't think we could've done the last album without going through what we've gone through... musically and lyrically, it's our towering achievement - so it's Catch 22 really," remarks Bradfield.

If You Can Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next may not have been the most catchy of titles but the song touched a chord with thousands of fans and those converted by the huge commercial success of their 1996 crossover album.

The new work took longer to make than they anticipated and is a lot less intense than its predecessors. Even the references are a lot more mainstream, rejecting Nietsche and Satre in favour of Carlito's Way and Jimmy McGovern.

While the words have left many scratching their heads over the years - not least the teams on Never Mind the Buzzcocks who had a hard time deciphering Kevin Carter - one secret to the band's success is the passion of vocalist James Dean Bradfield. He gives each track everything he�s got - and then some. Even during the Christmas 1996 edition of TFI Friday he delivered a version of Wham�s Last Christmas that could have made grown men weep.

The earth-shattering success of Everything Must Go did not go unnoticed by Kylie Minogue. The diminutive pop icon is a huge fan of the group and decided to incorporate their sound into her ever-changing image. Bradfield wrote the irritatingly catchy highpoint in her career, Some Kind of Bliss while working on the new album.

After a decade of trial by fire, the loss of their manager to cancer and the disappearance of Richey Edwards, let's hope the best of their past is the worst of their future.