Last Thursday, Suede headlined the Ally Pally Outdoor Summer Season with fellow icons Manic Street Preachers in support.
Suede’s second incarnation band has been the blueprint for returning or older bands. They’ve walked the tightrope of nostalgia and creative output with aplomb, culminating in 2023’s classic ‘Autofiction’, a brutally personal dissection of Brett Anderson’s grief for his mother. The prose of the romantics was twisted into Ian Curtis’ poetic nihilism, giving their day dot fans something new to clutch to their hearts.
With such raw pain barely in the rearview mirror, they set out on tour with fellow lifers, the Manic Street Preachers, with most expecting a more relaxed greatest hits approach. On paper, they were right.
In reality, Suede’s huge (sort of) homecoming was a piece of intense performance art. Yes, it relied heavily on the past for content, but it was delivered with artistic credulity; no one was left uttering the dreaded B word.
Osman’s throbbing bass on the opener ‘Turn Off Your Brain and Yell’ lit fire to a set that burned uncontrollably for large parts. Anderson, resplendent in his mournful-cum-disco-chic black, strode the stage like an actor stepping up to Hamlet. Steely-eyed, soft of heart, and defiant in spirit, as he decreed, “come on now and reveal yourself, and I’ll bend to you”, the vast crowd responded in kind.
The bulk of the set felt like two great sides of vinyl. Sex, drugs, and rock n roll fuelling a fire of flamboyance and righteousness. Both sides are bookended by pin-drop moments that will live forever in the hearts and minds of all who drew breath to witness. The grandiose ‘Still Life’ made its tour debut to bookend the first half of the set. As the moon drifted across the skyline, the eye was drawn to the greed of the city and then closer to London’s endless flats. Just how many were “there by the window” waiting? Wrapping up the second half was an acoustic version of ‘The Wild Ones’. Anderson and Richard Oakes stepped back at points, allowing the crowd to become a congregation rejoicing in a hymnal unison.
From the old to the new, Suede proved the adage that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Whether it’s shaking the snake-like hips to the glam roar of ‘Metal Mickey’ and ‘Trash’ or immersing himself in the bitter, venomous love of ‘The Only Way I Can Love You’, Anderson is a work of art. Backing him up is lead guitarist Oakes. His rock ‘n’ roll hedonism on Beautiful Ones and ‘New Generation’ would have stolen the stole in any other band. As a unit, they attack the potency of Anderson’s lyrics with the snarl and tenderness they deserve.
Nine years on from the release of ‘Bloodsports’, Suede have proved that musical journeys are worth traversing. From humble beginnings to 2023’s career-defining album, the people have been willing to follow and on that night at Ally Pally, Suede gave them something to follow for another generation.