James Dean Bradfield, frontman for political glam punks Manic Street Preachers, is set to release his first solo album this summer. The Great Western will be released July 24 in the UK on Columbia; no US release has been announced yet. The LP includes some of the first material Bradfield has penned on his own (though he did contribute his own tunes here and there to the Preachers). The record will also include a track written by fellow Preacher Nicky Wire and a cover of Jacques Brel's "To See A Friend In Tears." The first single, "That's No Way To Tell A Lie," will precede the record on July 10. And, like the upcoming Thom Yorke solo record, Bradfield's venture out on his lonesome doesn't mark the end of his flagship band; the Preachers are reportedly also at work on a follow-up to 2004's Lifeblood. www.jamesdeanbradfieldofficial.com
