To clear up the endless rumours circulating on the internet etc, please be assured that no one is leaving the band.
The true story is that Neil fell ill last week, just before the band were due to leave for madrid. rather than cancel the gig, the band decided to go ahead and play the Madrid and paris shows with Alex from strangelove as a last minute stand-in, to allow Neil some rest in time for last night's show at Shepherd's Bush.
Alex, a long term friend of the band, had previously played with suede last month when neil was unable to play an mtv show in Milan.
As those of you who made it to the Shepherd's Bush Empire last night will know, Neil was back on stage with the rest of the band for one of their best gigs so far. All five members of suede also attended the aftershow party, mingling with friends and fans to celebrate the album's new entry at the top of the charts.
Brett, Simon, Mat, Richard and Neil are recording "Later with Jools Holland"
tomorrow which you can see on BBC2 on Friday evening
As always, unless you hear it from an official source, please treat any suede
"news" with caution
thanks for your continued support.