Music Mysteries: What Happened to Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers?

    I have never listened to Manic Street Preachers, but I decided to write about this one just because of a bizarre twist. 

    Richey Edwards was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and guitarist of alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers. Their music is pretty dark and heavily politicized from what I can tell. Edwards disappeared on February 1st, 1995. And he has stayed missing to this day. Though, he was declared deceased in 2008.

    On February 1st, 1995 he and a bandmate were supposed to fly to the United States to promote their album, The Holy Bible. He withdrew the same exact amount of money from his bank account every day for two weeks leading up to the date. No one knows exactly why he withdrew the money. It could have been to purchase a desk, but no one is for sure. 

    He handed a friend a novel titled Novel with Cocaine which deals with someone vanishing. He did some strange behaviors like sending a wrapped gift with books and things to a recently broken-up-with ex-girlfriend. 

    He also asked his sister to read Sylvia Plath's "Tulips" at his funeral. Which... honestly is a cry for help considering it's Sylvia Plath. 

    Edwards left all of his belongings in various places like the hotel he checked out of and his house. Around the time of his disappearance, he was spotted by fans who didn't know he was missing. He was seen in various areas. 

    The case gets even messier because even as late as 2018, things were found to be messed up. Including a ticket found at the Severn Bridge that said 2:55 on it. It was thought to be 2:55pm, but it's on a 24-hour clock which would have made it 2:55am. So the timeline of events was messed up for over 20 years. 6 days after his disappearance, he supposedly rode in a taxi. This passenger changed his accent, but would reportedly slip back into a Welsh accent. 

    On February 14th, his vehicle received a ticket at Severn View service station. And on the 17th, it was reported as abandoned. The battery was dead, and there was evidence the car had been lived in. It was believed he had jumped from the Severn Bridge, but he had spoken the year prior that he had no thoughts of suicide. 

    Then after that, the case went cold.

    Though! There have been sightings of him in India and on various islands. Though none have been proven conclusive. No one knows what has become of Edwards. The police has often been criticized for how this case has been handled. They're often sighted for not taking into account Edwards' mental state. He stayed missing until 2008 when he was presumed dead.

    It's unlikely, but it'd be nice to think he's still out there somewhere. It is kind of crazy to think about how he laid low for 2 weeks before leaving a cold trail. The clues left behind leave more questions than answers.