Manic Street Preachers at the Genting Arena, Birmingham (14/5/2016)

Me in my Manics fan "uniform." ;-)

If there's one thing that should be relatively common knowledge to anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis, it's my deep and unending love for the Manic Street Preachers.  From the age of 16, they've been a constant in my life and I can't imagine my world without them.

So, on Saturday (14th May), I got all dolled up in my glitter, eyeliner, feather boa, tiara, homemade top and fairy wings and headed from my uncle's flat in Birmingham to the Genting Arena, along with my lovely gig buddy Kirstie, to see the band for the millionth fourteenth time.

Normal clothing is not required on gig days...

The band are currently touring in celebration of their classic 1996 album, Everything Must Go, which is now a whopping twenty years old (and I feel ancient).  The plan was to play the entire album in full, from start to finish, before pausing for a brief break prior to treating the audience to a short second set, packed with hits and the odd rarity.  As plans go, it was a pretty brilliant one, to be honest.

Everything Must Go is as close to perfection as any album I've had the pleasure of listening to.  It soars majestically along, with sweeping orchestral melodies and touching moments of poignancy in amongst the almost stubborn positivity of the album as a whole.  To hear every track played, one after the other, was an absolute treat for the ears.  The band were on top form, sounding like the tight unit we know them to be, and they looked the part, too - Nicky Wire showed off not one, not two, but three different jackets over the course of the show.  

The strangeness of hearing Design For Life second in the set (rather than being saved for the show-stopping finale) was overcome by the crowd's enthusiastic singalong and the promise of yet more goodies to follow.  Everything Must Go has always been an album that flows beautifully well and this translated into a live performance that never felt like it had gone off the boil, or left you wishing they'd play something else.  Songs such as Enola Alone and Further Away rocked the arena and left you wondering how on Earth the band even managed to choose singles from an album packed with so many gems.  James Dean Bradfield's gorgeous acoustic rendition of Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky was enough to bring a tear to your eye.  And when the bombastic guitar solo at the end of No Surface All Feeling kicked in and streamers shot into the sky and fell above the heads of the band's faithful fans, it was a moment of sheer euphoria.

Before the second set kicked in fully, James treated the audience to a short game of "Manic Street Preachers bingo," encouraging fans to shout out song suggestions for him to play on his acoustic guitar.  It's a testament to the level of devotion the fans have to this band, that many of the requests were for obscure b-sides and album tracks - this is a fandom that passionately devours anything the band produces.  In the end, James went for late 90s single, Tsunami.

There were a few unexpected little gems in the second "greatest hits" set; a cover of Fiction Factory's Feels Like Heaven and Natwest-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds from the Manics' debut album, Generation Terrorists, were highlights.  In fact, the only thing I would suggest to further improve Manics' shows, would be to include more of these rarities.  After all, we're talking about a band who've recorded over ten albums, meaning they have literally hundreds of songs to choose from (especially when you include B-sides) when picking a set list.  As much as it's good that the band are aware that they have casual listeners in the audience who will be expecting the well-known singles, rather than obscure tracks they've never heard, it does sometimes feel like the Manics veer too closely on the side of caution.  Purely from a personal point of view, I wouldn't mind songs such as It's Not War (Just The End of Love) and Your Love Alone Is Not Enough being dropped to make way for some lesser played album tracks from the band's back catalogue.  There's still Design For Life, You Stole The Sun From My Heart and other such crowd-pleasing staples to placate the casual listeners with, after all.  Whilst songs like It's Not War... might have been commercial successes, the fans have heard them plenty of times, now.  I think it's time to mix the set list up a bit and throw in a few more surprises.

But that is a trivial moan about a gig that was full of energy, excitement and musical punch.  The Manics are still relevant, still brash and ever-so-slightly OTT, still musically fantastic and, as far as I'm concerned, still the best band on the bloody planet.  They get five out of five stars from me and they always will.  Shh, I'm allowed to be biased, it's my blog.  ;-)

If you get a chance to see them, go.

And if you've not had the chance to see the band live, don't fret; I made you a little vlog, so you can experience them for yourself:

Click, click, click, click, click.  Click yourself over (to YouTube).

I'll end this blog with a few more pictures from the gig.  Enjoy!

Rank Your Manics Records - My Turn!

I am a Manic Street Preachers fan.  To anyone who knows me, or who regularly reads this blog, that fact will not come as a surprise.  What may be more surprising, is the fact that Manics' frontman, James Dean Bradfield, recently ranked all of the Manics' albums from worst to best and I sat, veering so wildly between nodding in agreement and shaking my head in horror, that it left me rather dizzy...

Manics fans are a slightly (okay, deeply) obsessive bunch and so the album ranking soon began appearing over and over in my Facebook timeline, accompanied by the inevitable squabbling: "Why wasn't THIS album higher?  How could he place THAT so low?!"

And so it was that, a few days ago, my gig buddy, Kirstie and our friend Mikey hit upon the idea of composing our own lists, in which we'd rank the Manics' albums from worst to best, with reasons for each ranking.  Completely dull if you're not a fan.  Probably liable to enrage you if you are.  So, without further ado, let's jump in and see which album is picking up the wooden spoon...


12.Know Your Enemy (2001)

It's a cliche to put this in last place, to be honest.  I'm almost embarrassed to do so, such is the notoriety of fans' displeasure in this album, but... Well, it's my least favourite, so cliche or not, here it is!  So why is it in last place?  

Well, I got into the Manics in 1999 and I hungrily devoured their back catalogue (not literally - DISCLAIMER: EATING CDS IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH).  I knew their first three "Richey" albums (as I used to call them) off by heart and I was absolutely in love with their two "post-Richey" albums.  When you've just got into a band and you're waiting for a new album, it's a heady mixture of anticipation, fear and excitement.  I can vividly remember buying Know Your Enemy and rushing to listen to it on my old Sony Discman, which I'd dug out of retirement for the express purpose of listening to it in the car on the way home from a shopping trip to Truro, with my parents and sister.  And my first reaction?  Was, I'm ashamed to say, disappointment.

It didn't sound anything like the last two albums.  The soaring string section was gone.  The album sounded messy and disjointed and rushed.  It sounded like the band were trying too hard to be punky and hard-edged, rather than making the album they actually wanted to make.  It didn't surprise me at all when James described Know Your Enemy as a hurried "reaction" to the band's previous success.  

Whilst there may be several songs I like - and the album has grown on me a lot since that first listen - it just doesn't sound like the band I love at their best.

11. Send Away The Tigers (2007)

This isn't an album I dislike.  Far from it; I love the anthemic, big sound and the return of the sweeping string section and on first listen, I was pretty much in raptures over it, because it reminded me so much of the "glory days" of Everything Must Go.  But on repeated listenings over the years, that has actually become its undoing.  For me, this album was trying a little bit too hard to be the Manics of 1996.  It was aping Everything Must Go and, on reflection, just not quite reaching the same heights.  Whilst it has songs on it that I genuinely love (the title track is one), the awfulness of the lyrics to Autumnsong still makes me cringe every time I hear them.  Oh and let's not mention the Underdogs edit, just in case Sean is reading this...

That all said, if I had the figure for it, I'd still suggest my gig buddy Kirstie and I went to our next gig dressed as the girls on the album cover.

10. Generation Terrorists (1992)

There will be fans out there, baying for my blood due to placing the band's debut album so low in this list.  The fact is, I do love it.  I have a very big soft spot for how messy it sounds, because unlike Know Your Enemy, it wasn't made by a stadium-playing, polished band, but a group of young men determined to take on the world.  In many ways, it shouldn't be this low on my list, but...  Let's face it, it isn't without its faults.  Whilst the album contains truly iconic Manics' songs, such as Motorcycle Emptiness and You Love Us, it also contains... Well, Damn Dog. 

It's also too long, too wordy and frequently too naive.  I love it, but it's like looking back on an outfit I wore when I was 16 and groaning "whyyyyy?!"  It's kind of beautiful, wistful and ever so slightly mortifying, all at once.

9. Postcards From A Young Man (2010)

This album contains one of my favourite Manics lyrics ever.  I love it so much, I have it tattooed on my shoulder: "This world will not impose its will.  I will not give up and I will not give in."  Those words got me through my recovery from a relationship with an abusive man and they're pretty much my mantra for life, these days.  Those lyrics - and the title track they come from - almost pushed this album much higher up the chart.

But then I remembered that I don't adore the rest of it quite as much.  Don't get me wrong, there are some great songs on there, but there's a fair bit of what sounds suspiciously like filler, too.  As a whole album, it's a perfectly entertaining listen and when I heard it for the first time, it felt like a natural successor to Send Away The Tigers, or even Everything Must Go, but there's something almost too radio-friendly about it for me to place it much higher in this list.

 8. Lifeblood (2004)

The cover makes me feel a bit squicky, but this album gets slated far more than it deserves to.  I've talked in this blog about disliking an album on first listen because it didn't sound enough like the band I loved, but this is an album that sounded nothing like my Manics and which I absolutely loved it for.

There are electro-pop beats, there's a lower vocal register for James than I think he'd ever really gone before and there are raw, beautiful songs on this album.  There's no need for the loud guitars.  This is the Manics experimenting with doing something different and that, in my view at least, is why so many fans absolutely loathe it - they wanted the band they were familiar with.  But for me, this album is triumphant proof that the Manics can wander into uncharted territory and come out with something stunning.  

It's odd to me that James feels like this album is "an investigation that didn't work," because to me, the sparse, unusual aspect of it is what makes it stand out from their other records (and I mean that in a good way).

In fact, Lifeblood might even be higher on this list if it wasn't for Fragments.  I can't hear that song without wanting to loudly defend the band to anyone who'll listen.  "THEY'RE BETTER THAN THIS, I SWEAR!"  Boys... What were you thinking?!

7. Gold Against The Soul (1993)

In the past, the band have dismissed their second album as being overly produced and not raw enough.  I think they're being pretty unfair, to be honest.

Gold Against The Soul is a polished-sounding album, but why should that be a crime?  The lyrics are still recognisably Nicky/Richey poetry and the guitar riffs have "Bradfield" written all over them.  It's the same band who recorded Generation Terrorists; they've just grown up a bit and written something less thrashy and more radio-friendly.  

For all the criticism Gold Against The Soul gets from fans and band members alike, it's the album from which we get La Tristesse Durera, From Despair To Where and Roses In The Hospital - three of the Manics' best known "early hits" and all songs I think have stood the test of time.  In a way, this album could easily have been the one that preceded Everything Must Go, as the strings, polished performances and overall feel are not a million miles away from one another.  It's one of the albums I listen to the most and an excellent CD to blast out whilst driving in the car.

6. Rewind The Film (2013)

The title track of this album, along with the video for it, remains (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful things the Manics have ever done.  The poignancy of wanting to wistfully look back on your youth before it all fades away forever, never fails to form a lump in my throat and I'm proud of the band for making an album that could have been so bleak and stark seem warm, genuine and quintessentially Manics, whilst also being markedly different in places to anything they'd released before.

Tracks like Show Me The Wonder and Anthem For A Lost Cause are two songs that I fell in love with from the very first listen and they continue to feature in my "fantasy Manics setlist."  This is an album on which the band let go of twiddly guitar solos and bombastic production, in favour of creating something simple and beautiful.  I can put this album on and just drift away for a bit.  Lovely.

5. Futurology (2014)

I know at least one, if not both of my fellow fans making their own lists will disagree with me here, but I think Futurology is the best Manics album in years.  It's loud, it's a bit edgy and best of all, it sounds coherent.  The whole thing just runs nicely from start to finish, which is something I can't say for Postcards From A Young Man, for example.  Every song on the album sounds like it's supposed to be there, in that exact place and I adore listening and singing along to it loudly as I'm driving in the car, blissfully unaware of the fact that my windows are down and people are staring...

It doesn't sound like a band trying to recapture a past era.  And yet, it doesn't sound like a band making a point of trying to be different.  In fact, it doesn't sound like anything else, really.  Take a song like Europa Geht Durch Mich, for example; who else would write and record that?  I mean, honestly?!  And yet that's a proper, stomping rock song that was begging to be written and played at full volume.

Then you get to Dreaming A City and you can just tell that Sean was obsessed with old school computer games, without having read a single interview.  It conjures up images of "POWER UP" and "NEXT LEVEL" signs, along with bright graphics and desperately hammering at the controller.

For what it's worth, despite what comes next on this list, it's almost certainly going to be Futurology that I play on my way to work on Monday.

4. Journal For Plague Lovers (2009)

Imagine you're a Manics fan (for some of you, it won't be very hard, admittedly...).  Imagine that you got into the band after Richey Edwards disappeared, never to be seen again.  Imagine you'd read countless interviews and stories, referring to the lyric books he left behind.  And then imagine the band announcing that they were finally going to put some of those lyrics to music.  

When I heard that news, it was like a Manics version of Christmas, in which Santa wears guyliner and a faux fur leopard print coat.  "YES," I thought to myself. " AT LAST!"

I've blogged before about being a self-confessed "Richey girl."  Well, the thought of getting to see those left-behind lyrics was stupidly exciting.  Of course, when I did read them, a lot of them were... Richey-baffle.  Which is my term for Richey's habit of writing such intellectual lyrics that the layman can't actually understand them... But I was impressed all the same.  Richey's biting (and slightly warped) sense of humour came through as I'd hoped it would: "Oh what joy, me and Stephen Hawking, we laugh.  We missed the sex revolution when we failed the physical."

The music was, of course, always going to be important on this album.  Would the band try too hard to ape The Holy Bible?  Or would the emotional weight of using their lost friend's words cause them to write something too dreary and depressing?

In the end, Journal is a gorgeous, rock beast of an album, on which music and lyrics melt perfectly into one another.  When the words call for melancholia, the band bring it.  When they call for angry guitars, that's what the listener gets.  I'd waited so long for this album and it didn't let me down.

My only gripe is that the final track, William's Last Words, was moulded into something I'm not sure Richey ever intended it to be.  The lyrics were edited by Nicky Wire, from a hugely long piece of prose Richey wrote, seemingly from the viewpoint of a man approaching retirement.  Sure, you can take whatever metaphor you like from that, but the transformation from rambling prose to, effectively, a goodbye letter to the band sits a little uncomfortably with me.  I completely understand Nicky's need to do it, possibly for himself, possibly for the fans, but it's the only song on the album on which I'm not sure the band have put across what Richey actually meant.  But hey, I never met the bloke and I'm probably analysing his lyrics just as much by saying this as Nicky was when he edited them in the first place...

3. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998)

Upon its release in 1998, this album was as far away from the Manics' punky, confrontational early style as it was humanly possible to get.  Stripped back and melodic, this album was unafraid to be lyrically raw in places, yet musically beautiful.

Some suggest that if you're a fan of the band's early rock sensibilities, then you won't like this much gentler offering.  I would say that's not entirely true.  Many Manics fans - myself included - are eclectic in their tastes and there's no reason why you can't love a much softer, more polished version of the band just as much as you do the earlier version.

This album is the first completed solely using Nicky Wire's lyrics and in many ways, you can tell.  There's a simplistic, at times inward-looking feel to many of the words and it feels as though it's this simplicity that inspires the music.  This isn't a band with a manifesto, or a point to prove.  It's a band just writing beautiful songs and proving themselves to have far more substance to them than their early critics would ever have credited them with.

2. Everything Must Go (1996)

"Perfect" is a word that is frequently overused.  So it's with some hesitation that I'm about to use it.

This album is perfect.  

When you think about the circumstances surrounding the birth of this album - the disappearance of Richey Edwards, the band's decision to try to carry on as a three piece, the full glare of the music press, waiting and watching to see what the new incarnation of the Manics would do and the fans, some of whom felt there shouldn't even be a Manic Street Preachers without Richey - it's a wonder that this album was made at all, let alone that it should be so heart-stoppingly brilliant. 

But that's the Manics for you.  In the face of almost unimaginable awfulness, they regrouped, dusted themselves down and made a record that was unashamedly triumphant in the face of all that had come before.  Soaring strings, anthemic melodies... It was everything you could possibly ask from an album.

It was bittersweet; Richey's lyrics were featured on almost half the songs on the album and his guitar playing could be heard on the closing track, No Surface All Feeling.  It's an album without Richey, with Richey.  It's the sound of a three-piece who, somewhere at their heart, are still a four-piece.  And of course, with heartbreaking irony, this - the album they made after losing their bandmate in such sad circumstances - was the album that finally catapulted the band to deserved fame.

Triumphant and yet laced with wistfulness.  Perfect.

1. The Holy Bible (1994)

I once wrote a whole blog on why The Holy Bible is my favourite album of all time, so rather than regurgitate that again, I'll let you click that link and read about it in the detail it deserves.

For those of you who aren't inclined to read an entire blog about an album that is at times scary, dark and confrontational, I'll summarise:  You have to listen to this to truly realise how perfect Everything Must Go is.  The Holy Bible is a band plumbing the depths, howling in the dark, grabbing you and forcing you to confront the unthinkable.  Everything Must Go is the sound of the shackles being removed and the sun breaking through the clouds (as corny as that image undoubtedly is).  

The Holy Bible is a lyrical masterpiece, a musical punch in the face and a statement unlike almost any other, by any band I can think of.  It's my number one Manics album.  And it always will be.

PRESENTING: Emma's Top Ten Celebrity Crushes...

One has a mother-flippin' top TEN.

There are some questions that are just your average conversation pieces.  "How was your day?" For example.  Or: "Does my bum look big in this?"  But today during lunch, my best friend asked me a question which I've come to realise is something other people probably don't get asked quite so often:

"So, just who is your number one celebrity crush at the moment?"

Lydia asked me the question because I'm pretty much known for my celebrity crushes.  They are many and varied.  I've blogged about having crushes before, but during my lunch with Lydia today, we decided it would be hilarious if I actually came up with my current top ten celebrity crushes, along with reasons for them, in a chart-countdown kind of blog which will hopefully be just charming and witty enough to not make me seem like a massive, massive pervert...

So, greetings pop-pickers!  It's time for the top ten!

10. Ricky Wilson

Oh, Ricky.  So have I.

Ricky ticks several of my boxes (not a euphemism, people - keep it clean!).  He has a Northern accent, which I'm a bit of a sucker for, plus he's in a band.  It's definitely safe to say that over the years, I've had more crushes on singers or members of bands than I've had on actors or sports personalities.  Why?  I guess because of the confidence and charisma you've got to have to get up on stage and rock out.  And because music is so universal and such an important part of my life, that people who create it are just instantly more attractive in my eyes.

Speaking of eyes, Ricky has a pair.  You might have noticed them.  They're a lovely shade of blue and they're framed by eyelashes I would kill for.  Actually, I don't know whether I fancy his eyes, or whether I'm just a bit jealous of them.  Perhaps it's both.

9. Iwan Rheon

That hair, though.

Now, here's the thing.  When I have a crush on an actor, it's quite often originally based on a character they've played.  Such is the beauty of acting, I suppose...  Anyway, I was a huge fan of channel 4's Misfits, in which Iwan played a shy, slightly awkward character called Simon, who eventually became a superhero.  Yes, it was very realistic and totally plausible.  Anyway, I had a crush on Simon before I had a crush on Iwan, if that makes any sense.  But it turned out that Iwan plays guitar and sings.  He writes his own songs and... Well, as I said, that makes him instantly more attractive.  He's also Welsh and I'm a Manics fan, so you do the maths...

8. David Tennant

Oh, to be brave enough to use that as a chat-up line...

Remember what I said about crushes on actors coming primarily from the characters they play?  David Tennant was the FREAKING Doctor.  Characters don't come any cooler than a dude who travels through time and space, saving the universe like it's no big deal.  And this incarnation of the Doctor did it all whilst having amazing hair and a ridiculously cute, cheeky grin.

David's not just on this list because of his role in Doctor Who, though.  You see, this is where I get a bit weird... My biggest celebrity crushes have never been simply based on looks.  I've always been someone who likes people more based on their personality than their facial features.  So whilst it's not exactly a hindrance that David has big, puppy-dog eyes, just the right amount of stubble and a cute smile (and did I mention the amazing hair?!), one of the things that keeps him in the top ten is his general awesomeness.  He's funny, unafraid to take the piss out of himself (and the shows he's starred in), charming and unashamedly nerdy.  And that's basically my type in a nutshell.

7. Graham Coxon

Graham?  The camera's in front of you... Graham?  Oh, never mind...

Remember what I said about personality being just as important as looks, when it comes to my celebrity crushes?  Well if David Tennant is Exhibit A, here's Exhibit B.  Graham is sensitive and I have a major thing for a sensitive guy.  Basically, if you're not afraid to cry at Beaches, call me.  I have no idea whether Graham weeps at friendship-movies starring Bette Midler, but I do know that he's a sensitive soul.  He's also a musician/singer, so...  Yeah, there's that.  Plus, we all know I have a bit of a weakness for nerdy guys and Graham was always the nerdiest member of Blur (not that that stopped me from also fancying Damon Albarn...).  Graham was definitely the Richey Edwards of the band - the sensitive lyricist, who kind of made you want to protect him from the world.  

Which leads me nicely onto...

6. Richey Edwards

I'm not even going to attempt a witty comment.  He's too pretty.

Some people might think it's weird to have a celebrity on this list who's quite possibly (and certainly legally) dead.  But...  Bear with me.  It's my list and if I want a missing person on it, then damnit, I'm having a missing person on it.

Richey is one of those people who's not only here because of his looks, but we should probably address his looks, because... Damn.  Richey had huge, Bambi-like eyes, often ringed with perfect eyeliner, making him look like a slightly more masculine Audrey Hepburn.  Prior to shaving his head just before his disappearance in 1995, he also had what I would boldly refer to as PERFECT hair.  I mean seriously.  The hair.

*Attempts to ruffle the screen*

But my crush on Richey is, as I mentioned, about much more than his (admittedly near-bloody-perfect) looks.  He was hugely intelligent, deeply sensitive and incredibly passionate.  Yes, he also had more issues than you could shake a copy of The Holy Bible at, but he was always honest about them and that encouraged many people to speak out about their own emotional troubles.  And of course, his emotional troubles caused him to disappear almost exactly twenty years ago, never to be seen or heard of again, meaning not only that he will always be a beautiful twenty seven year old, bathed in mystery, but that I will always look twice at random beardy guys on the street, in case they look familiar.  Because you never know...

5. James Dean Bradfield

Why have ONE member of the Manics on my list, when I can have two?!

James Dean Bradfield is the lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, the band from which Richey Edwards went AWOL back in 1995.  He's one of the most down-to-Earth celebrities I've ever met, one of the most incredible guitarists of his generation and he's responsible for writing the music to some of my favourite songs in the world.  If that doesn't explain his inclusion on this list, I don't know what does.

Oh and he's not tall.  I'm only five feet tall and I have a penchant for shorter guys, because they make me feel less like a total midget.  James fits that bill nicely.  I can stand next to him and look normal-sized:

Almost.

On stage, JDB exudes a level of charisma that has me merrily changing the lyrics to Manics songs in order to make them more about his general handsomeness.  I have no guilt.

More importantly, James is not just a celebrity crush.  He's my musical hero.

4. Danny Jones

I screen-capped a video and I am not ashamed.

Speaking of on-stage charisma, McBusted's Danny Jones has it in spades.  He also has a Northern accent and awesome guitar skills, so his place in this list is pretty much cemented.  I've had a "thing" for Danny since way back when he still had too much hair and fewer tattoos.  His ability to get an entire crowd singing his band's lyrics back at him and generally losing their minds with excitement is definitely something to do with that, as is his sense of humour and general "cheeky chappy" persona.  After seeing McBusted in Weston-Super-Mare, I unashamedly sung "Oh Danny Boy" to myself as I was getting ready for bed...  The thing is, you take someone good looking and funny, put a guitar in his hands and I'm pretty much done.

DONE, I tell you.

3. Matt Smith

Doctor, I feel faint...

My crush on Matt crept up on me, somewhat.  It's been around for at least 18 months, probably two years, but I never expected it.  I was a Tennant-fangirl and it broke my heart when the 10th Doctor regenerated into the 11th.  For most of Matt's first season as the Doctor, I kind of resented him and his floppy hair.  He wasn't David!  WHAT WAS A WHOVIAN TO DO?!

Then I decided to re-watch all of "new-Who" and when I got to Matt's first series, I finally gave him the time and appreciation he deserved.  And his acting in some scenes absolutely floored me.  It wasn't just prancing about like a giraffe, flipping his hair around.  He was good.  So good, in fact, that Matt piggy-backed over David Tennant and became my favourite Doctor ever.  His emotional speeches are second to none and he can do light and shade in a way that still takes my breath away when I watch certain episodes.

Plus, Matt always comes across as a funny, genuinely nice guy when you see him in interviews etc.  He's also in touch with his emotions - anyone who's seen the cast read-through of his final episode of Doctor Who, where he breaks down as he reads his last lines, can attest to his sensitive side.  That said, he has a silly side, too  - ever seen his mini Doctor Who episode, filmed with James Corden?!  Have a look on YouTube.  It'll make you giggle. 

And then there's the fact that he's unspeakably gorgeous.  That probably helps, too.

Yeah.  It helps.

2. Johnny Galecki

I have a tendency to get into things well after everyone else has.  Such was the case with The Big Bang Theory.  Once I did get into the show, I originally had a bit of a crush on Simon Helberg, who plays Howard, because he's just rather lovable and also cute.  But within a week or two of that crush forming and fading, I had switched allegiance.  Colour me Galecki.

Let's get the shallow bit out of the way first:  Johnny is gorgeous.  Those eyes, that jaw-line, his curly hair, that smile...  Even the lack of height (he's only 5'5") is a turn-on for me, what with my own short stature.  He has broad shoulders and he just looks like he'd be amazing to cuddle.  And I won't lie:  I definitely have "ability to give good hugs" on my crush-checklist.  Maybe I should have included Olaf from Frozen on here...  He likes warm hugs, right?!  Anyway, I digress...

Johnny is also intelligent and funny and a talented actor.  I recently read an interview in which he talked in depth about the emotional content of the sitcom he's most famous for and it was all I could do not to endlessly sigh, as he spoke about his affection for the series and for the characters within it. My brain just went: "Oh, he's so lovely and smart and emotionally intelligent..."

If you watch full cast interviews, he's also often the one who chips in with a slightly sarcastic, witty remark, rather than hogging the opportunity to talk.  Witty chip-ins have always been something I am a total and utter sucker for (if I'd written this list a couple of years ago, it would have featured at least 3 or 4 comedians), so that was a bit of a clincher, too, as was the fact that in those group interviews, you can tell he's honestly listening to what his cast-mates are saying, rather than twiddling his thumbs and waiting to get away (or at least, if he is waiting to get away, he's masking it pretty well - told you he was a good actor!).  He also has a rather enigmatic quality; every now and then, he'll smile to himself in a manner that makes me want to cry: "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, OH GORGEOUS ONE?!"  But I manage to keep that in, because... I'm not ready to entirely embrace insanity.

And I guess I probably have a crush on Leonard in The Big Bang Theory, too.  He's definitely my favourite character and, as Lydia and I agreed at lunch, the funniest person on the show.  

1. James Bourne

Can't. Handle. The cuteness.

 So why is James my number one?  Well, firstly, he's an incredibly talented (and frankly, underrated) songwriter.  Not only did he pen most of Busted's songs, but he's had a hand in a lot of McFly's as well, plus numerous other artists' singles have been either fully written or at least co-written by James.  Talent like that is a definite aphrodisiac.  Show me a cute guy and I'm happy.  Show me one who can also sing and play the guitar and I'm in Heaven.  James can do both (and I do believe he plays piano as well...) and he does them brilliantly.

He's also delightfully silly, wonderfully nerdy (he can quote so much of Back To The Future, I find myself wishing he'd just re-film it, playing every role himself...) and has a stage presence that makes me swoon.  James is just all kinds of awesome; one of the people on this list I think I'd genuinely get along with in real-life and someone whose Twitter page is well worth a follow.  I always say, slightly tongue-in-cheek that I can't just fancy a celebrity because they're hot, they have to be someone I think is a nice person as well.  I say it semi-jokingly, but the sad fact is it's true; I can't swoon over a gorgeous dickhead.  So it's handy that whilst he's lovely looking, James always comes across as just being lovely with it.  He has a sense of humour, he's clever and he's cheeky with it.  I think my biggest celebrity crushes have always been on people I reckon I could go out for a drink with and have an awesome time.  James fits that bill; I think he'd definitely make me laugh.

And on a shallow note... Look at those big blue eyes and that gorgeous, blonde, curly hair...  

SWOON.

And so there we have it.  Possibly the most shallow blog I've ever written, but after the last one being on such a deep, personal topic, it was kind of nice to write about something shallow!  

This list is, of course, subject to change (EDIT: And the top two have changed places at least twice since I wrote this blog originally...), but for now, the question asked of me at lunch time has been answered.  Who's my current number one crush?  Well, let's just say I could have called this blog "The Bourne Supremecy." ;-)