Suede (or The London Suede in the United States) were an English rock band of the 1990s and the early 2000s that helped start the Britpop musical movement. Through their several incarnations, they were able to consistently put out albums that charted well, while still holding the respect of critics. Though they never achieved great success in North America, they were considered by some to be as big in the UK in the 90s (at least in terms of popularity) as The Smiths were in the 80s, or Roxy Music in the 70s. [1] In 1993, Suede won the Mercury Prize.
[edit] (1989-1992) Early history
Suede were formed in London in 1989 by bassist Mat Osman, singer Brett Anderson and his then girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, on rhythm guitar. They soon added guitarist Bernard Butler - who was recruited through an advertisement in Melody Maker. Along with a drum machine as percussion, Suede were signed to RML Records, a label from Brighton. Comedian Ricky Gervais (who later found fame with The Office) managed the band for a brief period before they were signed to a record label.

With Mike Joyce (formerly of The Smiths) famously filling in as drummer, Suede's first record "Be My God"/"Art", was printed but never released due to a dispute with the label. The few surviving records out of a batch of 2000 are considered amongst the rarest of Suede collectibles. Simon Gilbert soon replaced the drum machine and Suede signed to Nude Records. Though still living with Anderson, Frischmann was ejected from the band around this time because of her failure to attend rehearsals while flaunting her new relationship with Damon Albarn of Blur.

The band's first single "The Drowners" was released amid an alternative media frenzy that began before Suede had released any actual music. The band was on the cover of Melody Maker, which proclaimed them as "the best new band in Britain" prior to any official release. The debut single created an enormous amount of excitement because of its sharp contrast to the dying Madchester scene and the grunge sound of the time. Suede were further distinguished from their contemporaries by Anderson's flamboyant looks and noticeably unique vocals, combined with Butler's melodic guitar playing.

Surprisingly given the amount of press exposure the band had received, "The Drowners" - featuring two strong b-sides in "My Insatiable One" (later famously covered by Morrissey in concerts) and "To The Birds" - was only a moderate hit. Success would only come with the follow-up singles "Metal Mickey" (written about Daisy Chainsaw/QueenAdreena frontwoman Katiejane Garside) and "Animal Nitrate", both of which reached the UK Top 20 on release a few months laterIn Autumn 2003, after the release of their Singles compilation album and accompanying single "Attitude", Suede played five nights at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, dedicating each night to one of their five albums and playing through an entire album a night - with B-sides and rarities as encores - in chronological order. After these shows, the band announced there would be no more projects under the Suede name for the foreseeable future - effectively announcing the end of the band.

Their last concert at London's Astoria on December 13, 2003 was a two-and-a-half hour marathon show, split into two parts (plus encore) with the first part being "songs we want to play". Brett made an announcement that "there will be another Suede album" to everyone's delight, but added "...but not yet". "See you in the next life" was their closing remark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suede_(band)