Music - Suede

Through all of Suede's incarnations, Brett Anderson and Matt Osman remained at the band's core. Anderson formed the Smiths-inspired Geoff in 1985 with his schoolmate Osman and drummer Danny Wilder. Geoff recorded two demos before splitting up in 1986, as Anderson and Osman left to attend university in London. A few years later, the pair formed Suave & Elegant, which lasted only a few months. By the end of 1989, the pair had placed an advertisement in NME, asking for a "non-muso" guitarist. Bernard Butler responded, and the trio began recording songs, primarily written by Anderson and Butler, with the support of a drum machine. Taking the name Suede after Morrissey's Suedehead single, the trio send a demo tape, Specially Suede, to compete in "Demo Clash," a radio show on GLR run by DJ Gary Crowley. Wonderful Sometimes won the "Demo Clash" for five Sundays in a row during 1990, leading to a record contract with the Brighton-based indie label RML. By the time the band signed with RML, Anderson's girlfriend Justine Frischmann had joined as a second guitarist.

Suede Photo 2 Suede placed an advertisement for a drummer and former Smiths member Mike Joyce responded. Joyce appeared on the group's debut single for RML, Be My God/Art. Scheduled to be released on a 12-inch in the fall of 1990, the single was scraped shortly before its release, due to a fight between the band and the label. Throughout 1991, the group rehearsed and recorded demos, eventually adding drummer Simon Gilbert. Frischmann left Suede in early 1992 to form Elastica; she was not replaced. A few months later, Suede signed a two-single deal with the indie label Nude Records. Shortly afterward, the band appeared on the cover of Melody Maker, without having released any material. The weekly newspaper declared them the Best New Band in Britain.

The Drowners, the band's first single, appeared shortly after the Melody Maker, and it became a moderate hit, debuting at number 49 due to strong reviews and word-of-mouth. Metal Mickey, released in the fall, became their breakthrough hit, reaching number 17 on the UK charts after a suggestive, controversial performance on Top of the Pops. Anderson soon became notorious for causing controversy, and his infamous comment that he was "a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience" was indicative of how the group both courted controversy and a sexually ambiguous, alienated audience.

A short tour before the spring release of their eponymous debut album was very successful, setting the stage for Animal Nitrate debuting at number 7. Shortly afterward, Suede entered the charts at number 1, registering the biggest initial sales of a debut since Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Welcome To The Pleasuredome. By the summer, Suede had become the most popular band in Britain and they attempted to make headway into the United States. Their progress was halted when Butler's father died in the fall, forcing the cancellation of their second tour. Shortly afterward, the band was forced to change its name to the London Suede in America, due to a lawsuit from an obscure singer performing under the name Suede.

Suede Photo 3 Tensions had begun to develop between Bernard Butler and the rest of the band during the group's 1993 tours, and they peaked when they re-entered the studio to record a new single in late 1993. Butler conceived the song Stay Together as a sweeping, epic, partially in tribute to his father, and while it was a success upon its February 1994 release, debuting at number 3, the recording was not easy. As they were working on Suede's second album, Anderson and Butler began to fight frequently. Butler left the band toward the end of the sessions for the second album, and the group finished the record with Anderson playing guitar. Bernard's departure launched a flurry of speculation about Suede's future and Dog Man Star didn't answer any of those questions. A grandiose, ambitious and heavily orchestrated album, Dog Man Star was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, but muted commercial response. As Suede was working on their second album, their remarkable commercial success was eclipsed by that of Blur and Oasis, whose lighter, more accessible music brought the groups' blockbuster in the wake of Suede.

While Dog Man Star sold nearly as much as Suede, the impression in the press was the group was rapidly falling apart, and the band didn't help matters when they replaced Butler with Richard Oakes, a 17 year-old amateur guitarist, in September. Suede embarked on a long, grueling international tour during late 1994 and the spring of 1995, before disappearing to work on their third album. At a fanclub gig in January of 1996, the group debuted several new songs, as well as their new keyboardist Neil Codling, the cousin of Gilbert. Suede returned as a five-piece in September of 1996 with Coming Up. A lighter, band-oriented affair than either of the group's two previous albums, Coming Up was an unexpected hit, entering the charts at number 1 and generating a remarkable string of five Top 10 hits - Trash, Beautiful Ones, Saturday Night, Lazy and Filmstar. Coming Up was a hit throughout Europe, Canada and Asia, but it wasn't released in the US until the spring of 1997.

Coming Up never won 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. Nevertheless, the record was its most successful release to date, setting expectations high for the follow-up. Upon their return to the studio in the fall of 1998, the band decided to ditch their longtime producer Ed Buller, choosing to work with Steve Osborne, who had previously produced New Order and Happy Mondays. The resulting Head Music was released in May of 1999; an American release followed in June.

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