Holy Bible Live: Manic Street Preachers’ new live album

Holy Bible Live is a live album by Manic Street Preachers that compiles recordings from three Roundhouse shows in December 2014, during which the band performed The Holy Bible in full to mark the studio album’s 20th anniversary; the studio album was originally released in 1994. The recordings from those three performances were mixed by Dave Eringa in the months after the shows and were assembled to form the live album. Sony will release Holy Bible Live on 23 October 2026, and the album will be issued across vinyl, CD and digital formats. A CD and BluRay package accompanying the release includes Kieran Evans’ film Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave, which was filmed during the 2014 performances and is presented as part of the Holy Bible Live package.

In December 2014 Manic Street Preachers performed three shows at the Roundhouse in London, presenting The Holy Bible in full across the run. The concerts were staged to mark the 20th anniversary of The Holy Bible, the band’s studio album originally released in 1994. Recordings captured at the three Roundhouse performances were collected and subsequently mixed by Dave Eringa in the months following the shows, with those mixes compiled to form the live album Holy Bible Live. These live recordings, documenting the start-to-finish renditions presented across the December 2014 dates, provide the primary source material for the issued album. A film was also shot across each night of the 2014 run and has been associated with the project.

Recordings captured across the three Roundhouse shows in December 2014 were collected and assembled to form the live album Holy Bible Live. Those recordings were mixed by Dave Eringa in the months following the performances and the resulting mixes were used as the audio basis for the issued album. The compilation process covered the three dates at the Roundhouse and produced the live tracks that constitute Holy Bible Live.

Sony will release Holy Bible Live on 23 October 2026. The album will be issued across vinyl, CD and digital formats, and a CD and BluRay package will include Kieran Evans’ film Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave. That film was shot across each night of the 2014 tour and has previously been shown at festivals; this BluRay package represents the film’s first wider public release on BluRay as part of the Holy Bible Live issue.

The CD and BluRay package accompanying Holy Bible Live includes Kieran Evans’ film Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave. The film was shot across each night of the band’s December 2014 Roundhouse performances, during which the group played The Holy Bible in full for its 20th anniversary. The footage captures the three-night Roundhouse run and is compiled as Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave. Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave has previously been shown at festivals. This CD and BluRay package constitutes the film’s first wider public release on BluRay as part of the Holy Bible Live issue.

James Dean Bradfield: “I wanted to prove that we were still a band tough enough to play The Holy Bible. I wanted to prove to people that being on stage and hammering it through together like a military unit was still part of us. We still have that muscle memory, that badge of honour. We knew there would be a reflex reaction to doing something like this – people looking at the record and your performance through a prism of the past. ‘It’s not quite got the spark I was hoping for.’ Proving those people wrong – disproving cynics – massively powered me on.”

Nicky Wire: “One of the deciding factors in playing The Holy Bible from start to finish was wanting those lyrics – Richey’s [Edwards] genius, really – to be heard by a mass audience and to see how those words still resonated with a crowd who had grown up with them. Maybe this live record documents the last time that we – as a band, as friends – could really occupy The Holy Bible‘s particular state of mind. Listening back, I’m incredibly grateful that we did.”

CONCLUSION

Holy Bible Live compiles recordings captured at three Manic Street Preachers shows at London’s Roundhouse in December 2014, during which the band performed The Holy Bible in full to mark the studio album’s 20th anniversary. The collected recordings were mixed by Dave Eringa in the months after the performances and those mixes were assembled as the audio for the live album. Sony will release Holy Bible Live on 23 October 2026, and the album will be issued across vinyl, CD and digital formats. A CD and BluRay package accompanying the release includes Kieran Evans’ film Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave, which was filmed across each night of the 2014 Roundhouse run and has previously been shown at festivals. The BluRay in that package represents the film’s first wider public release on BluRay as part of the Holy Bible Live issue.

James Dean Bradfield said he wanted to prove that the band was still tough enough to play The Holy Bible. He said he wanted to prove to people that being on stage and hammering it through together like a military unit remained part of the band. Bradfield said the group still had ‘muscle memory’ and considered that continuity a badge of honour. He said he expected a reflex reaction from observers and that disproving cynics ‘massively powered’ him on.

Nicky Wire said one of the deciding factors in performing The Holy Bible from start to finish was wanting the lyrics, credited to Richey Edwards, to be heard by a mass audience. He said the intention included assessing how those words still resonated with a crowd who had grown up with them. Wire said the live recording might document the last time the band could occupy The Holy Bible‘s particular state of mind as a band and as friends. He said that, on listening back, he was incredibly grateful that they had undertaken the performances.

In December 2014 Manic Street Preachers performed three shows at the Roundhouse in London during which they played The Holy Bible in full to mark the studio album’s 20th anniversary; the original studio album was released in 1994. The three-night run presented start-to-finish renditions of The Holy Bible across the December dates at the Roundhouse. Recordings captured across those three performances were collected as documentation of the live shows. The collected recordings were mixed by Dave Eringa in the months following the performances. Those mixes from the Roundhouse dates were compiled to form the live album Holy Bible Live.

Recordings captured across the three Roundhouse shows in December 2014 were collected and assembled to create the live album Holy Bible Live. Those live recordings were mixed by Dave Eringa in the months following the performances, and the resulting mixes were used as the audio basis for the issued album. The compilation process covered the three dates at the Roundhouse and produced the live tracks that constitute Holy Bible Live.

Sony will release Holy Bible Live on 23 October 2026. The album will be issued across vinyl, CD and digital formats, and a CD and BluRay package will include Kieran Evans’ film Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave. That film was shot across each night of the 2014 Roundhouse run and has previously been shown at festivals; this CD and BluRay package represents the film’s first wider public release on BluRay as part of the Holy Bible Live issue.

James Dean Bradfield described an intention to demonstrate that the band remained capable of performing The Holy Bible live in its entirety. He stated that he sought to show that being on stage and delivering the material together “like a military unit” remained part of the group’s approach. Bradfield referred to a continued physical and collective continuity, using the phrase “muscle memory” and calling that continuity a “badge of honour.” He also noted an awareness of a reflex reaction from observers and said that proving detractors wrong “massively powered” him on.

James Dean Bradfield said he wanted to prove that the band remained capable of performing The Holy Bible live in its entirety. He said he wanted to prove to people that being on stage and delivering the songs together “like a military unit” remained part of the group’s approach. Bradfield referred to a continued physical and collective continuity, describing that continuity as “muscle memory” and calling it a “badge of honour.” He said he anticipated a reflex reaction from observers and stated that proving detractors wrong “massively powered” him on.

Nicky Wire said one of the deciding factors in performing The Holy Bible from start to finish was ensuring the lyrics, which he attributed to Richey Edwards, were heard by a mass audience. He said the aim included assessing how those words still resonated with a crowd who had grown up with them. Wire said the live recording could document what might be the last time the band, as friends and collaborators, could occupy The Holy Bible‘s particular state of mind. He said that, on listening back, he was “incredibly grateful” that they had undertaken the performances.