But, this was Blackwood’s international day – with the boys that had taken the town’s name around the world coming home. It was a trip down memory lane and in the lead-up to the BBC Radio 2 homecoming gig, they showed DJ and host Jo Whiley around their old haunts.
The Manic Street Preachers are brought home to Blackwood by BBC Radio 2 Some are no longer there - Dorothy’s Café, Pizza House and their favourite record shops. Cwmfelinfach Miners’ Institute is another James Dean Bradfield paid tribute to, lamenting “they pulled it down”. This is where they recorded first single,