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
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 Crawley band 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 the job 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.[12]
By 1991, Anderson and Frischmann had broken up. Frischmann started dating Damon Albarn of the group Blur. She believed the group could accommodate the new situation.[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.[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."[15]
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.[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."[17]
1992–1993: Signing and early success
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.[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.[19] Suede were being hailed as "the next big thing"[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".[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.[21] A moderate hit, "The Drowners" reached number 49 on the UK Singles Chart in May.[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.[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.[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.[25] The contract gave Suede creative controls such as the artwork on their releases.[26]
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".[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.[26] The single earned them a last-minute invitation to play at that year's Brit Awards ceremony.[26]
Impressed by the band's charged sexuality, Suede's first sequence of
singles and first album shocked audiences and critics alike.[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.[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.[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."[29]
In the year leading up to the release of their first album, Suede were the most written-about band in Britain.[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.[7] It sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of release,[31] going gold on its second day.[32] The album's release was met with high critical praise and hype.[17] At the time it was hailed as "the most eagerly awaited debut since Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols."[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.[21] The album won the 1993 Mercury Prize.[32] The band donated the entire £25,000 in prize money to Cancer Research.[34] This was the only album released in the U.S. under the name "Suede", where it remains the band's highest selling release.[35]
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.[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.[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.[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.[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.[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.[7] At times, Butler left the stage while Suede were performing and persuaded a member of The Cranberries to fill in for him.[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."[40]
1994–1995: Butler's exit and Dog Man Star
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.[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.[42] In the aftermath of "Stay Together", Anderson isolated himself and wrote songs for Suede's next album.[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.[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.[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."[44]
At the time, Suede were said to be a band which was "unafraid to be out of step with its peers".[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.[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.[46]
Butler then gave Anderson an ultimatum which demanded that the producer
be fired or he would leave. "I called his bluff," says Anderson.[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.[48] According to John Harris's Britpop history, The Last Party, the final words Butler uttered to Anderson were "you're a fucking cunt".[49] Butler left the band with parts of the record incomplete.
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.[50] It entered the UK Albums Chart at number three,[22] but slid quickly down the charts.[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.[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.[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".
1996–2000: New line up and continuing success
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.[54] Suede's third album, Coming Up
with 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'".[32] The lead single, "Trash", was popular and tied with "Stay Together" as the group's highest-charting UK single, reaching number three,[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.[7] Nevertheless the album topped the UK chart and became the band's biggest-selling release,[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.[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.[22] The compilation was well received and is considered by some to be their strongest collection of songs.[41]
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.[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.[22] A synthesiser-infused album that focused less on guitar riffs and more on keyboards, it was produced by Steve Osborne, who had worked with Happy Mondays and New Order. Critical opinion was sharply divided; many felt the record's lyrics were too shallow and lacking in substance.[57]
Others, however, praised the album highly, feeling that the group was
again taking a different direction and charting new territory.[58]
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.[59] The track which received the most attention and criticism was "Savoir Faire".[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".[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."[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.[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.[62]
2001–2003: Commercial disappointment and breakup
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.[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.[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".[65]
Although the group began work with Tony Hoffer producing,[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.[67] The album was a commercial disappointment which failed to enter the top 20 and it was never released in the U.S.[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."[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".[70]
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.[71] In October 2003, Suede released a second compilation album Singles, 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.[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."[72] The planned album was never released.
On 28 October, after performing on V Graham Norton to promote the Singles compilation, Anderson made the decision to call it a day.[73] This decision coincided with the release of the band's biography, Love and Poison on 3 November.[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."[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."[76] Suede's last concert at the London 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."[77] Later, Osman would reveal that as they were walking to the studio set, Anderson whispered to him: "Let's not do this anymore."[78]
2010–2013: Reunion and Bloodsports
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.[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.[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.[81] The three gigs were very well received by critics,[82] including a glowing two-page review in the NME.[83]
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.[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."[85]
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.[86] Suede performed at festivals around the world, including Blackberry's Live & Rockin' Festival on 19 March 2011,[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.[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.[89]
In June 2011, following the success of the compilation album, the band
released remastered and expanded editions of all five studio albums.[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,[91] and at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, on 24, 25 and 26 May.
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.[92][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.[94] The announcement was accompanied by "Barriers", a song from the album, as a free download.[95] They released their first single in a decade "It Starts and Ends with You" on 4 February. Bloodsports has been well received by critics and has been their best reviewed album since the group's 1996 album Coming Up.[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.[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.[98]
2014–present: New album
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.[99]
Other projects
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.[100] The pair, who had not spoken to one another since 1994, were spotted drinking in London just four days after Suede's final gig.[101] 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.[102]
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".[103] 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.[104] 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
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.
Legacy and influence
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".[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:
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.[105]
The year following the Melody Maker cover saw Suede captivate a pop phenomenon of critical praise and hype.[17] Not since the dawn of the Smiths had a British band caused such excitement with the release of just a few singles.[106]
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.[107] They were influential in returning some of the creative impetus to English guitar music in a scene increasingly dominated by Madchester, Grunge and Shoegazing.[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."[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."[108]
Suede's laurels would remain intact through their early career 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.[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."[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".[109]
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."[28] 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."[28]
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.[110] 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.[111]
"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 as Romeo or, in some cases, Juliet. The poor things are bound to be an institution by the year 2000. Dame Brett, anybody?"[112]
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