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GALLERY: Kevin Cummins' Manics Shots
Danny Riley , November 13th, 2014 15:45

Before tQ editor John Doran interviews him at Manchester's Louder Than Words festival this weekend, Kevin Cummins talks us through some of his best shots of the Manic Street Preachers from his upcoming book, Assassinated Beauty

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Richey hugging stone nymph
It was taken a few months before he died, in the courtyard of a recording studio in Wales. Richey was very fragile then and I thought the look would suit him and would make a strong cover for the feature. We'd initially taken some shots with the whole band but I wanted something more, so I just asked Richey to hold it (the statue). But then the more he held it, the more he hugged it, and then he began to close his eyes, he looked like he was very dependent on this female form. Nicky and Sean Moore walked across the courtyard in the background and Nicky shouted over to him: "You'll do anything to get on the cover of the NME Edwards!" Which kind of broke the spell a bit, but I still got the shot.