Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire donates guitar to help youngsters (From Campaign Series)

Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire donates guitar to help youngsters

3:20pm Thursday 4th October 2012 in News

ONE of Gwent’s most famous rock stars has donated a guitar to help inspire the next generation of local musicians.

A bass belonging to Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire will now take pride of place at Gwent Music Support Service’s rock and pop facility at Duffryn High School, where hundreds of youngsters go to learn to play instruments such as guitar, bass, drums and keyboard.

The bass is thought to have been a personal one to Nicky Wire, whose real name is Nicholas Jones, as it has his trademark stickers of things like “I love Wales”, “Tenby”, “Don’t be evil” and pictures and autographs of the band on it.

Gwent Music’s assistant head Dave Powell approached Mr Wire to open the facility when it was launched last May, but as he likes to keep a low profile away from the band, he politely declined.

However, to make up for missing it, Mr Wire, who is from Blackwood, but now lives in Newport, donated his instrument.

Mr Powell said: “He sent in the semi-acoustic bass along with a signed photo of the band and it will take pride of place in the jam pod to help create a good atmosphere.

“It looks like a personal one to him as it is covered in stickers. Maybe he used it at home to practise with.”

The impressive facility at Duffryn High School can accommodate up to 12 bands at a time, who can practise and listen to their own mixes using headphones.

Mr Powell said it allows lots of musicians to be in “their own little bubble”, but also learn as a group, with a teacher talking to them through a microphone.

Details of the service are at gwentmusic.net