A change of line-up , a switch in hair dye and a brand spanking new album sees the return of the Kings of Fop...
"Mat! Mat! It's not going to be another serious interview... Thank God! Come over here and be a bit stupid, will you?" Brett Anderson stops shouting and waving at his old friend and bass-playing band member, Mat Osman, and sits back down in his wicker armchair. Mat, ridiculously tall at well over six foot, lumbers across the room and sits down inbetween the two new boys, Neil Codling and Richard 'Little Dick' Oakes. "Alright" , he smiles and makes himself comfortable. "Are we ready to be interviewed? Now, remember: we don't like being interrogated. We prefer the powder-puff aproach." Three years ago, Suede were the Kings of Fop: glamorous, well-groomed, handsome in face and fine of trouser. They sang beautiful songs about paracetemol and pantomime horses, could rock like the next band and had two hugely successful albums and a stack of hit singles. Then, two years ago, they lost their guitarrist to a certain Mr McAlmont , hired Richard Oakes and all , but desappeared, allowing Oasis to take the place at the Indie throne. But now they're back with a brand new album and things are looking better than ever...
Suede kickstarted the Britpop revolution before hibernating in the pop wilderness two years ago as they plotted their return. But while they've been away, much has happened in British music - so we asked them to review the movers and shakers of the current fizzin' Top 40. Their Brief? Don't sit on the fence, fellas!
OASIS
Brett: They're alright.
Simon: They make some... records.
Mat: It's not their lifestyle but their music that's important. You don't go out and buy a
record by a band because they were sick in a swimming pool, do you?
Neil: You were sick in a swimming pool once, weren't you, Brett?
Brett: Oh, of course I wasn't... I'm not that cool.
TAKE THAT
Simon: They've split up.
Mat: It's like saying 'What do you think of Woolworths?' or something.
ANT & DEC
Simon: I like Ant & Dec. I think they're very funny.
Mat: Yeah, and I don't care if they've changed their name, I'll always call them PJ and Duncan.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Brett: We've always liked the Manics. I just find it a bit funny that the same people who
slagged them off two years ago are now lying at their feet. It's a bit condescending, isn't it?
Mat: They've always made good records, but the cool thing is that they've always done what
they wanted.
MARK MORRISON
(Talking over each other and laughing)
Simon: Brilliant!
Neil: He's our tip for the top.
Mat: Can we just suggest some other people that we like? No? Oh.
Brett: Another non-indie record that I really like is that Gabrielle song, Give me just a
little more time.
3T
Mat: Are they the ones with the rucksacks?
Neil: That's awful. They'll be so angry. They're Michael Jackson's nephews.
Simon: One of them's very pretty, and they brought rucksacks to top.
Neil: Isn't there a fat one?
Richard: Yeah, the one with bosoms.
THE PRODIGY
Simon: Firestater was a great track.
Brett: The Prodigy are one of the most brilliant live bands alive.
Mat: We played with them and they're toltally insane. At the start of the show, this bloke is rolled on inside this huge ball!
PULP
Richard: Common People was a good song.
BLUR
Brett: Roll out the barrel.
Mat: No comment.
UPSIDE DOWN
Neil: They were the ones in that documentary...
Mat: Oh yeah, when they made a teeny pop band out of...
Brett: Paper maché.
Mat: Weren't they the ones that came in kit form? The ones you never see live because they
got the scale wrong and they're only three inches high?
GEORGE MICHAEL
Mat: He exists
E17
Brett: Without a doubt, the best of those so-called tenny bands because:
a)they can write a song and , b)there's a bit of danger to them.
Mat: And they actually look like human beings.
BOYZONE
Brett: They can sing in time and in tune
ETERNAL
Brett: Eternal are really good. I like their bending harmonies.
THE BLUETONES
Brett: I like Slight Return . I haven't heard any others though.
McALMONT & BUTLER
Neil: Lambert & Butler?
Mat: I think that's a 'No comment', to be honest... (Laughs) Don't you?
SUEDE'S TIPS FOR THE TOP
Brett: We like Kula Shaker...
Simon: And Space too. They're really sweet.
Richard: And we like Strangelove.
Brett: Strangelove? Yes, we like them. Those are our tips for the top.
Richard: I like the Longpings too.
Neil: And Mark Morrison.
Mat: I like listening to Radio One in daytime - you get this mad mix of things you
wouldn't normally listen to. Do I ever throw things on the radio? No, there are very few
records I actively despise. You can learn to find something inspiring in almost
everything. (Looks around at the blank expressions) Honest!
Typed in by: Thays Hungria