Cool Britannia

Unless you live in the U.K. you probably have no idea who Suede is, that is unless you’re an ultra cool hipster. The thing is… without Suede there would be no Oasis, no Blur, and no Britpop.

Suede formed in 1989. The original members were Mat Osman, Brett Andersen and Justine Frischmann (later of Elastica fame). Before signing to a label the band was managed by Comedian Ricky Gervais and used a drum machine for percussion. Suede was unique because they were flamboyant and Andersen’s voice was unlike anything out there.
Their first single, “The Downers” created such frenzy because it sparked interested in something other than grunge music.

In 1993 Suede released their first, self-titled album. It featured not only “The Downers,” but “Metal Mickey” and “Animal Nitrate.” The album is the U.K.’s fastest selling debut album in history.

The next year they released their sophomore album, “Dog Man Star.” This is the last album to feature guitarist, Bernard Butler. Butler left due to tensions between him and Andersen. The album had decent success and included their singles, “We are the Pigs” and “The Wild Ones.”

The most successful album of the band was released in 1996, “Coming Up.” This album contains five top ten hits including, “Trash” and “Saturday Night.” The more pop-esque album was the first to feature new guitarist, Richard Oakes and keyboardist, Neil Codling.

1999 saw the release of “Head Music.” This album was much more electronic and had a new producer. It also featured the first song not written by Andersen, “Elephant Man.” The album hit number one on U.K. charts, but only saw mild success. Fans and critics were not very warm to it.

Suede’s final album, “A New Morning,” was released in 2002. By 2002 the public lost most interest in Suede, even if the album received great reviews from critics. Andersen admitted to NME that “A New Morning” was the first Suede album not influenced by drugs.

The band dissembled in 2003 after a short tour for “A New Morning.” The members of Suede continue to work on various solo projects.

Okay, not quite… but close enough! Belle and Sebastian fans are longing for a follow-up album to 2006’s “The Life Pursuit,” but the band is not planning on recording anytime soon. Instead, Matador is releasing a two disc compilation on November 18 featuring BBC Session performances from 1996-2001.

Track listing:

Disc One - Radio Sessions:

01 The State I Am In (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
02 Like Dylan in the Movies (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
03 Judy and the Dream of Horses (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
04 The Stars of Track and Field (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
05 I Could Be Dreaming (Mark Radcliffe session; 12/96; abbreviated version)
06 Seymour Stein (Evening Session; 07/97)
07 Lazy Line Painter Jane (Evening Session; 07/97)
08 Sleep the Clock Around (Evening Session; 07/97)
09 Slow Graffiti (Evening Session; 07/97)
10 Wrong Love (later recorded as “The Wrong Girl”) (Evening Session; 07/97)
11 Shoot the Sexual Athlete (John Peel session; 05/01)
12 The Magic of a Kind Word (John Peel session; 05/01)
13 Nothing in the Silence (John Peel session; 05/01)
14 (My Girl’s Got) Miraculous Technique (John Peel session; 05/01)

Disc Two - Live in Belfast (12/21/01):

01 Here Comes the Sun
02 There’s Too Much Love
03 The Magic of a Kind Word
04 Me and the Major
05 Wandering Alone
06 The Model
07 I’m Waiting for the Man
08 The Boy With the Arab Strap
09 The Wrong Girl
10 Dirty Dream #2
11 The Boys Are Back in Town
12 Legal Man

The original members of The Bluetones are currently on their “Expecting to Fly Reunion Tour” throughout the United Kingdom. This tour deserves special attention for the main fact it is about the fans.

Singer Mark Morriss sent out a written statement saying, “After listening to the voice of our fan base we decided that now would be a good time for us to revisit our debut album in the live ‘arena,’ the record that was where most of our audience will have first become acquainted with the band.

Our intentions is to play the album chronologically with a few extra added at the end (b-sides from the time and some of our other hits) and hopefully remind people just why they fell in love with that sweet, Bluetones sound.”

This unique tour hits only a handful of locations but is a great opportunity for the original fans… or even for fans that jumped on the bandwagon too late to experience these songs live.

Wouldn’t it be grand if more bands did this?