Looking closely at the chart positions of the five albums released by Suede, it is quite astonishing to see how suddenly they seemed to fall from favour:-Their self-titled debut album went to #1 in 1993. Dog Man Star reached #3 in 1994, while Coming Up and Head Music from '96 and '99 respectively each hit the top spot. But A New Morning, released in 2002 stalled at #24.
Many of you will know that the band has reformed again after a 7-year hiatus. It was initially supposed to be for a one-off event as part of the 2010 Teenage Cancer Trust shows in London, but Brett Anderson hasn't said one way or another that the band would continue. And now, with a festival gig in Denmark having been confirmed, it looks as if Suede could well be coming to a summer gig in a big field somewhere near you over the coming months.
The reformed line-up is actually Suede Mk2 in as much that it is the post-Bernard Butler line-up that has come together. But for those who say the band were never the same after the guitarist and song-writer left the ranks, it has to be pointed out that commercially they were at their biggest from 1996 - 1999, including a run of seven successive Top 10 singles.
I was lucky enough to catch the band not too far on in their career in April 1993 when they played the now demolished Plaza Ballroom in Glasgow. I had gone along expecting the hype to be greater than reality, but came away with an increased admiration for the band as they turned out to be a hugely exciting, energetic and entertaining live act. much of which was down to Butler's playing. Disappointingly, by the time they came back to Glasgow some 18 months later, the gig at the Barrowlands sold out instantly and I never got my hands on a ticket.
And after that, while I was interested enough to but the occasional CD single, I never really followed the band in any great detail and certainly never looked to go and catch them live. But now I'm wondering what to do if Suede decide that some sort of tour would be in order. The reviews of the recent Royal Albert Hall gig, and those of the two warm-up events, have been almost universally positive. I'm swaying towards going along, even if it is an arena tour of the sort I try and avoid. However.....I'm also concerned that I'd then come away with an empty and hollow feeling having just seen something no different from the dinosaur tours of the types of bands so beloved by Hard Rock Cafe that I've been so dismissive of all my life.
Anyone else got views?
Anyway, I thought I'd dig out the band's breakthrough single. I remember everyone being very disappointed when debut 45 The Drowners was a flop and it fleetingly looked as if Suede were going to be yet another band who promised much but commercially delivered nowt. But this reached #17 on its release in September 1992:-
mp3 : Suede - Metal Mickey
mp3 : Suede - Where The Pigs Don't Fly
mp3 : Suede - He's Dead
Happy Listening
11 comments:
Morning. I was a big Suede fan, but felt they tailed off (regardless of how much they troubled the charts) after Bernard left.
Oh, and their second album was called Dog Man Star.
Enjoy the blog, read it daily, so cheers.
Unlike many people, I found I liked Suede more as they went along. Love Brett's solo material too. Missed the chance to see their recent mini-tour but would happily watch them if they played again later in the year.
I love 'em. Always worth a listen and a blistering live act, with or without BB.
At the time I thought Dog Man Star was the better album but now feel that the debut is better. I think their chart positions reflected the diminishing returns of each album. Despite this they were always a great live band and if they played near me and weren't charging the earth, I'd definitely be tempted to see them.
I always preferred Bernard Butler to Brett Anderson. There's something about the way he plays guitar that is facinating to watch.
Oh and Metal Mickey remains one fo my very favourite ever singles with two great b-sides. Infact, for the first 2 albums, Suede didn't write b-sides, just great songs. If you don't have it, check out the first disc of Sci-Fi Lullabies for the proof. Killing Of A Flash Boy is an awesome song and they hid it away as a b-side!!
One last thing, on the BBC6 website, you can listen back to a recent 90 minute programme about bernard Butler which gives an interesting insight into the early days of Suede and why he left.
The first two Suede LPs were amazing, to me one of the best band of the 90's, along with Pulp, Blur, and Cinerama. As it's been pointed out, they didn't wrote B-sides, just great songs to go along with the title track, wrapped in some of the best sleeve art anyone has made. I like their later stuff too, but the Butler era was best.
I was working with a mate of mine and we had this "competition" to spot any new bands. Suede was his discovery when he found their first single.
Later on when they became more well known - as it always happens when you find a new band, he got a bit annoyed that everybody else got into them. It stopped being 'his' band... you get what I'm getting at.
I myself liked...them but I wasn't leaping up and down or anything. We saw them live at the Rivermead in Reading and yeah, it was ok but I didn't think they would be the future of rock & roll or anything.
(The band that I "discovered" back then by the way was Gene but we'll gloss over that one shall we)
loved them even when they did become a bit of a cliche of themselves ie every song having cigarete and gasoline in there. Brett's 2 solo lps are fantastic
Was lucky enough to see them at the same Plaza gig. Great live act.Would recommend them if they do decide to tour again.
Always thought they were pish
I suppose I'm coming a bit late to the discussion, but I've loved Suede for a long time. While I would never dismiss the post-Butler albums, I still think their debut and Dog Man Star are my favourites (maybe the tension between Anderson and Butler made for more interesting songs). Unfortunately, the likelihood of my seeing either a reunited Suede or a solo Brett Anderson live is abysmally low. That Atlantic Ocean issue again.
I loved Suede in the Bernard Butler era, the debut album & Dogmanstar are up there in my all time favourites. Saw The Tears live several times & they were really good, I agree with condemnedtorocknroll, the tension between BA &BB made for more interesting songs.
Great Blog!
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