Manic Street Preachers may return with a "strip act" after their hiatus.

The Welsh rockers are planning a three-year break at the end of the year and frontman James Dean Bradfield is still unsure what direction their career will take when they come back, though he says bassist Nicky Wire has plenty of ideas.

He joked: "I don't know what we'll do. Nick is toying with comedian or film or a strip act, I'm not sure. But he's got lots of things written down on A4 pieces of paper in the studio that we're going through."

Before they take the break, the 'Design For Life' group are planning a huge Christmas show at London's The O2, where they will play all of their singles, and James says rehearsals are going well, though he is struggling to remember some old lyrics.

He told BANG Showbiz: "Rehearsals are going ok, slowly but surely, it's just about managing to remember lyrics that I haven't sung for 15 years."

While there are some songs the band are looking forward to revisiting, James is not thrilled about the prospect of playing 2002's 'There By the Grace of God'.

He added: "I think I'm most looking forward to playing 'The Love of Richard Nixon' and 'Love's Sweet Exile'.

"I don't want to do 'There By the Grace of God', it had no redeeming features whatsoever, but you've got to have loveless children sometimes."