Manic Street Preachers announce The Holy Bible 20th anniversary tour

The band will play the album in full for the first time in a series of gigs

Manic Street Preachers (left to right) James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire perform in the King Tuts Wah Wah Tent at the T in the Park festival (PA)

Manic Street Preachers are to tour their 20-year-old album The Holy Bible - often seen as their greatest release - playing it in full for the first time.

The trio, who released 12th album Futurology earlier this year, will play a series of shows in December, winding up with three shows at the Roundhouse in London.

The bleak and abrasive The Holy Bible was the final album to feature guitarist Richey Edwards who disappeared little over five months after its release and whose fragile mental state was evident in his final songs.

The London dates on December 15, 16 and 17 come almost exactly 20 years after the group played their final shows with Edwards - not long after he had a spell of treatment at the Priory Clinic - when they performed three nights at the now demolished London Astoria.

The Holy Bible was named the greatest album of all time in a poll of viewers conducted by BBC2's Newsnight programme in 2005.

A spokeswoman for the group said: “They have never played the whole record and these very special shows, much rumoured and speculated about, will be must-see events for fans.”

The band will kick off their tour at Barrowland in Glasgow on December 8, calling at Manchester's Albert Hall, Dublin's Olympia Theatre and ending at the Roundhouse.

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 26 September.

PA