Suede kick-started the Brit-pop revolution of the '90s, taking English indie pop/rock music away from the swirling layers of shoegaze and dance-pop fusions of Madchester, and reinstating such conventions of British pop as mystique and the three-minute single.
Suede kick-started the Brit-pop revolution of the '90s, taking English indie pop/rock music away from the swirling layers of shoegaze and dance-pop fusions of Madchester, and reinstating such conventions of British pop as mystique and the three-minute single. Before the band had even released a single, the U.K. weekly music press was proclaiming them the "Best New Band in Britain," but Suede managed to survive their heavy hype due to the songwriting team of vocalist Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler. Equally inspired by the glam crunch of David Bowie and the romantic bedsit pop of The Smiths, Anderson and Butler developed a sweeping, guitar-heavy sound that was darkly sensual, sexually ambiguous, melodic, and unabashedly ambitious. At the time of the release of their first single, "The Drowners," in 1992, few of their contemporaries -- whether it was British shoegazers or American grunge rockers -- had any ambitions to be old-fashioned, self-consciously controversial pop stars, and the British press and public fell hard for Suede, making their 1993 debut the fastest-selling first album in U.K. history. Butler left the band before the release of follow up album Dog Man Star. Instead of breaking up, the band soldiered on, adding new guitarist Richard Oakes and a keyboardist before returning in 1996 with Coming Up, an album that took them to the top of the British charts.
They played their final concert at the London Astoria on December 13, 2003, before going on indefinite hiatus.
In 2010, with Codling back on board, Suede reunited for several live shows beginning with a performance at the Teenage Cancer Trust show at Royal Albert Hall on March 24. This led to more shows, including a tour promoting the compilation album The Best of Suede. By 2011, the band had begun performing new songs live, and in 2012, Suede announced they were in the studio working on a new album with producer Ed Buller, who had produced the band's first three albums. In 2013, Suede released their sixth studio album and first album of all-original material since 2003, Blood Sports. Suede debuted several of the Blood Sports tracks online, including "Barriers" and "It Starts and Ends with You." The release featured a more mature perspective from Anderson, and a sound that harked back to the grand guitar pop of Suede's early work. After playing anniversary concerts celebrating Dog Man Star in 2014, Suede returned to the studio to make their seventh studio album. In September 2015, they announced the impending release of Night Thoughts. A dark, majestic album that recalled Dog Man Star, Night Thoughts saw release in late January 2016, debuting at six on the U.K. charts. Later that year, the band released a super deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Coming Up. The band spent 2017 in the studio writing and recording their eighth LP. The record -- titled The Blue Hour -- marked the first effort collaboration with producer Alan Moulder (the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails) and arrived in September 2018. The Blue Hour debuted at five in the U.K.
In 2018, the band was the subject of a documentary called Suede: The Insatiable Ones, which was directed by Mike Christie.
