Suede - the forgotten geniuses

With all the media frenzy and hysteria surrounding Blur and Oasis and the ‘Battle of Britpop’ in the 1990s one could easily be lead to believe that there were few other noteworthy acts during this period. Whilst bands such as Radiohead, Pulp and Supergrass, despite being overshadowed by the ‘big two’, remain extremely popular, there is one band everybody seems to have forgotten about. The band in question is Suede, for me one of the most under-appreciated of all time, only truly understood by a comparatively small and devoted fan base. Tragic underdogs, beautifully imperfect, Suede are a band that can never be copied.

Their debut album, the imaginatively titled Suede, was on its release in 1993 the fastest selling debut album in British history, and it is often credited with starting the ‘Britpop’ movement. Although the term ‘Britpop’ was coined by the media and essentially used to help sell albums released by British artists in the 1990s, and in actual fact Suede’s music was at times the antithesis of ‘Britpop’, this illustrates the impact the album had. Suede had been described as ‘the best new band in Britain’ by Melody Maker magazine without having released a single, yet the hype was well and truly justified. Suede is one of the finest albums to have come out of the ‘Britpop’ era, including in the words of Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic, “effortlessly catchy, crunching glam hooks” as well as “grand, darkly romantic soundscapes” which are brought to life through Brett Anderson’s Bowie-esque vocals that perfectly complement the poetic nature of his lyrics.

The crowning moment of Suede, and possibly the band’s entire career, is the flawless ‘Animal Nitrate’. Although there is some confusion over the exact meaning of the lyrics, the name relates to a drug ‘amyl nitrate’ which was popular within the gay community, and the song appears to tell the story of incestual homosexual abuse taking place within a working class family living in council housing. This was Anderson’s great strength, being able to eloquently express the realities of life in Britain, to describe what it felt like to be young and imperfect; it is no surprise therefore that Suede’s lyrics struck a chord with many people at the time and continue to do so. Although Suede was credited with starting the ‘Britpop movement’ it is far removed from the upbeat ‘Cool Britannia’ style of later albums such as Parklife and Definitely Maybe.

Suede was an exercise in urban misery; ‘Sleeping Pills’, allegedly written by Anderson whilst doing voluntary work at a community centre in Highgate, features harrowing and moving lyrics combined with an ethereal tone and desperate vocals. The majority of Suede’s lyrics were influenced by personal and highly emotional experiences in Anderson’s life. ‘The Next Life’ was a lament to his lost mother, and one of the album’s most ambitious recordings, whilst ‘Breakdown’ dealt with a slide into depression. ‘So Young’ was inspired by his girlfriend’s overdose and ‘She’s Not Dead’ described the joint suicide of Anderson’s aunt and her clandestine lover. It’s hard to imagine a more personal group of songs, yet Anderson was still able to describe these events with a deeply poetic style, whilst ensuring Butler’s grand melodies weren’t overshadowed by the emotion within the lyrics.

Suede may have fulfilled the Melody Maker prophecy, yet it was Dog Man Star that showcased Suede’s soaring ambition. John Harris of NME stated that it was “surrounded by the white heat of something close to genius” and it’s easy to see why. Opener ‘Introducing the Band’ appears at first glance surreal and dark, yet it is merely the precursor for what follows. It was undoubtedly Suede’s least commercial album, far removed from the 1996 sequel Coming Up, and almost all of their contemporaries. As Anderson commented, Britpop had become "horribly twisted, a musical Carry On film" and it seems that Dog Man Star was created precisely because of this. “You could not find a less Britpop record” added Anderson, “It's tortured, epic, extremely sexual and personal. None of those things apply to Britpop”.

Anderson’s desperate plea in ‘Heroine’ seems very personal indeed, almost an acceptance of the drug problems that blighted him during this period. Ten-minute long ‘Asphalt World’ continues this theme, sounding like a rock opera and exploring the effects of ecstasy in a hazy, grandiose style. Opening single ‘We Are the Pigs’ detailed squalor and the desperation of city life as only Suede could, whilst ‘The Wild Ones’ remains one of the band’s most endearing and heartwarming songs. ‘Still Life’ is the album’s epic orchestral closer, showing the band at its most ambitious. Despite the melancholic lyrics the song has a triumphant, almost cathartic sound to it. A sublime slice of Suede in their prime, it would unfortunately never be repeated.

Whilst Dog Man Star was tragic in every sense of the word, Coming Up is Suede’s euphoric resurgence and transition into mainstream Britpop. In the words of Stephen Erlewine the album is “spiked with an invigorating sense of self-belief” and is ‘a remarkable consolidation and crystallisation of Suede’s talents”. Whilst some fans choose to ignore Coming Up in favour of the more critically acclaimed Suede and Dog Man Star, it is very much a strong sequel. It remains Suede’s most commercial album, with five singles released, ‘Trash’, ‘Beautiful Ones’, ‘Saturday Night’, ‘Lazy’ and ‘Filmstar’, all of which reached the Top Ten. It is inconceivable that the departure of Butler would have had no effect upon Suede’s fortunes yet as Erlewine states “Anderson is out to prove he is a survivor” and does so, confirming that he “was always the guiding force behind the band”. ‘By The Sea’ harks back to the stately ballads of their eponymous debut and ‘The Chemistry between us’ comments ironically on the role of drugs in Anderson’s relationships. Songs such as ‘Starcrazy’ and ‘Filmstar’ show Suede as having joined the Britpop party, yet they are still instantly recognisable thanks to Anderson’s vocals. Far from selling out Coming Up illustrates that Suede have moved on and created a separate, post-Butler identity. The swirling, dream-like quality of songs on Dog Man Star remains in ‘Picnic by the Motorway’. It seems that Suede chose to tell a different story on Coming Up. Suede was flooded with sadness and misery, Dog Man Star was grandiose and operatic, and Coming Up was simply a slice of Britpop pleasure, “about celebrating being young, going out, taking drugs, having sex, and living life”.

Coming Up was to be the last Suede album to truly represent the band’s talents, and the follow ups, Head Music in 1999 and A New Morning in 2002 were critically and commercially disappointing. There can be no doubt that Suede lost their way after Coming Up, and to all intents and purpose became a singles band. One could argue that Bernard Butler served as Suede’s quality control on the first two albums, and that without this and the sense of belief displayed by the band on Coming Up, a dip in quality was forthcoming. In spite of this the singles released from Head Music remain credible entries to Suede’s canon, especially the poignant ‘Everything Will Flow’ and the dreamy ‘She’s In Fashion’. Other releases ‘Electricity’ and ‘Can’t Get Enough’ were well received too, showing that the band was still able to produce strong singles. As for the rest of Head Music, ‘Down’ shares the intentions of ‘By The Sea’ and is a charming ballad, ‘Hi-Fi’ provides the album’s most experimental point and ‘Indian Strings’, according to Stephen Erlewine “comes close to capturing the feel” of early Suede. However the album’s weaknesses greatly outweigh its strengths, and the decline continued with A New Morning, which showed the band to be on its last legs; ‘Obsessions’ being one of few worthy parting moments.

It appears unlikely to me that Suede’s legacy will match the artistic value of their work, and in twenty years time most people will have forgotten the names of Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler. Yet I believe them to be one of the great musical partnerships in British music. Anderson the poet, providing a vivid social commentary as well as eloquently describing brutal personal memories and Butler the artist, crafting striking melodies and anthemic singles. Although Suede may be included in future greatest album polls, it will never be as well-known as the albums that surround it. Yet this is what makes the band special. Suede were never meant to be popular, to break America or to have legions on fans singing their choruses. They were always meant to inspire a select few. It’s just a shame that Anderson and Butler were unable to work together for a sufficient amount of time to live up to their full potential, and that bitter internal disputes nearly destroyed the band, and went on to cause its eventual decline.