Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for regular updates of events happening in Wales Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Manic Street Preachers have today unveiled the video for new track Distant Colours which includes a number of iconic Welsh landmarks - as well as words spoken in Welsh.

It also marks the band's return to perform on the Little Theatre stage in Backwood which they last played 32 years ago - the band's third ever show - notorious for the riot that broke out at the gig.

The video shot in Wales sees the central character from International Blue - actress Sarah Sayuri - criss-cross the country stopping off at key historical and cultural sites that relate to some of the themes in the song.

With lyrics by James Dean Bradfield, Distant Colours is about his disenchantment with the left of his youth; where the classic Labour of Nye Bevan has ended up.

“Musically, the verse is downcast and melancholic and the chorus is an explosion of disillusionment and tears," he said

The song also features words spoken in Welsh by actress Elan Evans.

Shot by long term collaborator Kieran Evans, the film passes sites such as the famous Cofiwch Dreweryn (Remember Treweryn - the protest memorial to the drowning of the village Treweryn) and the statue of Welsh warrior Llewelyn ap Gruffydd overlooking Llandovery.

It then weaves down through the plains of the Brecon Beacons in front of the Aneurin Bevan Stones on the windblown edges of Ebbw Vale.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Further south, it sweeps to the imposing miners memorial Guardian of the Valleys in Six Bells, Abertillery and on to the Chartist Monument on the outskirts of Blackwood before arriving at the town's Little Theatre the site of the third ever Manics' gig in 1986.

It marks the first time the Manics have performed on the Little Theatre stage in 32 years, since an infamous gig, which descended into a full scale riot .

Police were called and arrests were made as the gig descended into anarchy.

In rare footage from the gig you can see James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore, as well as original bass player Miles ‘Flicker’ Woodward, being heckled and cans being thrown on stage.

The video was directed by regular Manics’ collaborator Kieran Evans.

He said: “I think the themes of being disenfranchised, lost memory and searching for identity is very much at the heart of Distant Colours so placing our character in an alien environment with a different language seemed to fit the feeling we were after.

He added: “I’ve got a long long list of Welsh location ideas all listed in a notebook. I also wanted to illustrate some key historical sites that seemed to connect with the song. Cofiwch Dryweryn was a definite as were Nye Bevans Stones in Ebbw Vale and the Guardian of The Valleys in Six Bells. there were so many I had to leave out but maybe they may appear in the live shows.”

The new Manics’ song is taken from their forthcoming 13th studio album Resistance Is Futile released on April 13.

Of their first new album since 2014’s Futurology, the band said: “The main themes of Resistance is Futile are memory and loss; forgotten history; confused reality and art as a hiding place and inspiration.”

The band play Venue Cymru, Llandudno on May 1 and Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on May 5.

The new Manics' song is taken from their forthcoming 13th studio album Resistance Is Futile released on April 13.

Of their first new album since 2014’s Futurology, the band said: “The main themes of Resistance is Futile are memory and loss; forgotten history; confused reality and art as a hiding place and inspiration.”

The band embark on a UK tour in April and May when they will play two arena shows in Wales - on May 1 at Venue Cymru, Llandudno and May 5 at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena.

Find out more at: www.manicstreetpreachers.com