Manic Street Preachers star's mum dies days after cancelled appearance

Manic Street Preachers songwriter and bassist Nicky Wire is mourning the death of his mother, it has been revealed.

The musician was missing from the band’s gig at The Biggest Weekend in Belfast last Saturday with a statement from the band saying he had withdrawn due to “a serious family illness.”

Nicky’s brother, poet and writer Patrick Jones, revealed the news on Twitter on Friday night.

He wrote: “There’s a new bright star in the sky tonight.

“Our dear mother Irene Jones passed away today after a long brave battle with Leukaemia.”

Nicky had revealed in interviews for the band’s latest album Resistance Is Futile that his mother had been ill for some time.

Speaking to WalesOnline back in April, he said. “My mum’s been really ill. She’s had leukaemia for the last year.

“She was given six months and it’s been a year so far.

“She’s 80 and she’s done really well, but she’s not been too well lately, so it’s hard to watch that happen.

“Me and my brother have been back and forth to Blackwood, sleeping up at the house.

“My dad is 83. He’s been amazing looking after her as well.

“Everyone goes through it. You get to that point where your parents get really old.

“We’ve always been a close family. It’s just been really hard.”

The Manics are due to kick off a run of three dates supporting Guns ‘n’ Roses in Germany this Sunday.

It’s not yet known whether Nicky will play the shows, or the band will persist with a stand-in for the gigs.

The publication was an account of her campaign to save woodland through the eyes of her dog Sam.The labrador-greyhound cross refused to move from a bulldozer’s path as part of their protest.

She said: “Sam became quite a celebrity because his picture was in lots of papers.”

She was a keen animal rights and environmental campaigner, often sharing posts on social media supporting causes close to her heart.