"Kevin Carter" | ||||
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Single by Manic Street Preachers | ||||
from the album Everything Must Go | ||||
Released | 30 September 1996 | |||
Format | CD, cassette | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, Britpop | |||
Length | 3:25 (Edit) | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, Richey Edwards | |||
Manic Street Preachers singles chronology | ||||
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"Kevin Carter" is a song by Manic Street Preachers, released as the third single from their album Everything Must Go in 1996. The song peaked at number 9 in the UK Singles Chart.
The subject of the lyric was the 1994 Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, Kevin Carter who was awarded for his photograph of the vulture and the little girl taken in South Sudan.
Photojournalist Kevin Carter, was the first to capture a public execution by 'necklacing' in South Africa in the mid-1980s. He later went on to say "The question that still haunts me is 'would those people have been necklaced, if there was no media coverage?" Pulitzer Prize winner Carter was always troubled by his professional responsibilities vs. moral considerations. Carter committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in Johannesburg at the age of 33. His pickup truck was parked near a small river where he used to play as a child, a note left on the passenger seat read: "The pain of life overrides joy to the point that joy no longer exists."
To Bradfield this song was described as awkward, because he was not sure if he was doing justice to Richey's words, Sean replied: "Why don't you put that down and write something else?", to which Bradfield quickly answered: "But I can use this conflicting energy". It was also Sean's debut at the trumpet.
The song reached number nine in the UK Singles Chart on 12 October 1996, giving them a third straight top-ten hit, remaining in the charts for 8 weeks. The single discography printed in back of the 1998 book Everything - A book about Manic Street Preachers incorrectly lists its UK chart position of number 7, it reached number 9. The song's lyrics were written solely by missing band-member Richey Edwards.
The CD included "Horses Under Starlight", "Sepia" and "First Republic", while the cassette included an acoustic version of "Everything Must Go".