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Suede - Suede

"Suede's" debut album was released on March 29, 1993.


The tension between American and British artists has existed since the middle of the last century. It was a struggle for prestige between the two mighty cultures east and west of the ocean. Over the years the dominance has passed just like in a swing, from one side of the ocean to the other, one was influencing the other, affecting, changing, evolving, and pushing one another to perfection. This tension was healthy and it contributed greatly to the development of music as each side nourished and fertilized the other.


In the early 1990s, America's hand was on top. The Grunge revolution was at its peak the Alternative ruled the market and the dominance of American artists was at high. Bands from the United States dominated the charts, sales, radio, and television stations, while the British lineups, for the most part, failed to produce a strong enough alternative for the American market.


"Suede's" eponymous debut album managed to shift the weight, if only slightly, to the other side of the ocean and was one of the first albums to begin the process of tilting the cape towards Britain. Before "Oasis" and "Bush" and before the breakthrough of "Blur" and "Radiohead", it was "Suede" who kept the British embers burning, and were an alternative to American dominance.


The band's debut album soon became the UK's fastest-selling debut album in about a decade, breaking into big sales charts.


In 1993 the band won the Mercury Award for "Best Album of that year", and enjoyed great popularity in the UK, Europe, and even Japan.


The "Melody Maker" gave the band a cover photo in a magazine released on April 25, 1993, and noted in the headline: "Suede the best new band in the UK".


"Select" Magazine also gave the cover of April's issue to "Suede", and in the media, the album was presented as the hottest debut album since "Never Mind The Bollocks" by the "Sex Pistols".

(Photo: Pastdaily.com)


This album is on almost every prestigious album list, including: "Rolling Stone" Magazine's 500 Greatest All-Time Albums, an identical "NME" Magazine's List, and the Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of All Time". The list of the 250 greatest albums of all time by "Q" magazine" and the" 1001 albums you should hear before you die" list.


The band, was formed in 1989 by bassist Mat Osman, singer Brett Anderson, and his guitarist partner Justine Frischmann. They added a talented 19-year-old guitarist named Bernard Butler to its ranks in 1992, and immediately afterward became the hottest new thing in music in 1993, and garnered widespread media coverage.


Four singles were released from the album. The first to introduce the world to the band's rough and immature sound with Brett's voice slightly reminiscent of David Bowie, was "The Drowners". The single, which was released in May 1992, even before the release of the album, was a relative success on the charts, but was praised by critics when both "NME" magazine and "Melody Maker" named it "Single of the Year".


In September 1992, the band released their second single "Metal Mickey". A more rhythmic song than its predecessor, which has already proven that the band's qualities are not one-off. Guitarist Bernard Butler noted that his inspiration for writing the song was "The Shoop Shoop Song" which was re-performed in 1990 by singer Cher. As for the song's solo, Butler said he was influenced by The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" song.


About a month before the release of the album, in February 1993, the band released their third single "Animal Nitrate" and by then it was already clear to everyone that this band was going to provoke a revolution in the United Kingdom and in general. It was the single that took the highest spot among those released from the album. The title of the song refers to an inhaled drug called "Amyl Nitrite", although singer Brett Anderson said the song is more related to other drugs like ecstasy and cocaine. The idea for the song was created when Anderson went through a period in which, he said, "Drugs took the place of people." The name of the song during the recordings was "Dixon", as the guitar part in the chorus was influenced by the BBC series "Dixon of Dock Green". It is interesting to note that Anderson opposed the release of the song as a single and wanted "Sleeping Pills" in its place, but the Nude Records" manager insisted and was right.


The fourth single "So Young" was the last written for the album. It happened in the studio during the recordings and this is in contrast to the other songs on the album that were written earlier. This song was also written by Anderson about drugs, which he said were part of the lives of so many young people in London. "I sang about them because I wanted to document them, and because there seemed to be something to sing about. I hope I never did it in a blithe, stupid way. I could see lives being destroyed, I was lucky. I jumped out their balloon before it rose too high".


These four singles were the beginning of the revolution that this excellent debut album will bring about. They put "Suede" on the map and set the tone for the Britpop attack that would land on the US shortly thereafter.


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