The Cavern
Rock & Words
SUEDE
“But we're trash, you and me,
We're the litter on the breeze,
We're the lovers on the street,
Just trash, me and you,
It's in everything we do,
It's in everything we do... "
“D+”
Main Decade: 90's
Main Eras:
Brit Rock (1991-???)
Key Members:
Brett Anderson: Vocals
Bernard Butler/ Richard Oakes: Guitar
Mat Osman: Bass
Simon Gilbert: Drums
Key Songs:
Animal Nitrate, Trash, Heroine, Drowners, She’s In Fashion, By The Sea, She, So Young, Filmstar, We Are The Pigs, The Wild Ones, Snowblind, Saturday Night, The Power, Starcrazy, Obsessions, Can’t Get Enough, Barriers, The Asphalt World, One Hit To The Body, Everything Will Flow, Indian Strings, Beautiful Loser, Faultines, Metal Mickey, It Starts and Ends With You.
Nothing in this world is a coincidence, I'm convinced of it. Just last week I stumbled upon Bloodsports, the album Suede released last year after more than 10 years of silence. And I was amazed that they had regained their freshness and power, perhaps not reaching the level of their best albums, but certainly recapturing the attitude and classic sound of the band. I found myself traveling back in time listening to the rest of their albums, with that collection of gems that marked my adolescence. I had taken it for granted that everyone knew Suede, but I actually had the privilege of hearing them on that legendary radio station, Stereosoul, my great musical teacher, which hooked me with "Animal Nitrate," and later with "Trash," which blew me away with this band that was "new" to me at the time, and then with a handful of other hits that, however, were hardly ever played anywhere else. I couldn't even have a debate about whether they were better than Oasis or not, because Oasis fans didn't have the slightest clue about Suede; they'd barely even heard of Blur!
And since there are no coincidences in this world, Brett Anderson himself called me the night before last. I swear! He was shouting at me in his thick London accent, berating me for heaping praise on those two sons of bitches, the conceited Gallagher brothers, calling me a traitor, saying I'd disappointed him, and blah blah blah… I apologized profusely, promised him my next band would be Suede, and hung up, somewhat stunned by what had just happened. I swear it happened exactly like that. I even pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. Uh… well, actually, I was dreaming.
But the fact is, I woke up with the certainty that I had to write the intro and review the albums of this much-maligned band, which MTV blocked in favor of Oasis, and which few outside the UK had the chance to appreciate. That, and with the intention of never again eating such a heavy dinner or listening to Suede's entire discography in one sitting. And here I am.
Suede is a seriously underrated band, overshadowed at the time by Oasis and Blur, who dominated the spotlight outside of England. Not only were they pioneers of Britpop, paving the way for these two groups to achieve success, but they were actually quite talented. Their albums rarely contain filler, and a high percentage of their 90s albums are strong tracks. In some ways, they're a combination of Oasis and Blur, with Brett Anderson singing in a nasal tone at times similar to Liam's, but with a melodic ability and vocal hooks closer to Damon's. And on guitar, they first had the genius Bernard Butler, who was later replaced by Richard Oakes, so the change wasn't noticeable, at least on the first album Oakes joined. Both used a lot of distortion in a very peculiar tone, similar to Noel's fuzz, but equally catchy and with Graham Coxon's devilish creativity…
Brit Rock as such was born at University College London in 1988, when Brett Anderson met Justine Frischmann. They shared one or two classes, but seemed to hate each other, until they finally met and chemistry sparked. I don't know if it was musical interest or romantic interest that came first. The fact is that not long after meeting, they became a couple. And by the winter of '88-'89, they decided to rent an apartment with Mat Osman, Brett's best friend since childhood. Osman was also a guitarist, and it wasn't unusual for the three of them to find themselves playing in the early hours of the morning, and soon the idea of forming a band arose, with Mat switching to bass. Both Brett and Justine knew they couldn't play lead guitar, so they placed an ad in the NME, seeking a lead guitarist influenced by the Smiths, Bowie, Beatles, and Petshop Boys, with the warning, “No muses, please. Some things are more important than ability.” A guy named Bernard Butler responded to the ad. His sound, based on that of his hero Johnny Marr but much more aggressive and distorted, earned him a place in the fledgling band.
They started playing with a drum machine instead of a drum kit. After catching the attention of several DJs with their first demo and winning some amateur competitions, they decided to look for a drummer in order to pursue a record deal. So they placed another ad in the NME. The first person to respond only lasted six weeks before leaving for another band. The second, to their surprise, was Mike Joyce, none other than the former drummer of the Smiths! There was chemistry, but Joyce decided that because the style was so similar to his original band, it would do more harm than good to Suede (they were already calling themselves that). However, they didn't completely lose touch. In June of '90, after trying out more drummers, they finally recruited Simon Gilbert.
I'll delve deeper into this period in relation to their debut album, but the early history of Suede, particularly the Anderson-Frischmann relationship, is truly worthy of a soap opera. A very sweet one at the beginning and very dramatic at the end, a sort of Brit Rock love triangle. By 1991, Justine and Brett had definitively broken up, and she soon began dating Damon Albarn. Yes, THAT Damon Albarn. The thing is, she was seeing Damon and was still part of Suede, so the tension was palpable. One day she arrived late to a rehearsal and justified it by saying she'd been filming a Blur video. Brett exploded and kicked her out of the band, leaving him to lead the group as a quartet and heartbroken.
Surprisingly, the breakup and Justine's departure ultimately benefited the band. They had been stuck in a rut for two years, somewhat complacent, partly because her father was a trillionaire and covered all their expenses, including the apartment where they lived. So Brett found himself bankrupt and had to get his act together to make the band work. And he did. Blur was starting to overtake them in England, but in 1992 Suede had some remarkable performances, catching the attention of Saul Galpern, owner of the independent label Nude Records. They signed a contract to release a couple of singles, "The Drowners" being the first and "Metal Mickey" the second. Both songs were well-received and immediately attracted the attention of other major labels, such as Island and Sony. Melody Maker featured them on its April 25, 1992 cover with the headline "The Best New Band in Britain," making them the only band without an album to achieve such a cover, and even Morrissey spoke highly of them in an interview at the time. Many date the birth of Britpop to Suede's appearance on Melody Maker.
After lucrative offers, Suede was able to negotiate a contract with Nude Records, becoming a kind of subsidiary of Sony. This guaranteed them Sony's distribution power but also total creative freedom, including album covers and artwork. Brett's lyrics would be tinged with local flavor, not because he was a Kinks fan, but because "it was what I knew," and he would be the first to reject the term Britpop. At the same time, they began to portray a frivolous life, a strong sexual charge, the decadence of their generation. This wasn't by nature; Anderson was actually very shy, but it was a kind of reproach of his ex's lifestyle. He forced himself to overcome his shyness, knowing that controversy sells, and it was around this time that he uttered the phrase, "I'm a bisexual man who has never had a homosexual experience."
Their first album was a smash hit. The self-titled album debuted at number one and became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK in ten years, its impact comparable to that of the Sex Pistols. There was absolutely nothing that sounded like it, and it was clear the band was spearheading a new style, one that would replace the waning Madchester movement. With "Animal Nitrate" as its spearhead, featuring dark, sexually charged lyrics with local undertones, and Butler's tremendous guitar work—powerful yet subtle—creating potent riffs and hooks, the album was a knockout blow and a slap in the face to their arch-rival Damon Albarn.
Following their success, a US tour ensued, during which conflicts with Bernard began to surface. These conflicts escalated to such a degree that Butler eventually toured separately. To make matters worse, the opening act, the then-unknown Cranberries, were overshadowing them, as MTV was giving them all the airtime it was denying Suede. And to top it all off, an American cabaret singer sued them for using the name Suede, preventing them from using that name in the US and on their American albums. They were forced to use The London Suede instead, much to Anderson's frustration.
In '94, they began recording their second album, *Dog Man Star*, where Brett attempted to distance himself from the term "Brit Pop" and experiment more. Tensions with Butler reached their peak, even extending to producer Ed Buller. Bernard gave them an ultimatum: "Either the producer leaves, or I leave." They took a break for Bernard's wedding, but when he returned from his honeymoon, he found his guitars and equipment in the street. It was a very risky decision, as he was truly crucial to the band's sound, considered as important as Noel Gallagher or Graham Coxon in their respective groups. The album, still unfinished, was completed without a lead guitarist, with Brett taking on the role and filling in the missing tracks with other instrumentations, making it a more laid-back, less guitar-driven album, but for many, Suede's masterpiece, particularly "The Wild Ones."
Richard Oakes, a 17-year-old guitarist and fan of the band, learned of Butler's departure and immediately contacted Anderson. When Gilbert arrived at Brett's house and found him listening to a cassette, he thought it was an old demo of the band, but it was Oakes' demo. He impressed them, and he stayed on as guitarist, shining on the first album he played on, Coming Up in '96. Although his style is similar to Butler's, I think Suede would ultimately lose out with the guitar change. By this time, Blur and Oasis were embroiled in a media war that was very lucrative for MTV, so the network practically blocked other British bands, protecting its own market. In '96, Gilbert's cousin Neil Codling joined as keyboardist and second guitarist.
The Coming Up album replicated the commercial success of their debut and brought back the Britpop sound, with "Trash" as its lead single. It was such a good song that MTV felt compelled to play it. They placed five singles in the Top Ten. However, Brett was increasingly mired in drugs, particularly the destructive crack cocaine. After the world tour, in 1997 they released a B-sides compilation, Sci-Fi Lullabies, which was also a huge hit and is comparable to Masterplan in terms of the size of B-sides compilations. By that time, Britpop was losing its edge, and internal conflicts began.
In '99 they released Head Music, a slightly lower-quality album, but still with quite a few interesting tracks. After rumors of a breakup and lineup changes, they released New Morning in 2003, in which Brett hoped to "start over" after getting clean from drugs, but the album was a clear step backward and was a commercial and critical failure. Mat Osman himself said it sounded like it had been made by a committee, and that he was ashamed of the result.
The band finally announced their breakup in November. Anderson stated, "There will be no more albums or tours under the name Suede until the artistic moment is right, until I'm convinced it will be a special album." It seemed like an empty promise...
Suede is a relatively unknown band, with a small legion of fans, but at the time, most of them would ultimately choose Oasis or Blur, or even Pulp, the other of the Big Four of Britpop. They would become a minor cult band. However, Blur would unwittingly return the favor. If Suede opened the scene for Blur, Blur, with their return, reignited the nostalgia for those great 90s bands that nobody paid attention to back then, and Brett seized the moment. First with a single concert in 2010, reuniting the mid-90s band to raise funds to fight cancer. Then came three concerts. Then an Asian tour. Then a European tour, then an American one, and they ended up filling the O2 Arena before thousands of delirious fans.
In March 2013, Suede released their sixth album, Bloodsports. To my surprise, a very good one, bringing back Oakes' prominent guitars, the monumental and catchy melodies, the incisive lyrics, and this time perhaps with greater maturity. The album, while not as great as the self-titled album or Coming Up, is a triumphant return, and I hope, a promise that Suede will finally occupy the place and recognition they deserve, just as Blur did.
By Corvan
Mar/14/2014
