Suede (band)

 Suede  are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up was Brett Anderson (singer), Bernard Butler(guitarist), Mat Osman (bass guitarist) and Simon Gilbert (drummer). By 1992, Suede were described as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted much attention from the British music press. The following year their debut album Suede, went to the top of the charts by becoming the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years. It won the Mercury Music Prize and helped foster Britpop as a musical genre. However, the band's lush follow-up, Dog Man Star (1994), showed Suede distancing 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 confrontations with Anderson and musical differences with the other members. Its sales suffered due to these events, however it was met with a generally enthusiastic reception on release and has, over time been lauded with universal acclaim from critics.

In 1996, following the recruitment of Richard Oakes and later keyboard player Neil Codling, Suede went on to greater commercial success with Coming Up. The album reached number one in the UK, producing five top ten singles and becoming Suede's biggest-selling album worldwide. In 1997, Anderson became addicted to crack and heroin. Despite problems within the band, Suede's fourth album Head Music (1999) was a British chart-topper. The album was promoted heavily with the band receiving considerable press coverage on its release, however it garnered a mixed reaction dividing fans and critics alike. Suede's fifth album, A New Morning (2002), the first after the collapse of Nude Records, was a commercial disappointment, and the group disbanded the following year. After much speculation Suede reformed in 2010 for a series of concerts. Three years on from their reunion gigs, Suede released their sixth album, Bloodsports, on 18 March 2013. The album was well received by critics and returned the band to the top ten in the UK.

1989–1991: Formation and early years
The lead singer of Elastica Justine Frischmann was part of the band's initial incarnation.Brett Anderson and Justine Frischmann met in 1989 while studying at University College London and became a couple soon afterwards.[ 2 ] Together with Anderson's childhood friend Mat Osman, they decided they had the core of a band, and spent hours a day playing songs by The Beatles, The Smiths and David Bowie.[ 3 ] After deciding that neither Anderson nor Frischmann had the skill to be a lead guitarist, the group placed an advert in NME[ 3 ] in the magazine's 28 October 1989 issue seeking to fill the position: "Young guitar player needed by London based band. Smiths, Commotions, Bowie, Pet Shop Boys. No Musos. Some things are more important than ability. Call Brett." The advert attracted the interest of nineteen-year-old Bernard Butler, who soon auditioned to join the group.[ 4 ] The group settled on the name Suede. Lacking a drummer, the band initially used a drum machine.[ 5 ] Despite Frischmann's efforts as the group's de facto manager, the group primarily played small-scale gigs around Camden Town in London.[ 6 ]

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 the DJ Gary Crowley. "Wonderful Sometimes" won Demo Clash for five Sundays in a row during 1990, leading to a recording contract with the Brighton-based indie label RML.[ 7 ] The song appeared on a cassette compilation in April 1990 representing Suede's first official release.[ 8 ] After a series of gigs with an unreliable drum machine, Suede decided to recruit a full-time drummer. Justin Welch briefly fulfilled the role, though he only lasted six weeks before joining the Crawleyband Spitfire.[ 9 ] Suede placed another advert seeking a replacement. To the group's surprise, it was answered by the former Smiths drummer, Mike Joyce. However, he turned down theJOB 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.[ 10 ] He did, though, stay 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.[ 11 ] In June 1990, Suede found a permanent drummer, Simon Gilbert, through their former manager Ricky Gervais. Both worked at the University of London Union (ULU). After hearing the demo and realising the band was devoid of a drummer, Gilbert asked to audition.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">By 1991, Anderson and Frischmann had broken up. Frischmann started dating Damon Albarn of the groupBlur. She believed the group could accommodate the new situation.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 13 ] 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 14 ] However, the band's music was out-of-step with the music of its London contemporaries as well as the American grunge bands. Anderson said, "For the whole of 1991, A&R men wouldn't give us a second look."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 15 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Through the end of 1991 and early 1992, Suede received a number of favourable mentions in the music press, receiving slots at shows hosted by NME and attended by significant musical figures such as the former Smiths singer, Morrissey. A gig at the ULU in October 1991, which caught the attention of the media, was Frischmann's final gig.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 16 ] John Mulvey of the NME, the journalist who first wrote about Suede was there. He said, "They had charm, aggression, and... if not exactly eroticism, then something a little bit dangerous and exciting."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent1_17-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="1992.E2.80.931993:_Signing_and_early_success" style="box-sizing:border-box;">1992–1993: Signing and early success
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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. Suede eventually signed a two single deal to Nude in February 1992 for the sum of £3,132.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 18 ] Following Nude's offer, Suede attracted further interest from Island Records and East West Records, who were keen to sign the band long term.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 19 ] Suede were being hailed as "the next big thing"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jam.canoe_20-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 20 ] and, before the release of the group's first single, Melody Maker featured the group on the cover on 25 April, with the headline "Suede: The Best New Band in Britain".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jam.canoe_20-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 20 ] The band's first single, "The Drowners", attracted attention for its sharp contrast to the dying Madchester scene and the U.S. grunge sound of the time.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBC_21-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 21 ] A moderate hit, "The Drowners" reached number 49 on the UK Singles Chart in May.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-uk_charts_22-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] The band was then approached by Geffen Records and, although the Geffen deal was very attractive (Galpern described it as "insane"), the band still had other offers to consider.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 23 ] In September 1992, Suede released a second single, "Metal Mickey", which reached number 17 in the charts. It was the only Suede single to enter the US Modern Rock top 10, peaking at number 7.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-24" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 24 ] Shortly after the release of "Metal Mickey", Suede signed to Nude/Sony. Galpern was determined to sign the band in the long term and struck a deal with Sony - making them a tiny independent label with major company backing.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 25 ] The contract gave Suede creative controls such as the artwork on their releases.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Herald_26-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 26 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Anderson soon became notorious for causing controversy, such as his infamous quote that resurfaced in interviews and articles in the following years, that he was "a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ] In February 1993, Suede went from highly touted indie band to major chart contenders with their third single, "Animal Nitrate", which went into the UK top ten.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Herald_26-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 26 ] The single earned them a last-minute invitation to play at that year's Brit Awardsceremony.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Herald_26-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 26 ] Impressed by the band's charged sexuality, Suede's first sequence of singles and first album shocked audiences and critics alike.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 27 ] 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent2_28-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ] Comparisons were being made with 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent2_28-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ] 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Guardian3_29-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 29 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In the year leading up to the release of their first album, Suede were the most written-about band in Britain.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 30 ] The album Suede entered the British charts at number one, registering the biggest initial sales of a debut album since Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome a decade before.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ] It sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of release,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 31 ] going gold on its second day.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Telegraph_32-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] The album's release was met with high critical praise and hype.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent1_17-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ] At the time it was hailed as "the most eagerly awaited debut since Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 33 ] 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBC_21-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 21 ] The album won the 1993 Mercury Prize.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Telegraph_32-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] The band donated the entire £25,000 in prize money to Cancer Research.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 34 ] This was the only album released in the U.S. under the name "Suede", where it remains the band's highest selling release.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-35" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 35 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Following the success of the album, the band toured extensively in Europe, receiving a major covering by MTV. In July, Suede gave a benefit concert for Red Hot Organization at "The Grand" in London, inviting Siouxsie Sioux to perform a version of Lou Reed's "Carolyne Says" with Butler.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 36 ] Suede then prepared for an American tour in summer 1993. During the tours, tensions began to develop between Butler and the rest of the group.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ] 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 37 ] The tensions grew worse on the second American tour mainly because Butler's father had died, which forced Suede to cancel the tour prematurely.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-4" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ]Butler disliked the band's indulgence on the tour during his bereavement, in which he became so alienated from the band that he even travelled separately.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-38" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 38 ] Suede's American success was limited as they had already begun to be upstaged by their opening act, The Cranberries, who received the support from MTV that Suede lacked.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-5" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ] At times, Butler left the stage while Suede were performing and persuaded a member of The Cranberries to fill in for him.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-H169_39-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 39 ]Moreover, a lounge singer's lawsuit forced the band to stop using the trademarked American name "Suede". For their subsequent releases and shows in the United States, the band used the name "The London Suede". Anderson was not happy about having to change the group's name for the U.S. market, saying, "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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYT_40-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 40 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="1994.E2.80.931995:_Butler.27s_exit_and_Dog_Man_Star" style="box-sizing:border-box;">1994–1995: Butler's exit and Dog Man Star
Bernard Butler (shown here during a live performance with The Tears in 2005), left Suede in 1994 due to growing tensions between him and lead vocal Brett Anderson, with whom he finally made amends in 2003.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In February 1994, the band released the stand-alone single "Stay Together", 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. The bombastic new sound, however, fractured the band and led to the departure of Butler.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Stylus_41-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 41 ] Despite the success of the single the band has since distanced itself totally from the song, an aversion usually attributed to problems with Butler at the time.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-42" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 42 ] In the aftermath of "Stay Together", Anderson isolated himself and wrote songs for Suede's next album.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-43" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 43 ] It was at this time that Anderson isolated himself from what was dubbed the "laddish Britpop movement", which he was seen by many to have inaugurated.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Guardian3_29-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 29 ] Bands such as Blur, Oasis and Pulp began to dominate the music scene, while Suede became 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-6" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ] 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-44" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 44 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">At the time, Suede were said to be a band which was "unafraid to be out of step with its peers".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYT_40-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 40 ] However, Suede's experimentation ultimately led to its separation. The group often recorded songs with long lengths. Osman said that he, Anderson and Gilbert often thought these tracks were the result of Butler trying to wind the band members up.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-45" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 45 ] Anderson recalled that Butler and the rest of the group largely recorded their parts separately. The guitarist then clashed with the producer Ed Buller, who he insisted should be sacked as he wanted to produce the record himself.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-46" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 46 ] Butler then gave Anderson an ultimatum which demanded that the producer be fired or he would leave. "I called his bluff," says Anderson.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-47" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 47 ] 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-48" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 48 ] According to John Harris's Britpop history, The Last Party, the final words Butler uttered to Anderson were "you're a fucking cunt".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Guardian_49-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 49 ] Butler left the band with parts of the record incomplete.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Led by the single "We Are the Pigs", Suede's second album, Dog Man Star, finally appeared in late 1994. The album was well received by critics receiving rapturous reviews across the board.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-50" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 50 ] It entered the UK Albums Chart at number three,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-uk_charts_22-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] but slid quickly down the charts.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-51" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 51 ] The singles from the album charted poorly, though they are still regarded as Suede's best output, especially "The Wild Ones", which is considered by many to be Suede's finest hour.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-52" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 52 ] In September 1994, Suede announced that 17-year-old Richard Oakes was to be the new guitarist. After reading about Butler's departure, he had sent a demo tape to the band's fanclub.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-53" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 53 ] When Gilbert heard Anderson playing back the tape whilst going through audition tapes, he mistakenly believed it to be an early Suede demo. Oakes first video appearance was for "We Are the Pigs" and he co-wrote the B-sides to "New Generation". Suede embarked on a long international tour during late 1994 and spring 1995, before disappearing to work on their third album. In 1995, the group contributed a track to The Help Album charity compilation, covering Elvis Costello's "Shipbuilding".

<span class="mw-headline" id="1996.E2.80.932000:_New_line_up_and_continuing_success" style="box-sizing:border-box;">1996–2000: New line up and continuing success
Suede in Thailand, 1997. Left from right: Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes, Mat Osman, Neil Codling,Brett Anderson.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In January 1996, the band was joined by new member Neil Codling, a cousin of Gilbert who played keyboards and second guitar. His first appearance was at a fanclub gig at the Hanover Grand, which turned out to be one of Suede's most important gigs. A short set devoid of Butler songs was well received by critics, "...A set that says. 'No Need'," observed Steve Sutherland in NME.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-54" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 54 ] Suede's third album, Coming Upwith new guitarist, was released 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'".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Telegraph_32-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] The lead single, "Trash", was popular and tied with "Stay Together" as the group's highest-charting UK single, reaching number three,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-uk_charts_22-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] which helped to make the album the band's 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_7-7" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ]Nevertheless, the album topped the UK chart and became the band's biggest-selling release,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-uk_charts_22-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] 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 was stolen after playing a gig in Boston, Massachusetts.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-55" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 55 ] With the success of the album, Suede secured top billing at the 1997 Reading Festival. Suede's next release was Sci-Fi Lullabies, a collection of B-sides, which reached number nine on the UK Album Chart.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-uk_charts_22-4" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] The compilation was well received and is considered by some to be their strongest collection of songs.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Stylus_41-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 41 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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 their long-time producer Ed Buller before commencing work on the 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 in 1998.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-56" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 56 ] Despite being backed by their second-highest charting single, "Electricity", Suede's fourth album, Head Music, divided both fans and critics, though it once again took the band to number one on the UK Albums Chart.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-uk_charts_22-5" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ] A synthesiser-infused album that focused less on guitar riffs and more on keyboards, it was produced by Steve Osborne, who had worked withHappy Mondays and New Order. Critical opinion was sharply divided; many felt the record's lyrics were too shallow and lacking in substance.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-57" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 57 ] Others, however, praised the album highly, feeling that the group was again taking a different direction and charting new territory.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-58" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 58 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The next three singles released from the album failed to enter the top 10, breaking a run stretching back to the 1996 single "Trash". Anderson also attracted more criticism from fans for his frequent use of redundant vocabulary and limited lyrical themes.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Times_59-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 59 ] The track which received the most attention and criticism was "Savoir Faire".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Guardian2_60-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 60 ] Some critics felt that the album's 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".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Guardian2_60-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 60 ] 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent2_28-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ] Suede headlined the Roskilde and V festivals in July and August 1999 respectively. During 2000, there was press speculation that Suede were on the verge of disbanding, which was not helped by Codling's absence from some European gigs. Anderson denied these claims and insisted that Codling was healthy and that they were keen to record the next album.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-61" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 61 ] For the whole of 2000, Suede retreated from the public and played only one gig, in Reykjavik, Iceland. The band premiered several new songs that eventually appeared on the final album.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-62" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 62 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="2001.E2.80.932003:_Commercial_disappointment_and_breakup" style="box-sizing:border-box;">2001–2003: Commercial disappointment and breakup
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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 the band's fifth album, A New Morning. 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-63" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 63 ] The long and troubled gestation of the new album saw the keyboard player, Codling, leave the band, citing chronic fatigue syndrome, to be replaced by Alex Lee, formerly of Strangelove.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-64" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 64 ] In concert, Lee played keyboards, second guitar, backing vocals and occasionally harmonica. 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, 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".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-65" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 65 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Although the group began work with Tony Hoffer producing,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Heatseekers_66-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 66 ] the album was produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur). Overall, seven different recording studios and four producers were used during the two years spent recording A New Morning, with costs estimated at around £1 million.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-67" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 67 ] The album was a commercial disappointment which failed to enter the top 20 and it was never released in the U.S.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-68" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 68 ] A New Morning was considered a solid enough 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, 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Eir_69-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 69 ] Mat Osman told journalist Jon Cronshaw in October 2013 that: "“It sounded like a Suede album that had been made by a committee – it was quite bland. We’re all quite ashamed of it".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-70" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 70 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In September 2003, Suede played five nights at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-71" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 71 ] In October 2003, Suede released a second compilation albumSingles, and an 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-New_Suede.21_72-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 72 ] 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-New_Suede.21_72-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 72 ] The planned album was never released.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On 28 October, after performing on V Graham Norton to promote the Singles compilation, Anderson made the decision to call it a day.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-73" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 73 ] This decision coincided with the release of the band's biography, Love and Poison on 3 November.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-74" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 74 ] On 5 November, the band announced that 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-75" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 75 ] Anderson also made a personal statement saying: "There has been speculation about record sales and chart positions, but the bottom line is I need to do whatever it takes to get my demon back."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-76" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 76 ] Suede's last concert at theLondon Astoria 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-77" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 77 ] Later, Osman would reveal that as they were walking to the studio set, Anderson whispered to him: "Let's not do this anymore."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-78" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 78 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="2010.E2.80.932013:_Reunion_and_Bloodsports" style="box-sizing:border-box;">2010–2013: Reunion and Bloodsports
Mat Osman performing with Suede at Lokerse Festival in 2012.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Following persistent rumours, Saul Galpern, the boss of the band's former label, Nude Records, 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 at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the 2010 Teenage Cancer Trust shows on 24 March 2010.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-79" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 79 ] Despite the gig initially being billed as a one night only reformation, when questioned on the German radio station MotorFM in early February, Anderson refused to confirm that the band would not continue.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-80" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 80 ] The band subsequently announced two UK 'warm up' gigs prior to the Royal Albert Hall show, at the 100 Club in London and the Ritz in Manchester.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-81" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 81 ] The three gigs were very well received by critics,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-82" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 82 ] including a glowing two-page review in the NME.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-83" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 83 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In August, the band played at the Skanderborg Festival in Denmark and Parkenfestivalen in Bodø, Norway. In September, the band announced that they would release The Best of Suede on 1 November 2010. The compilation, put together by Anderson, consisted of singles, album tracks and B-sides.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-84" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 84 ] Shortly after the release, Suede made a short European tour from 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 in London. Suede were subsequently asked whether they would produce any new material and Anderson 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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-85" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 85 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Suede continued to perform in 2011. After their biggest show ever at the O2 Arena in London, Brett confirmed that Suede were in the mood for more shows.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-86" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 86 ] Suede performed at festivals around the world, including Blackberry's Live & Rockin' Festival on 19 March 2011,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-87" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 87 ] the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 16 April 2011 and the SOS 4.8 Festival in Murcia, Spain, on 7 May 2011.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-88" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 88 ] Suede played at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk on 17 July 2011. The final performance was at the Berlin Festival on 9 September 2011, directly following the Asian tour in August.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-89" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 89 ] In June 2011, following the success of the compilation album, the band released remastered and expanded editions of all five studio albums.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-90" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 90 ] They also performed the albums Suede, Dog Man Star and Coming Up at the O2 Brixton Academy in London over three nights on 19, 20 and 21 May 2011,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-91" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 91 ] and at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, on 24, 25 and 26 May.

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Suede embarked on a full Asian tour, which began in late July in Jisan, South Korea, and finished at the Summer Sonic festival in Tokyo, Japan, on 14 August 2011.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-92" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 92 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-93" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 93 ] Suede performed in Athens on 11 September 2011, and ended the band's touring commitments in Russia on 16 and 18 December 2011 where they showcased the new songs "Falling Planes", "The Only", "Someone Better", "I Don't Know Why", "Cold War", "Future Nightmare" and "Sabotage". Suede began recording a new album with Ed Buller in 2012 and Brett Anderson stated that of the songs showcased in Russia, only "Sabotage" was thus far in contention. On 7 January 2013, the band announced that the sixth studio album, Bloodsports, would be released in March.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-94" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 94 ] The announcement was accompanied by "Barriers", a song from the album, as a free download.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-95" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 95 ] They released their first single in a decade "It Starts and Ends with You" on 4 February. Bloodsportshas been well received by critics and has been their best reviewed album since the group's 1996 album Coming Up.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-96" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 96 ] On 12 April, Suede announced on their website the dates for their forthcoming European tour. The tour will begin on 26 October 2013 at the Leeds O2 Academy and will finish on 23 November at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-97" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 97 ] Suede subsequently added a further three shows to the beginning of the tour. They played additional shows in Southampton, Southend and Bristol on 22, 23 and 24 October.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-98" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 98 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="2014.E2.80.93present:_Night_Thoughts" style="box-sizing:border-box;">2014–present: Night Thoughts
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In late January 2014, Anderson announced that Suede are working on a new album, he estimated the album would be released in 2015 as the band are in the writing stage for the album.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-99" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 99 ] On September 7, 2015, the band announced that their new album, Night Thoughts, was to be released on January 22, 2016, alongside a feature film directed by photographer Roger Sargent.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-100" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 100 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Other_projects" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Other projects
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">After Suede disbanded, Anderson asked Suede's manager Charlie Charlton for Butler's phone number, who soon informed the former guitarist to expect a call.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-101" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 101 ] The pair, who had not spoken to one another since 1994, were spotted drinking in London just four days after Suede's final gig.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-102" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 102 ] In 2004, they resurfaced with a project named The Tears. The following year they released the album Here Come the Tears, which was well received by critics.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-103" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 103 ] Despite making the UK Top 15, it failed to generate broader interest beyond their hardcore fanbase. One review remarked that the record was not "far from the records Suede made without their errant guitarist".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-104" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 104 ] The band has not worked since 2006. Anderson has released four solo albums, which received mixed reviews: Brett Anderson (2007), Wilderness (2008), Slow Attack (2009) and Black Rainbows (2011), with the possible exception of his latest effort.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-105" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 105 ] Butler has been working as a producer, collaborating with artists such as Black Kids, Sons and Daughters, Duffy and Kate Nash. Simon Gilbert played with local Bangkok band Futon, while Richard Oakes started working with Sean McGhee as a duo Artmagic, whose debut album Become The One You Love, was released in 2012. Mat Osman started working as editor of the email magazine le cool and the editor of their London guidebook.

Appearances
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Suede recorded three songs for Later... with Jools Holland on Tuesday 9 April 2013. This was the first show to be recorded at its new home, Maidstone Studios in Kent, following the closure of the BBC TV centre at White City. Suede were due to open and close the live show, however due to sound issues, they were only able to use a previous recording of "It Starts and Ends with You" for the opening song of the show. The show then continued live, but Suede had no other songs broadcast. After live show completion, repairs were made, and Suede recorded two further songs for transmission.

<span class="mw-headline" id="Legacy_and_influence" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Legacy and influence
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">A significant part of Suede's legacy consists in having kickstarted the Britpop scene which eventually overshadowed the band's own achievements in the public mind. Alexis Petridis 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".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Guardian_49-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 49 ] 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: <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;">Suede appeared on Melody Maker's cover before they had a record out... The exposure got them a recordDEAL, 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Seeing_Stars_106-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 106 ] <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The year following the Melody Maker cover saw Suede captivate a pop phenomenon of critical praise and hype.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent1_17-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ] Not since the dawn of the Smiths had a British band caused such excitement with the release of just a few singles.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-107" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 107 ] 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 Oasis, Blur and Pulp to enter the British mainstream.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-108" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 108 ] They were influential in returning some of the creative impetus to English guitar music in a scene increasingly dominated by Madchester, Grunge and Shoegazing.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBC_21-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 21 ] 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. The reviews are florid, poetic, half-crazed; they express the almost lascivious delight of journalists hungry for something to pin their hopes on."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent1_17-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ] Even beyond their own shores, American heavy metal personality Eric Greif declared that Suede "reinvented and repackaged glam in a creative way, and how refreshing that was as a counterpoint to the drab grunge of the time."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-109" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 109 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Suede's laurels would remain intact through their earlyCAREER until Butler's departure, which the press signalled as the end of Suede (and possibly of Britpop altogether, at least in its original form). As new rock groups were arriving on the scene, British pop culture was in the midst of a shift towards lad culture and the same critics who championed Suede were now plotting to extinguish them.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Telegraph_32-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] 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 and the suburbiana of Blur and Pulp."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Telegraph_32-4" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] In a 2007 article in The Daily Telegraph, 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".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-110" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 110 ] 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'sCAREER, "Suede slid from zeitgeist into a smaller, pocket-sized cult band."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent2_28-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ] In the same article, Anderson spoke about their legacy: <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;">"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."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Independent2_28-4" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ] <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Christopher Owens of the Californian indie pop band Girls has stated Suede, and particularly Brett Anderson as amongst his major influences, and his vocal style has often been compared to that of Anderson.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-OwensLysandreTotallyDublin_111-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 111 ] Kele Okereke, the lead singer of London band Bloc Party cites Suede as an influence who were his first musical interest. He says that Dog Man Star was the first record he fell in love with.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-112" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 112 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">"Still one of the great British bands of the '90s," David Bowie told Select. "They have the enviable knack of taking the rather pathetic fumble of a quick fuck under the pier and extracting those few golden moments that many years later convince oneself that, for one brief flickering moment, one was as inspired asRomeo or, in some cases, Juliet. The poor things are bound to be an institution by the year 2000. Dame Brett, anybody?"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-113" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 113 ]

Discography

 * Studio albums
 * Suede (1993)
 * Dog Man Star (1994)
 * Coming Up (1996)
 * Head Music (1999)
 * A New Morning (2002)
 * Bloodsports (2013)
 * Night Thoughts (2016)