Suede (band)
Encyclopedia
Suede are an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson
Brett Anderson
Brett Lewis Anderson is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears, and has released four solo albums...

, guitarist Bernard Butler
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician and record producer. He first emerged in the early Britpop era with Suede. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation, as well as one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists...

, bass player Mat Osman
Mat Osman
Mat Osman is an English musician, best known as the bassist in the band Suede. He studied at the London School of Economics, where in 1989 he was awarded a BSc in Economics....

 and drummer Simon Gilbert
Simon Gilbert
Simon Gilbert is an English drummer and member of the English band, Suede....

. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted much attention from the British music press. The following year their glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...

-inspired debut album, Suede
Suede (album)
Suede is the debut album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in March 1993 on Nude Records. At the time the fastest-selling debut album in British history, Suede debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize, and is often credited with starting the Britpop...

, went to the top of the charts, became the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years and won the Mercury Music Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...

, helping kick-start the Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

 movement. However, the band's lush follow-up, Dog Man Star
Dog Man Star
Dog Man Star is the second album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in October 1994 on Nude Records. It was the last Suede album to feature guitarist Bernard Butler, due to growing tensions between Butler and singer Brett Anderson ending with Butler leaving the band before the album...

(1994), saw Suede distance themselves from their Britpop peers. Although it is often regarded as the band's masterpiece, the recording sessions for Dog Man Star were fraught with difficulty, and ended with Butler departing the band after heated arguments with Anderson.

In 1996 following the recruitment of Richard Oakes
Richard Oakes (guitarist)
Richard Oakes is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and occasional pianist and backing vocalist of the English band, Suede.-Early life:...

 and later keyboardist Neil Codling
Neil Codling
Neil John Codling is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the alternative rock band Suede.-Early life:...

, Suede went on to greater commercial success with Coming Up. The album charted at number one in the UK, producing five top ten singles and became their biggest-selling album worldwide. In 1997, Anderson became addicted to crack and heroin. Despite problems within the band, Suede's fourth album Head Music
Head Music
Head Music is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Suede, released by Nude Records in May 1999.Produced and mixed by Steve Osborne, Head Music features a more electronic sound, which was a new approach to their music...

(1999) was a British chart-topper. Suede's final album, A New Morning
A New Morning
A New Morning is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in September 2002. By the time the album was released, public interest in the band had waned, as shown by the poor charting of both the album and singles...

(2002), their first after the collapse of Nude Records
Nude Records
Nude Records was a London based record label, set up in 1992 by Saul Galpern who had previously been involved in the success of artists such as Simply Red, the Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits and The Au Pairs. The label's first success was with Suede. Suede's debut album was the fastest...

, was a commercial disappointment, and the group disbanded the following year. After much speculation Suede reformed in 2010 for a series of concerts.

Formation and early years: 1989-1991

Brett Anderson
Brett Anderson
Brett Lewis Anderson is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears, and has released four solo albums...

 and Justine Frischmann
Justine Frischmann
Justine Elinor Frischmann is an English singer and guitarist, best known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band Elastica...

 met in 1989 while studying at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

 and became a couple soon afterwards. Together with Anderson's childhood friend Mat Osman
Mat Osman
Mat Osman is an English musician, best known as the bassist in the band Suede. He studied at the London School of Economics, where in 1989 he was awarded a BSc in Economics....

, they decided they had a core of a band, and spent hours a day playing covers of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

, The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

, and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

. After deciding that neither Anderson nor Frischmann had the skill to be a lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

ist, the group placed an advert in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

seeking to fill the position. It ran in the magazine's 28 October 1989 issue: "Young guitar player needed by London based band. Smiths, Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK...

, Bowie, PSB's
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

. No Musos. Some things are more important than ability. Call Brett." The advert ensued interest from nineteen-year-old Bernard Butler
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician and record producer. He first emerged in the early Britpop era with Suede. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation, as well as one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists...

, who soon auditioned to join the group. The group settled on the name Suede; lacking a drummer, the band initially used a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

. Despite Frischmann's efforts as the group's de facto manager, the group primarily scored small-scale gigs around London's Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...

 area.

Suede's first breakthrough came with their second demo Specially Suede which they sent to compete in Demo Clash, a radio show on Greater London Radio run by DJ Gary Crowley
Gary Crowley
Gary Crowley is an English broadcaster and DJ.When he was at school in the late Seventies Crowley started a punk fanzine titled The Modern World, interviewing some of the most important bands of the day including the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Jam.After leaving school he took up a junior...

. "Wonderful Sometimes" won Demo Clash for five Sundays in a row during 1990, leading to a record contract with the Brighton-based indie label RML. The song featured on a cassette compilation in April 1990 representing Suede's first official release. After a series of gigs with an unreliable drum machine, Suede decided to recruit a full-time drummer. Justin Welch
Justin Welch
Justin Steven Welch is an English musician, best known as the drummer in the Britpop band, Elastica....

 briefly fulfilled the role as drummer, though he only lasted six weeks, before joining Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

 band Spitfire
Spitfire (UK band)
Spitfire are a British band from Crawley, West Sussex, England whose ever-changing line up revolved around brothers Nick and Jeff Pitcher. Other members included Steve White, Justin Welch, Steven Walker , Matt Wise and Scott Kenny.Two early EPs on Eve Recordings saw the band linked to the...

. After Welch's departure, Suede placed another advert seeking a replacement. To the group's surprise, the ad was answered by former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. Joyce reluctantly turned down the role of drummer as he felt Suede still had to forge their own identity. He felt that by being in a band that had similarities to the Smiths, he would have done them more harm than good. Joyce stayed long enough to record two songs with the group, which were set to be released as the "Be My God"/"Art" single on RML Records. The band was dissatisfied with the result, and most of the 500 copies pressed were destroyed. In June 1990 Suede found a permanent drummer, Simon Gilbert, through former manager Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...

. Both worked at the ULU
University of London Union
The University of London Union is the university-wide students' union for the University of London...

. After hearing their demo and realising the band were devoid of a drummer, Gilbert asked to audition.

By 1991, Anderson and Frischmann had broken up; Frischmann started dating Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...

 of the group Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

. Frischmann believed the group could accommodate the new situation. However the situation grew tense; Butler recalled, "She'd turn up late for rehearsals and say the worst thing in the world - 'I've been on a Blur video shoot.' That was when it ended, really. I think it was the day after she said that that Brett phoned me up and said, 'I've kicked her out.'" After Frischmann's departure, the character of the group changed. "If Justine hadn't left the band", Anderson said, "I don't think we'd have got anywhere. It was a combination of being personally motivated, and the chemistry being right once she'd left." Anderson and Butler became close friends and began writing several new songs together. However, the band's music was out-of-step with the music of their London contemporaries as well as the American grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

 bands. Anderson said, "For the whole of 1991, A&R men wouldn't give us a second look."

Through the end of 1991 and early 1992, Suede received a number of favourable mentions in the music press, garnering them slots at shows hosted by NME and attended by musical figures such as former Smiths singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...

. One of the gigs at the ULU in October 1991, which caught the attention of the media was Frischmann's final gig. John Mulvey of the NME, the journalist who first wrote about Suede was at the ULU gig. He said "They had charm, aggression, and... if not exactly eroticism, then something a little bit dangerous and exciting."

Signing and early singles: 1992

After seeing the group perform at an NME show in January 1992, Saul Galpern approached the group about signing to his independent record label Nude Records
Nude Records
Nude Records was a London based record label, set up in 1992 by Saul Galpern who had previously been involved in the success of artists such as Simply Red, the Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits and The Au Pairs. The label's first success was with Suede. Suede's debut album was the fastest...

. Suede eventually signed a two single deal to Nude in February 1992 for the sum of £3,132. Following Nude's offer Suede attracted further interest from Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...

 and East West Records
East West Records
East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...

, who were keen on signing them long term. Suede were being hailed as "The next big thing" and prior to the release of the group's first single, the cover of 25 April issue of Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

featured the group, with a headline stating "Suede: The Best New Band in Britain".

The band's debut single "The Drowners
The Drowners
"The Drowners" is the debut single by Suede, released on 11 May 1992 on Nude Records. It charted at number 49 on the UK singles chart. Though not a hit at first, it amassed airplay over time and has become one of the band's definitive singles. It garnered much acclaim from New Musical Express and...

" attracted excitement because of its sharp contrast to the dying Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...

 scene and the U.S. grunge sound of the time. A moderate hit, "The Drowners" reached number 49 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 in May. The band were then approached by Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...

 and although the Geffen deal was very attractive (Galpern described it as "insane"), the band still had plenty of other offers to consider. In September 1992 they released their second single, "Metal Mickey
Metal Mickey (song)
"Metal Mickey" is the second single from the debut album by Suede, released on September 14, 1992 on Nude Records. It charted at number 17 on the UK singles chart, a considerable improvement on their previous single, "The Drowners", which failed to crack the top 40.Performed by the group on their...

", which charted at number 17. It was the only Suede single to crack the US Modern Rock top 10, peaking at number 7. Shortly after the release of "Metal Mickey", Suede signed to Nude/Sony. Galpern was determined to sign the band long term and struck a deal with Sony - making them a tiny independent label with major muscle backing. The contract gave Suede creative controls such as the artwork on their releases.

Anderson soon became notorious for causing controversy such as his infamous quote that would resurface in interviews and articles in the following years, that he was "a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience." In February 1993, Suede went from highly-touted indie band to major chart contenders with their third single, "Animal Nitrate
Animal Nitrate
"Animal Nitrate" is a song by the English Britpop group Suede. Released as the band's third single, it later appeared on their debut album Suede on Nude Records in 1993. It charted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the highest charting single from the album.The video for the title...

", which went into the UK top ten. The single earned them a last-minute invitation to play at that years Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...

 ceremony. Impressed by the band's charged sexuality, Suede's first sequence of singles and debut album shocked audiences and critics alike. Suede's sexual lyrics made them a rallying point for the alienated, one of the few British bands since the Smiths who united as much as they divided. Comparisons were being made to David Bowie, though Suede sounded nothing quite like anybody else around at the time, and soon they fell upon what critics quickly deemed was a new movement. Anderson recalls, "I had always been fascinated by suburbia, and I liked to throw these twisted references to small-town British life into songs. This was before we had that horrible term Britpop."

Debut album, European and American tours: 1993

In the year leading up to the release of their debut album, Suede were the most written-about band in Britain. The self titled Suede
Suede (album)
Suede is the debut album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in March 1993 on Nude Records. At the time the fastest-selling debut album in British history, Suede debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize, and is often credited with starting the Britpop...

entered the British charts at number one, registering the biggest initial sales of a debut since Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...

's Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Welcome to the Pleasuredome was the debut album by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released in the UK in October 1984 by ZTT/Island Records. Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at number one due to reported advance sales of over one million...

a decade before. It sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of release, going gold on its second day. The albums release was met with high critical praise and hype. At the time it was hailed as "the most eagerly awaited debut since Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...

." Some notable press at the time was the front cover of the April 1993 issue of Select, which is seen by many as the start of Britpop. The album went on to win the 1993 Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...

. The band donated the entire £25,000 in prize money to Cancer Research
Cancer research
Cancer research is basic research into cancer in order to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatments and cure....

. Their debut was the only album released in the U.S. under the name "Suede", where it remains their highest selling release.

Following the success of the album, the band toured extensively on the continent, receiving a major covering of MTV. In July, they gave a benefit concert for Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...

 at "The Grand" in London where they invited Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...

 to perform with Butler a version of Lou Reed's "Carolyne Says". Suede then prepared themselves for their imminent American tour in the summer of 1993. During the tours of 1993, tensions began to develop between Butler and the rest of the group. On the first American tour tensions peaked in Los Angeles, when Butler disappeared during a soundcheck. The gig went ahead, but for the rest of the tour the two parties barely spoke. The tensions grew worse on the second American tour mainly for the fact that Butler's father had died, which forced Suede to cancel the tour prematurely. Butler disliked the band's indulgence on the tour during his bereavement, in which he became more alienated from the band so much that he even travelled separately. Their American success was limited as they had already begun to be upstaged by their opening act, The Cranberries
The Cranberries
The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...

, who received the support from MTV that Suede lacked. At times Butler left the stage while Suede was performing and convinced a member of The Cranberries to fill in for him. Moreover, a lounge singer's lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

 forced the band to stop using the trademarked American name "Suede
Suede (singer)
Suede is an American pop, cabaret and jazz singer. She was born in Nyack, New York and went to high school in Severna Park, Maryland. She began playing music in high school, getting bar gigs before she even graduated. She lived in Baltimore for the majority of the 80's and became a fixture at many...

". For their subsequent releases and shows performed in the United States, the band used the moniker "The London Suede". Anderson wasn't happy about having to change the group's name for the U.S. market, as he stated: "The London Suede is not the name I chose for the band, I didn't change it happily, and I'm not going to pretend I did."

"Stay Together" and Butler's exit: 1994

In February 1994, the band released stand-alone single "Stay Together
Stay Together
"Stay Together" is a non-album single by Suede, released on 14 February 1994 on Nude Records. It is the last single released while guitarist Bernard Butler was in the band, though subsequent singles from Dog Man Star feature his music...

", which became their highest charting single at the time, reaching number three in the UK. The single was backed by a collection of strong b-sides; this new bombastic sound, however would fracture the band and lead to the departure of Butler. Despite the success of the single the band have since distanced themselves totally from the song, an aversion usually attributed to problems with Butler at the time. In the aftermath of "Stay Together", Anderson isolated himself and wrote songs for Suede's next album. It was at this time that Anderson eschewed himself from what was dubbed the "laddish Britpop movement", which he was seen by many to inaugurate. Bands such as Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...

  and Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

 began to dominate the music scene, whereas Suede became a lot more experimental and introverted. Tensions grew worse during the recording of the album when Butler criticised Anderson in a rare interview, claiming that he worked too slowly and that he was too concerned with rock stardom. On Anderson, he said: "He's not a musician at all. It's very difficult for him to get around anything that isn't ABC."

At the time Suede were said to be a band who were "unafraid to be out of step with its peers", however, Suede's experimentation would ultimately lead to their separation. The group often recorded songs with long lengths. Osman said he, Anderson, and Gilbert often thought these tracks were the result of Butler trying to wind the band members up. Anderson recalled that Butler and the rest of the group largely recorded their parts separately. The guitarist then clashed with producer Ed Buller
Ed Buller
Ed Buller is a British record producer and former musician. He primarily works with Australian and British bands like Suede, Pulp, The Raincoats....

, who he insisted should be sacked as he wanted to produce the record himself. Butler then gave Anderson an ultimatum: fire the producer or I’m leaving. "I called his bluff," says Anderson. Days after Butler's wedding, he returned to the studio to find he was not being allowed in and his guitars were left out on the street. According to John Harris
John Harris (critic)
John Rhys Harris is a British journalist, writer, and critic.-Early life:Harris was raised in Wilmslow in north Cheshire by a university lecturer and a teacher, daughter of a nuclear research chemist...

's Britpop history The Last Party, the final words Butler uttered to Anderson were "you're a fucking cunt
Cunt
Cunt is a vulgarism, primarily referring to the female genitalia, specifically the vulva, and including the cleft of Venus. The earliest citation of this usage in the 1972 Oxford English Dictionary, c 1230, refers to the London street known as Gropecunt Lane...

". Butler left the band leaving parts of the record incomplete.

Dog Man Star, new line up and Coming Up: 1994-1997

Led by the single "We Are the Pigs
We are the Pigs
"We Are the Pigs" is the first single from the album Dog Man Star by Suede, released on 12 September 1994, on Nude Records. The single announced the darker tone that the band had taken for Dog Man Star, that contrasted heavily with their debut. The challenging sound on the single was not...

", Suede's second album Dog Man Star
Dog Man Star
Dog Man Star is the second album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in October 1994 on Nude Records. It was the last Suede album to feature guitarist Bernard Butler, due to growing tensions between Butler and singer Brett Anderson ending with Butler leaving the band before the album...

finally appeared in late 1994. The album was well-received by critics receiving rapturous press across the board. It entered the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

 at number three, but slid quickly down the charts. The singles from the album charted poorly, though they are still regarded as Suede's best output, especially "The Wild Ones
The Wild Ones
"The Wild Ones" is the second single from the album Dog Man Star by Suede, released on 14 November 1994 on Nude Records. It peaked at #18 in the UK. The ballad is considered a favourite among fans and is one of their most notable songs of this period. The B-side, "Modern Boys", appears as an album...

", which is considered by many to be Suede's finest hour.
In September 1994, Suede announced their new guitarist, 17-year-old Richard Oakes
Richard Oakes (guitarist)
Richard Oakes is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and occasional pianist and backing vocalist of the English band, Suede.-Early life:...

, who after reading about Butler's departure, sent a demo tape to the band's fanclub. When Simon Gilbert heard Anderson playing back the tape whilst going through audition tapes, he mistakenly believed it to be an early Suede demo. Oakes made his video debut on "We Are the Pigs" and co-wrote the b-sides to "New Generation
New Generation
"New Generation" is the third and final single from the album Dog Man Star by Suede, released on January 30, 1995, on Nude Records. It is the first single to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Though the title track is written by Anderson and departed guitarist Bernard Butler, Oakes...

". Suede embarked on a long international tour during late 1994 and the spring of 1995, before disappearing to work on their third album. In 1995, the group contributed a track to The Help Album
The Help Album
The Help Album is a 1995 charity album devoted to the War Child charity's aid efforts in war-stricken areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina...

charity compilation, covering Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

's "Shipbuilding". In January 1996, the band was joined by new member Neil Codling
Neil Codling
Neil John Codling is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the alternative rock band Suede.-Early life:...

, a cousin of Simon Gilbert who handled keyboards and played second guitar. He made his debut at a fanclub gig at the Hanover Grand, which turned out to be one of Suede's most important gigs of their entire career. A short set devoid of Butler songs was well received by critics, "...A set that says. 'No Need'," observed Steve Sutherland in NME.

Suede released their third album Coming Up in 1996. Anderson said that in contrast to the group's previous albums, which he felt "suffered at certain times from being quite obscure," he intended Coming Up to be "almost like a 'greatest hits'". Lead single "Trash" was popular and tied with "Stay Together" as the group's highest-charting UK single, reaching number three, which helped to make the album their biggest mainstream success. The album brought the band five straight top-10 singles and was a hit throughout Europe, Asia and Canada. Coming Up never did win an audience in America, partially because it appeared nearly a year after its initial release and partially because Suede only supported it with a three-city tour. Nevertheless the album topped the UK chart and became the band's biggest-selling release, setting expectations high for the follow-up. In May 1997, Suede fell upon more bad fortune in the U.S. when their truck full of equipment got stolen after playing a gig in Boston, Massachusetts. Due to the success of the album, Suede secured top billing at the 1997 Reading Festival. Suede's next venture was Sci-Fi Lullabies
Sci-Fi Lullabies
Sci-Fi Lullabies is a compilation album by English alternative rock band Suede, consisting of B-sides from the singles that were released from the band's first three albums.-Overview:...

, a collection of b-sides, which reached number nine on the UK Album Chart. The compilation was well received and is considered by some to be their strongest collection of songs.

Continuing success: 1998-2000

By the time the compilation was released in 1997, the Britpop movement was noticeably waning in popularity, and the band had decided to split with long-time producer Ed Buller before commencing work on their follow-up to Coming Up. Before focusing work on their next album, the group recorded a version of "Poor Little Rich Girl" for the Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noel Coward
Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noel Coward
Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward is a 1998 Noël Coward tribute album curated by Neil Tennant, who invited prominent artists of the day to reinterpret Noël Coward’s songs for the late 20th century....

in 1998. Despite being backed by their second-highest charting single "Electricity", Suede's fourth album, Head Music
Head Music
Head Music is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Suede, released by Nude Records in May 1999.Produced and mixed by Steve Osborne, Head Music features a more electronic sound, which was a new approach to their music...

divided both fans and critics, though it once again took the band to number one on the UK Albums Chart. A synth-infused album that focused less on guitar riffs and more on keyboards, it was produced by Steve Osborne
Steve Osborne
Steve Osborne is a multi-platinum selling British record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, such as New Order, Doves, U2 and KT Tunstall. During the 1990s, Osborne was half of the Perfecto Records team, a production and remix collaboration with Paul Oakenfold; the artists...

, who had worked with Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

 and New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

. Critical opinion was sharply divided; many felt the records lyrics were too shallow and lacking in substance. Others, however praised the album highly feeling that the group were again taking a different direction and charting new territory.

The next three singles released from the album failed to crack the top 10, breaking a run stretching back to the 1996 single "Trash". Anderson also began being criticized more by fans for his often use of redundant vocabulary and limited lyrical themes. The track which received the most attention and criticism was "Savoir Faire". Though, some critics felt that the albums mixed reaction and lazy lyricism could be linked to Anderson's heavy drug use at the time, especially when he later admitted that he "was a crack addict for ages." Speaking of his addiction, which plagued him for two and a half years, Anderson said: "Anyone who has ever tried crack will know exactly why I took it. It's the scariest drug in the world because the hit you get from it is so, so seductive. I wanted to experience that, and I did - repeatedly." Suede headlined the Roskilde
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...

 and V festivals
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...

 in July and August 1999 respectively. During 2000 there was press speculation that Suede were on the verge of splitting, which was not helped by Codling's absence at some European gigs. Anderson denied these claims and insisted that Codling was healthy and that they were keen to record the next album. For the whole of 2000 Suede retreated themselves from the pubilc and only played one gig, which took place in Reykjavik, Iceland. The band premiered several new songs that would eventually make it onto their final album.

Commercial disappointment and breakup: 2001-2003

Not long after the release of Head Music, Nude Records effectively ceased to exist. Like many of their labelmates, Suede ended up signing to Nude's parent company/distributor Sony to record their fifth album, A New Morning
A New Morning
A New Morning is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in September 2002. By the time the album was released, public interest in the band had waned, as shown by the poor charting of both the album and singles...

. Between the release of Head Music and A New Morning, Suede wrote and recorded "Simon" as the title theme for the film Far From China. The long and troubled gestation of the new album saw keyboardist Neil Codling
Neil Codling
Neil John Codling is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the alternative rock band Suede.-Early life:...

 leave the band, citing chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name used to designate a significantly debilitating medical disorder or group of disorders generally defined by persistent fatigue accompanied by other specific symptoms for a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not substantially...

, to be replaced by Alex Lee, formerly of Strangelove
Strangelove (band)
Strangelove were an English alternative rock band, formed in Bristol in 1991 and led by singer Patrick Duff. They released three albums before splitting up in 1998.-History:...

. In concert, Lee played keyboards, second guitar, backing vocals and occasionally harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

. The album title, according to Anderson, referred to "a fresh start, a new band and a new fresh outlook" – the singer had been addicted to heroin and crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...

, which was having an increasingly deleterious effect on his health. Anderson claimed that A New Morning "...was the first ever Suede record that wasn’t influenced in its making by drugs."

Although the group began work with Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American producer, guitarist, and music mixer who is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air...

 producing, the album was produced by Stephen Street
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...

 (The Smiths, Blur). Overall, seven different recording studios and four producers were used during the two year recording span for A New Morning, and costs estimated at around £1 million. The album was a commercial disappointment which failed to crack the top 20, and ultimately was never released in the U.S. A New Morning was considered a solid enough outing by fans of the band, but critical reaction was decidedly lukewarm and the mainstream public interest had long disappeared. Only two singles, "Positivity" and "Obsessions", were released from the album, the fewest singles taken from any of the band's albums, and neither charted particularly well. Anderson has since stressed his disappointment with Suede's final album, stating "We made one Suede album too many. 'A New Morning' is the only one I don't believe in as much as the other Suede records and I totally believed in the first four, even 'Head Music' which divided the fans."

In September 2003, Suede played five nights at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...

, dedicating each night to one of their five albums and playing through an entire album a night in chronological order, with b-sides and rarities as encores. In October 2003, Suede released their second compilation album Singles
Singles (Suede album)
-Asian Limited Edition Bonus DVD:Live performance recording from Suede's "Up Close And Personal" tour in Singapore on August 15, 2002.# Positivity# The Wild Ones# Untitled# When the Rain Falls# Oceans# Trash# Lazy# The Power# She's in Fashion...

, and accompanying single "Attitude", which charted at number 14 in the UK. The group had begun working on a follow-up album to A New Morning, which was planned to be released after the Singles compilation. Anderson said that "Most of the new material is more aggressive and less song based than A New Morning." He added, "We're spending a lot of time working on tracks that sound nothing like traditional Suede." The planned album never saw release.

On 28 October, after performing on V Graham Norton
V Graham Norton
V Graham Norton was an entertainment programme shown on Channel 4 in the UK starring Graham Norton, broadcast every weeknight as a successor to the weekly So Graham Norton. It aired from 6 May 2002 to 26 December 2003. It featured celebrities who chatted with Graham and became involved in studio...

to promote the Singles compilation, Anderson made the decision to call it a day. On 5 November the band announced there would be no more projects under the Suede name for the foreseeable future – effectively announcing the end of the band, as they stated on their website: "There will not be a new studio album until the band feel that the moment is artistically right to make one." Their last concert at the London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...

 on 13 December 2003 was a two-and-a-half hour marathon show, split into two parts plus encore. Anderson made an announcement, saying: "I just want you to know. There will be another Suede record. But not yet."

Other projects: 2004-2009

Immediately after the Astoria gig, Anderson asked Suede's manager Charlie Charlton for Butler's phone number, who soon informed the former guitarist to expect a call. The pair who had not spoken to one another since 1994, were spotted drinking in London just four days after Suede's final gig. In 2004 the pair resurfaced with a project named The Tears
The Tears
The Tears were an English rock band, formed in 2004 by ex-Suede bandmates Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler. The band was a much anticipated reunion of an acclaimed songwriting couple, and music critics praised their first concerts and their debut album, Here Come The Tears...

. The following year they released the album Here Come the Tears
Here Come the Tears
Here Come the Tears is the debut album by The Tears, released on June 6, 2005 on Independiente Records.The album proved a comeback for Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson as the album was praised by critics and fans alike, and charted at number 15....

, which received favourable reviews, however, failed to generate popular interest beyond the duo's hardcore fanbase. One review remarked that the record was not "far from the records Suede made without their errant guitarist". The band have been on indefinite hiatus since 2006.

Anderson has released three solo albums, which received mixed reviews, with the possible exception of his third effort, Slow Attack
Slow Attack
Slow Attack is the third solo album by the English singer Brett Anderson.Produced by Anderson with new writing partner Leo Abrahams, it follows 2008's Wilderness. Anderson said: "It was conceived and created in the bleak London winter...

.

Bernard Butler has been working as a producer, collaborating with artists such as 1990s
1990s (band)
-History:They were signed to Rough Trade Record Company when they were spotted at only their sixth gig, and have released two albums so far, Cookies and Kicks....

, Black Kids
Black Kids
Black Kids is an American indie pop band from Jacksonville, Florida. The band's debut EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, received favorable critical response in 2007, and was followed by the Partie Traumatic album, which debuted at #5 on the UK Albums Chart in July 2008.-History:Black Kids formed in Jacksonville...

, Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (band)
Sons and Daughters are a rock band from Glasgow, Scotland.-Biography:Conceived while on tour with Arab Strap in 2001, Sons and Daughters was initially Adele Bethel's creation...

, Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...

 and Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....

.

Matt Osman has toured with Brett Anderson, while Simon Gilbert is in the international band Futon
Futon (band)
Futon is an international band based in Bangkok, Thailand.Gene & Oh are both from Thailand. Bee and Simon are both from England. Futon was started by Bee and David Coker , who were running the Bangkok nightclub, Rehab...

.

Richard Oakes has completed an album with singer, writer and producer Sean McGhee under the name Artmagic. Their debut EP, called "I Keep On Walking", was released in May 2011. The album will be released in 2012.

Reunion and subsequent events: 2010-present

In late 2009 there was increased speculation of a Suede reunion. The press appeared to be sensing an imminent reunion, such that one journalist wrote in a review of Anderson's third solo album in October, "Roll on a Suede reunion". Anderson insisted that he still stays in contact with his former bandmates and has not ruled out a reunion. Performing at the Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is among the world's best-selling liquors. It is known for its square bottles and black label. As of November, 2007, one blogger was claiming that it was the best-selling whiskey in the world. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee by...

 birthday set at London's Village Underground venue, Anderson admitted "I'd quite like to make a band record again, my last few have just been me in the studio with a piano. I can't say whether I'd get back with Suede or not."

Following persistent rumours, the boss of the band's former label, Nude Records' Saul Galpern officially announced on 15 January 2010 that Suede would be playing together again. "It's a one-off gig," he explained of the show, which featured the band's second incarnation. The band played London's Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

 as part of the 2010 Teenage Cancer Trust shows on 24 March 2010. Despite the gig initially being billed as a one night only reformation, when questioned on German radio station MotorFM in early February, Anderson refused to confirm that the band would not continue. The band subsequently announced two UK 'warm up' gigs prior to the Royal Albert Hall show, at the 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....

 in London and the Ritz in Manchester. The trio of gigs were very well-received by critics, including a glowing two-page review in the NME.

In August the band played at the Skanderborg Festival
Skanderborg Festival
The Skanderborg festival is an annual music festival held during the second weekend of August. Its scenic location, in a beech forest in the vicinity of Skanderborg, has given it the name Danmarks Smukkeste Festival ....

 in Denmark and Parkenfestivalen in Bodø, Norway. In September the band announced that they will release The Best of Suede
The Best of Suede
- References :...

on 1 November 2010. The compilation curated by Anderson consisted of singles, album tracks and b-sides. Shortly after the release they played a short European tour during late November into December covering Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. The band concluded the tour on 7 December at the O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...

 in London. Suede were recently asked whether they would produce any new material and Anderson has said, "Unless we were all convinced it would be an amazing record, I think we’d rather just leave it alone. It’s not like we have to at the moment, it has to feel special and that’s always been our criteria."

Suede continued to perform in 2011. After they had completed their biggest show ever at London's O2 Arena, Brett confirmed that Suede were in the mood for more shows. They have performed at various festivals all over the world, including Blackberry's Live & Rockin' Festival on 19 March 2011, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...

 on 16 April 2011 and the SOS 4.8 Festival in Murcia, Spain on 7 May 2011. They played Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006....

 in Suffolk on 17 July 2011. The Berlin Festival is the last date Suede are pencilled in for. They will play Berlin on 9 September 2011. This will directly follow the Asian tour in August.

In June 2011, following on from the success of the recently released compilation album, the band released remastered and expanded editions of all five studio albums. They have also performed their albums Suede, Dog Man Star and Coming Up at London's O2 Brixton Academy over three nights on 19, 20 and 21 May 2011, and at Dublin's Olympia Theatre
Olympia Theatre, Dublin
The Olympia Theatre is a concert hall/theatre venue in Dublin, Ireland, located in Dame Street.-History:Built in 1879, it was originally called the "Star of Erin Music Hall". Two years later in 1881, it was renamed "Dan Lowrey's Music Hall" and was renamed again in 1889 to "Dan Lowrey's Palace of...

 on May 24, 25 and 26.

Suede embarked on a full Asian tour where they played Jisan, Singapore, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Osaka and Tokyo. The band commenced their eight-date tour in late July in Jisan, South Korea and finished up at the Summer Sonic festival in Tokyo, Japan on 14 August 2011.

They then performed in Athens on 11 September 2011, and will wrap up their touring commitments in Russia on 16 and 18 December 2011.

Legacy

Suede's legacy is largely in inspiring the Britpop scene which eventually overshadowed the band's own achievements. Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for UK newspaper The Guardian, as well as a regular and contributor to the magazine GQ.Petridis began his career writing for Varsity whilst a student at the University of Cambridge...

 wrote in 2005, "These days, rock historians tend to depict Suede's success as a kind of amuse bouche before the earth-shattering arrival of Britpop's main course". In an article about the British music press' "ferocious one-upmanship campaign" of the mid-1990s, Caroline Sullivan, writing for The Guardian in February 1996, noted Suede's appearance as an unsigned band on the cover of Melody Maker as a pivotal moment in the history of Britpop:

Suede appeared on Melody Maker's cover before they had a record out... The exposure got them a record deal, brought a bunch of like-minded acts to the public's attention, and helped create Britpop. It was the best thing to happen to music in years, and it mightn't have happened without that Suede cover.


The year following the Melody Maker cover saw Suede captivate a pop phenomenon of critical praise and hype. Not since the dawn of the Smiths had a British band caused such excitement with the release of just a few singles. Suede are regarded by many as the first British band to break into the mainstream from the new wave of alternative rock in the '90s. With their glam rock style and musical references of urban Britain, Suede paved the way for acts such as Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

 and Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

 to enter the British mainstream. They were influential in returning some of the creative impetus to English guitar music in a scene increasingly dominated by Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...

, Grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

 and Shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...

. A March 1993 article in The Independent wrote that "Suede have had more hype than anybody since the Smiths, or possibly even the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...

. The reviews are florid, poetic, half-crazed; they express the almost lascivious delight of journalists hungry for something to pin their hopes on."

Suede's laurels would remain intact through their early career until Butler's departure, which the press signalled as the end of Suede. As new rock groups were arriving on the scene, British pop culture was in the midst of a shift towards lad culture
Lad culture
Lad culture is a subculture commonly associated with Britpop music of the 1990s."The image of the 'lad' or 'new lad' arose in the early 1990s as a generally middle-class figure espousing attitudes conventionally attributed to the working classes"...

 and the same critics who championed Suede were now plotting to extinguish them. A 1996 article on the eve of the release of Coming Up wrote the following: "Cast in the classic mould of the androgynous rock star, Anderson appears curiously anachronistic in a British rock scene polarised between the laddishness of Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...

 and the suburbiana of Blur and Pulp." In a 2007 article in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

, Bernadette McNulty wrote that while the frontmen of those bands "are all being bestowed with reverential status, Brett Anderson has become the lost boy of Britpop". Since the Britpop movement ceased to exist, like many bands associated with it, Suede's popularity sharply declined. As one writer put it at the end of Suede's career, "Suede slid from zeitgeist into a smaller, pocket-sized cult band." In the same article, Anderson spoke about their legacy:

"It's not in my nature to be bitter. We may have been overlooked somewhat, but all you need to do is listen to the music. Our legacy speaks for itself." He added, "...Fate dealt us this card, and I don't think we've done particularly badly with it. Music today seems so very worthy, so very dull. Nobody wants to stick their neck out any more, and I think that is a great pity. We did, and we left our mark."

Members

  • Brett Anderson
    Brett Anderson
    Brett Lewis Anderson is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears, and has released four solo albums...

     - vocals (1989–2003; 2010–present)
  • Mat Osman
    Mat Osman
    Mat Osman is an English musician, best known as the bassist in the band Suede. He studied at the London School of Economics, where in 1989 he was awarded a BSc in Economics....

     - bass (1989–2003; 2010–present)
  • Simon Gilbert
    Simon Gilbert
    Simon Gilbert is an English drummer and member of the English band, Suede....

     - drums (1991–2003; 2010–present)
  • Richard Oakes
    Richard Oakes (guitarist)
    Richard Oakes is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and occasional pianist and backing vocalist of the English band, Suede.-Early life:...

     - lead guitar (1994–2003; 2010–present)
  • Neil Codling
    Neil Codling
    Neil John Codling is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the alternative rock band Suede.-Early life:...

     - keyboards, synthesisers, rhythm guitar (1996–2001; 2010–present)

Former members

  • Bernard Butler
    Bernard Butler
    Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician and record producer. He first emerged in the early Britpop era with Suede. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation, as well as one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists...

     - lead guitar, piano (1989–1994)
  • Justine Frischmann
    Justine Frischmann
    Justine Elinor Frischmann is an English singer and guitarist, best known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band Elastica...

     - rhythm guitar (1989–1991)
  • Alex Lee
    Alex Lee
    Alex Lee is an English musician. Lee is a multi-instrumentalist who has played guitar and keyboards for Goldfrapp, Strangelove, Suede, Placebo and The Blue Aeroplanes amongst others...

     - rhythm guitar, keyboards (2001–2003)
  • Justin Welch
    Justin Welch
    Justin Steven Welch is an English musician, best known as the drummer in the Britpop band, Elastica....

     - drums
  • Mike Joyce
    Mike Joyce
    Mike Joyce is an English drummer. He is best known as the drummer for The Smiths.-Career:...

     - drums

Discography

  • Suede
    Suede (album)
    Suede is the debut album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in March 1993 on Nude Records. At the time the fastest-selling debut album in British history, Suede debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize, and is often credited with starting the Britpop...

    (1993)
  • Dog Man Star
    Dog Man Star
    Dog Man Star is the second album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in October 1994 on Nude Records. It was the last Suede album to feature guitarist Bernard Butler, due to growing tensions between Butler and singer Brett Anderson ending with Butler leaving the band before the album...

    (1994)
  • Coming Up (1996)
  • Head Music
    Head Music
    Head Music is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Suede, released by Nude Records in May 1999.Produced and mixed by Steve Osborne, Head Music features a more electronic sound, which was a new approach to their music...

    (1999)
  • A New Morning
    A New Morning
    A New Morning is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in September 2002. By the time the album was released, public interest in the band had waned, as shown by the poor charting of both the album and singles...

    (2002)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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