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They might have just pulled out of this week's gigs (including the special homecoming Blackwood Radio 2 gig) but Manic Street Preachers have announced they're appearing on this weekend's Strictly Come Dancing.

Nicky Wire said: "Unbelievable-we have got 'strictly come dancing' on sunday - mass communication indeed xx what to wear??"

Simon Price, The Independent's music critic and author of Everything: A Book About Manic Street Preachers, reacted to the news: "If a... Tory minister who supported Section 28 can appear on the same show as , all bets are off.

"And if [she] can somehow become a 'national treasure', then maybe some of that strange magic can rub off on the Manics too. In this season of goodwill, personally I'm hoping that one of Nicky Wire's long legs will accidentally trip down the stairs. Merry Christmas!"

Dan Martin of the NME told us: "It's undoubtably one of the stranger bookings we've seen in a while, but the Manics have been veering in and out of the mainstream from day one.

"If this was last year and they were performing Virginia State Epileptic Colony on the show then that would be more of a cause for comment. But there's always been two versions of the Manics, and right now we've got the shiny pop version. Some Kind Of Nothingness will no doubt fit into the show rather well, and you already know that Wire will dress for the occasion far more suitably than most of the acts they have on. It can't be stranger than Wagner doing Creep on X Factor last week."

The band's new single, Some Kind Of Nothingness (featuring Ian McCulloch) is out on Monday. On the day of Strictly Come Dancing they are also releasing a digital EP of the single backed with alternative versions of classic tracks Masses Against The Classes, Sleepflower and Yes.

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