10 Great Rock Music Singles That Never Appeared On An Album
8. The Masses Against The Classes - Manic Street Preachers
Trust Manic Street Preachers to release a song and then remove it from sale the very same day.
On 10 January 2000, the Welsh disruptors put out The Masses Against the Classes, a song that began with a quote from socialist philosopher Noam Chomsky and featured a Cuban flag on the artwork. You can probably figure out what sort of political stance this song takes.
In an anti-capitalist statement, the song was pulled on the day it was released, although that didn't stop the band sticking it on the end of a 2022 reissue of the album Know Your Enemy.
Hmm, that's the second time that phrase has come up on this list. Spooky.
Anyway, The Masses Against the Classes by its very nature never made an appearance on a regular Manics studio album. Despite its very limited shelflife (or perhaps because of it), the single sold well enough to go to the top of the UK charts, accomplishing what some bands work their whole lives for in a single day.
Cheap publicity stunt? Or a principled band making a statement with their music? You decide.