2 years, 3 months ago
Whatever became of Richey Edwards? Is there any solid evidence out there that he might still be alive?
Richey Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers has been missing for a long time...but is there enough evidence to make the assumption he is dead? If not, where might be be, and why?
videos:
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M$1 Answer
Edwards disappeared in February 1995 with his car being found abandoned two weeks later near the Severn Bridge, a notorious suicide spot. It emerged afterwards that he had been withdrawing money from his account during the period leading up to his disappearance, possibly in order to accumulate a lump sum. His body was never found.
In the absence of a body or the discovery of remains that can be confirmed as those of Edwards, questions will always remain. Although he was declared legally dead in late 2008, this was mainly in order to bring some clarity to his financial affairs, as his parents are now elderly. His bandmates however, do continue to set aside royalties for Edwards, and have never themselves said they believe him to be dead. While Edwards was certainly troubled (at various times he battled anorexia, self-mutilation and drug abuse) those close to him have always been somewhat resentful of suggestions that he did or that he even would take his own life.
Many theories have been put forward as to why Edwards decided to choose this path, eg he didn't make a musical contribution to the group, and the lyrics he provided for 1994's The Holy Bible were extremely dark. His bandmates would later admit they were finding it increasingly difficult to share his artistic vision, and Edwards may have sensed this.
As is often the case in such situations, there have been several possible sightings, with the area of Goa in India often being mentioned. A more notable “sighting” of Edwards took place on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, where a man sat down in a bar and after being approached and asked if he was Richey Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers, left the premises immediately.
Another suggestion that Edwards may be alive came from a psychic named Keith Charles who wrote a book called “Psychic Detective” in 2000 giving his interpretations and impressions of several high-profile disappearance cases, such as those of Lord Lucan, and of the kidnapped champion racehorse, Shergar. Charles puts forward an elaborate belief that not only is Edwards alive, but that he may have spent time in Holland busking and waiting tables, before joining a group of backpackers on their way to India. Edwards then may have had a period of poverty before being taken in by a religious sect, before eventually taking a wife and a whole new identity, with even the possibility of amnesia thrown in! Charles sees Edwards as living a very frugal, basic lifestyle.
It is likely that a definitive answer will never emerge. However, with last year's Journal For Plague Lovers album (which was made up entirely of lyrics left behind by Edwards) a degree of closure was attained for his bandmates at least.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj6oFJ5-F1w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PbWixiP5o
In the absence of a body or the discovery of remains that can be confirmed as those of Edwards, questions will always remain. Although he was declared legally dead in late 2008, this was mainly in order to bring some clarity to his financial affairs, as his parents are now elderly. His bandmates however, do continue to set aside royalties for Edwards, and have never themselves said they believe him to be dead. While Edwards was certainly troubled (at various times he battled anorexia, self-mutilation and drug abuse) those close to him have always been somewhat resentful of suggestions that he did or that he even would take his own life.
Many theories have been put forward as to why Edwards decided to choose this path, eg he didn't make a musical contribution to the group, and the lyrics he provided for 1994's The Holy Bible were extremely dark. His bandmates would later admit they were finding it increasingly difficult to share his artistic vision, and Edwards may have sensed this.
As is often the case in such situations, there have been several possible sightings, with the area of Goa in India often being mentioned. A more notable “sighting” of Edwards took place on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, where a man sat down in a bar and after being approached and asked if he was Richey Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers, left the premises immediately.
Another suggestion that Edwards may be alive came from a psychic named Keith Charles who wrote a book called “Psychic Detective” in 2000 giving his interpretations and impressions of several high-profile disappearance cases, such as those of Lord Lucan, and of the kidnapped champion racehorse, Shergar. Charles puts forward an elaborate belief that not only is Edwards alive, but that he may have spent time in Holland busking and waiting tables, before joining a group of backpackers on their way to India. Edwards then may have had a period of poverty before being taken in by a religious sect, before eventually taking a wife and a whole new identity, with even the possibility of amnesia thrown in! Charles sees Edwards as living a very frugal, basic lifestyle.
It is likely that a definitive answer will never emerge. However, with last year's Journal For Plague Lovers album (which was made up entirely of lyrics left behind by Edwards) a degree of closure was attained for his bandmates at least.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj6oFJ5-F1w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PbWixiP5o
source(s):
Further reading:
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/alienated/richeysalive.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richey_Edwards
Further reading:
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/alienated/richeysalive.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richey_Edwards
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M$
i agree completely re: the third scenario being very unlikely, given the band members saw the sister's efforts.
but the second scenario...still not sure of your argument, because it might have felt like the friendship was contingent upon being in the band. seems to work that way a lot in creative groups, from my own experience...people can be best friends while working together but then when one leaves the group things drift apart; the shared goal of the work was what kept them close. if he was tired of being in the public eye (and seems like he was), he might have reasoned it would be hard to leave the band but stay as close to his friends when they were still 100% committed to Manic Street Preachers...
I've been a big fan of the band for many years, and I have never formulated a strong view in favour of any of the three possibilities, namely :
1. Suicide
2. Planned, deliberate disappearance
3. Planned, deliberate disappearance with his band-mates being aware
While there are many things / events that could help build a case for any of the three, there are just as many that would seem to disprove them.
With regard to the first possibility, his self-harm, bleak lyrics and overall disillusionment with life would seem to support this possibility. However, the fact that a body has never been recovered and Edwards' own verbally-expressed aversion to the idea of suicide seem to suggest otherwise.
A planned, deliberate disappearance seems to be supported by the incremental withdrawal of money, sightings of Edwards at a passport office during the period of his disappearance and perhaps other events. However, he was a very tender soul and if he could not find happiness in Wales with three friends who loved and understood him better than almost anyone else could, then would he really have been able to cut it anywhere else on earth?
I've never given the third possibility much credence for the simple reason that Edwards' sister worked tirelessly during the years immediately after his disappearance, cajoling the police to do more and generally doing everything she could to further the “case”. I would find it surprising if the other members of the band would have allowed her to go through this if they had information that could have put her more at ease. With that said, I was extremely surprised to see the band return with new material so quickly (1996), but I guess it may have been the only way they knew how to move on.
If I was pressed for a guess, I would go for the possibility of a planned disappearance, but given his aversion to so much in this world, I think I would also predict that he could have committed suicide subsequently, in the months or years immediately afterwards.
But until a body, or remains can be discovered, I think Edwards will remain alive in the minds of many people.
Very interesting question and a video I hadn't seen . . . if every interview was like the one above, every celebrity would probably do a runner.
Thanks for the great insights on this! I think it's very possible he's still alive and has purposefully disappeared...he strikes me as someone who might have wanted that for himself, planned accordingly, and pulled it off. He was obviously annoyed by the press, and not all that excited about how pop culture success had changed his life. It's hard to imagine how he would have survived the way tabloid stalking evolved shortly after his departure, with the internet raising the stakes and (in terms of journalistic integrity) lowering the bar immeasurably on what might be considered worthwhile and authentic "news" ... if he hadn't disappeared when he did, I think he might very well have been driven to kill himself eventually.
Some people can't imagine it's possible that a person could easily just disappear, but I know that isn't true because I know someone who did it. It was an early boyfriend of mine, also a musician (into industrial and techno type genres). His story is pretty sad, because he went from being an artist shopped by major labels to being a homeless schizophrenic guy, but he did successfully disappear. He left Chicago in 1989, and (not sure exactly when this happened) changed his name and started living on the streets in Seattle, WA. About once a year or so he sends me mail that kinda creeps me out...not letters, just envelopes full of random stuff that makes no sense even when considered a possible puzzle to be solved by cryptic abstraction. But he is alive, and I think I might be one of the only people to know who he is (or better to say WAS). Occasionally I see his early EP's on ebay and I'll run off the page and drop it in the mail (he keeps a PO box under his fake name) just to remind him the work he once did still means something to some people, and people are paying $100+ to get it ... but I don't think that really matters to him. He killed the person who might have cared about those dreams and accomplishments.
Very interesting that Richey's old bandmates continue to set aside royalties, and don't speak of him in a way that suggests full belief that he's dead ... wonder if they're in on it, and maybe even hear from him now and then?