Wire: Academy 2, Manchester
Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 May 2008
BANDS GENERALLY BREAK UP then reform some years later to trot out the hits to fill up their pension funds, but Wire have never played this game. After becoming one of the most influential acts of the punk era with the albums Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154, they have ceased to operate twice, each hiatus (of five and eight years respectively) seeking to renew their creative edge.
Total word count of piece: 306