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It had been six years since Birmingham had last seen the Manics but they were back with something special. To hand ‘Everything Must Go’ - the triple platinum selling album that marked the beginning of second-era of the band - a sterling 20th anniversary celebration to remember.

The last time the Welsh trio toured, including at Wolverhampton Civic in 2014, they had played 1994 ‘The Holy Bible’ in its entirety.

Yet that twisted masterpiece was missing with the band focusing the first half of their set on the more accessible 12-track stellar record that saw them cross over from underground heroes to mainstream indie rock stalwarts,

The powerful 1996 album marked a poignant and grander return post Richey Edwards, who disappeared 21 years ago, and the Manics do it justice, ensuring it sounds every inch the masterpiece of 20 years ago as they rip through it in order.

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Lead song from the album ‘A Design For Life’ feels a bit out of place second up, as the traditional set closer, but it sees an early singalong with James Dean Bradfield’s tremendous working class vocals echoing around the Arena.

After the gig the Manics' Twitter account thanked the fans in Birmingham

The rarely heard run-through of the mid-nineties album reminds of the other top-ten singles ‘Australia’, ‘Kevin Carter’ and the centerpiece of the record ‘Everything Must Go’ with its energetic, soaring chorus.

A crisp ‘Enola/Alone’ leaves a lasting impression as a piece of Brit-rock genius while Richey penned ‘Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky’ with Bradfield’s acoustic solo and album closer ‘No Surface All Feeling’ offer further euphoria to the majestic first half.

Following a brief interval, the second part of the night offers the epic guitar anthems which have become their trademark with some rarities including a pleasing cover of Fiction Factory’s ‘(Feels Like) Heaven’ which the crowd lap up.

‘Your Love Is Not Alone’, ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ and ‘You Stole The Sun From My Heart’ are highlights as the audience get fully into their stride.

By the time, ‘You Love Us’ is followed by ‘If You This Tolerate This’ to close the evening, a cue for ticker tape to spread across the Arena, the audience filter back into the night knowing they had witnessed a national treasure. 20 years may have passed but ‘Everything Must Go’ is a record that has stood the test of time, by a band that will continue to do so.

Four stars