Scandinavia is our playground

So from France and Spain we're heading to the north. Suede will hit Stockholm tomorrow night. Suede were insanely popular in the Scandinavian countries. And every tour will bring them to Denmark, Sweden, Norway or Finland.

This is a cover from Swedish music magazine stereo. The interview was done early 1997, when Coming Up was still running high in the charts. The interviewer is asking them if they are rich now, after selling 800.000 copies. The album reached platinum status in Sweden. I don't speak Swedish but I guess the headline here is saying something like Brett is a megastar.

Picture by Torbjörn Gustafsson

Sexo, drogas y rock & roll

Now that sounds like a headline. "Sexo, drogas y rock&roll para los nuevos reyes de Inglaterra" claims Spanish lifestyle magazine Vanidad (Vanity) quite appropriately. We see Brett in full Coming Up mood. The interview runs over 8 pages. With some of the coolest pictures ever taken of the band. No wonder they ended up in lifestyle magazines.

As far as my knowledge of Spanish reaches, the article says that Suede had much in common with the dandy of glam David Bowie. His studied ambiguity was readapted to perfection by Brett.

Picture by Wolfgang Mustain

Paris and Spain and Vietnam

Tonight, Suede are playing the first gig of their European reunion tour in Barcelona, Spain. Spain featured in quite a few lyrics of Brett, like Europe is our playground, or Simon.

This is a Spanish biography, published in 1996 in the series Imagenes de Rock, making it number 68 of the series. It's telling the whole Suede story, and showing many rare pics, like a very young Richard, Brett with Jane Birkin of Chrissie Hynde, or even the American singer Suede of the same name. In the middle we even find a poster. To end, the three albums up till Coming Up are reviewed.

Donnez-moi la puissance

It seems impossible now, but in November 1996, now 14 years ago, Suede did a tour of France running over seven nights. They played towns like Strasbourg or Bordeaux. This issue of music magazine Magic! had Suede all over it. First we have the beautiful cover with two blue eyes staring at you. Page 2 is a full page ad for the French tour. The interview with Brett is done around themes like "Peter Saville", "USA" or "Image sophistiquée". Furthermore, there's a contest to win 20 vynil singles of Trash, and finally Coming Up is reviewed. The reviewer is comparing Suede to a cat with seven lifes.

Picture by Philippe Lévy

So young and so gone

This must be one of the purest and strongest covers Brett ever graced, looking very young. Les Inrockuptibles is one of the more serious music and film magazines of France, and it's still around. The issue is odd, because it had two different covers: the one with Brett and another one with Luke Haines of The Auteurs. They are both portrayed as being part of a nouvelle vague in 1993.

Funnily, on page 3 of this issue we find a small picture of Brett as a kid in the local football team. The 6 page interview is treating all the classic Suede themes. There's also an ad for the debut album, announcing you get the infamous French He's dead promo, together with the album.

Picture by Renaud Monfourny

Here comes His Lordship

Yes, it's true, Suede is playing Paris next Sunday. What seemed impossible a year ago, is becoming reality. Suede will play Europe again. Particularly in France Suede got a devoted fan base. Numerous cover stories are proof of this. And the French do it in style, of course. This is the October 1994 cover of Best. The pics inside are even better. Brett posing in a black suit, stretched across luxurious carpets, chaises longues and designer chairs.

In the article, Dog Man Star is proclaimed to have all the qualities to become another classic.

Strangely, Brett is foretelling the future, as he's saying he wants to engage extra musicians, maybe for keyboards…

Picture by Renan M.

Back to the future

This is a cover of Irish magazine Hot Press with the headline: "Is this the future of rock 'n' roll?" The article celebrated the release of the first album. The band made a trip to Ireland. Brett and Mat were interviewed, talking about how they wrote Breakdown or The Next Life, and contemplating on the heavy press coverage that was too much about 'Suede the phenomenon' instead of 'Suede the music'. Happily for us, we still can enjoy the many images and interviews of Suede.

The article ends with Brett getting impatient to go out shopping in the surrounding second-hand clothes shops.

Picture by Michael Quinn.

Dog Man Harp

This page is taken from the November 1994 issue of Japanese magazine Rockin' On, at the time Dog Man Star was just released. The photograph session was done for a cover feature in the 3 September 1994 issue of NME. This picture was not used in NME, but was luckily reproduced by Rockin' On. It goes well together with the Japanese writing.

Picture taken by Derek Ridgers.

The article from NME was reused as well. What is funny about it, is that is must be one of the only interviews where Suede are questioned as a three-piece, as Richard would be presented as the new guitarist only shortly later. He's mentioned in the interview as "one kid particularly impressed them; knew how to play old Suede songs better than they did."

Birth of Britpop ?

According to legend, Suede kicked of the so-called Britpop movement. Question is what this huge revival of British guitar music was all about. Looking back Suede indeed infused British pop with great guitars and a glam image. But in the top years of Britpop they had not much to do with the beer drinking lads looking like the boys next door. So no, Suede was miles away from Oasis, Shed Seven, Cast, The Bluetones, Ocean Colour Scene or whoever.

Probably, Pulp is the only band they can be compared to: 2 or 3 essential albums, and slowly fading out. Only it took Pulp many more years to be successful, and Suede probably grabbed more attention of the media.

This Select cover is supposed to be one of the triggers to start Britpop: pin-up Brett posing in front of a union jack. New bands like Suede or Saint-Etienne are seen as weapons against American grunge. Other names like Denim have now been long forgotten. Ironically in the intro of the article the auteur is saying a question like "Can I get a beer?" should never be asked again. Unluckily, only the following year the Gallagher brothers would do with a couple of boozes again…

The Suede article is portraying the band like the saviours of pop. And Brett is feeling invincible.

Picture by Neil Cooper.

Ritchie's a guitar god

So this is one of the guitar magazines that featured Richard on the cover. Inside we find a nice pic of him. Pictures taken by Andy Lane. The interview was done at the time of the release of Coming Up. Richard is talking about his influences and gear. He's saying he doesn't really like solo guitarists. Mmmm wondering if he also had Bernard in mind.

Mat Osman also has a short side article.

The shape of a cigarette

There are only a few music magazine covers that don't have Brett as the leading star. Of course, there are guitar magazines that put Richard or Bernard on the cover. This must be the only cover with Bernard while he was still in the band. Rockin'on is a Japanese magazine, that had several Suede covers. This issue shows us how skinny Bernard was! As the 10 page article is all in Japanese, I can't tell what World exclusive!! is about. Maybe he was announcing the split here, and that news only got through to Europe 2 months later. It is more probable that he's talking about the new album Dog Man Star that was recorded in Spring 1994.

The article has several other great portraits of Bernard, taken by photographer Richard Weedon.

These are the sad songs

The most serious publication about Suede up till now must be The Armchair Guide to Suede by Dave Thompson. It has remained unpublished until last year. It's a melange of the Suede story, all important gigs, performances and releases. It also analyses the influences on all the songs, and the creative process behind them. It's very well written and documented, and a must-read for every devoted fan.

Also it probably is the only Suede book that has not one picture of the band, not even on the cover! The original cover had a pic of Brett, but the final product shows us all Suede albums, and latter projects of band members on what looks like a floor carpet! That means the reader can concentrate on the content, which still is the unbelievable story of the band.

Dave Thompson wrote numerous book, especially on glam rock and big indie bands like The Cure, The Peppers or The Fall.

Japanese whispers

So this must be one of my favourite magazine covers. Like said, the Japanese were obsessed with Suede and that shows in their music magazines. This one, Music Life, has not only a Suede cover, but also an inside article running over 16 (!), yes sixteen, pages.

I'd call it one of the best portraits ever made of Brett. Photographer was Tom Sheenan, a rock music photographer.

The inside article has more portraits, studio and live pictures. The articles have probably been taken from English magazines. The last pages even feature Suede associates like Saul Galpern from Nude. The Japanese tour and discography are announced, and there are T-shirts to win.

Teenage idols

This cover comes from the Israeli magazine MAARIV FOR YOUTH, out back in April 1999. It features one of the promo pics for the Head Music campaign. Unfortunately, it looks like their heads have been squeezed a bit.

Insides, there's a 2 page article, all in Hebrew. Looks like Suede were teenage idols in Israel. The rest of the magazine is all about teenage stuff, unlike many other music magazines. Amidst loads of ads and love stories, Suede find themselves as teenage stars among the likes of Britney Spears and Geri Halliwell.

Suede went to play the country several times. Having played communist country China as well, they never took the easy way.

The last cover

Numerous have been the magazine covers Suede had. This must be one of the last ones, if not the last, unless NME is putting them on the cover soon.

Bullit Magazine had only a few issues, as the market for music magazines was dwindling down. One wonders if Q or NME can survive much longer in print.

The headline "The last Suede interview" is misleading in a way, as the interview was done just days before the shock announcement of the split, on November 6, now 7 years ago. In the interview Brett is talking about media as a necessary evil. The author, Jeremy Allen, is a fan when he concludes "Ironically, British music could use a band like Suede again." Anybody heard them? Or are they still the best band in Britain?

The first book

Several books have been published about Suede, culminating in the official biography by David Barnett in 2003. Even new books are coming out now, like the new tour book, or the lyric book.

When Suede mania was ruling the UK, this was the first book to come out. It has many great pics of the first gigs and tours. On the front we can admire Brett at his most effeminate, swaggering the stage, wearing a blouse uncovering his belly.

Picture by Cora O'Keef. Written by York Membery.

SIS alive?

Of the 34 issues of the Suede Information Service that ever emerged, only a handful have a picture of the band in action on the front or back cover. This is a picture from the HM tour. Picture taken by Karin Gleichmar.

Inside the issue the full tour is discussed and reviewed.

SIS membership included this magazine, 3 to 4 times a year, free gifts like lighters or condoms, and of course the legendary fanclub CD's. God, I still miss it.