Everything : A Book About Manic Street Preachers

Nick claimed, 'Me, Richey and James were retards when it came to girls...very, very shy,' and that 'Most people thought we were gay, so they didn't even bother.' Nick's brother Patrick, however, tells a different story, insisting that Nick was always popular at the youth club disco, where he went to the length of devising a special dance routine to Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl' to impress the females.

Nicky knew deep down, however, that he wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. One night in May, he had a Road to Damascus (well, Warrington) revelation. 'We were driving to Warrington for a gig and we stopped at this pub and I just thought: "I wanna go home to my mom and stop drinking." I saw the light.'

Pete Wiggs (of Saint Etienne) commented later: 'I remember one time, when we got off the bus, Nicky Wire actually cleaned up the floor with a dustpan and brush. It was amazing!'