Suede

Suede (known in the United States as The London Suede) are an English rock band formed in London in 1989. The band is composed of singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Richard Oakes, bass player Mat Osman, drummer Simon Gilbert and keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Neil Codling.

In 1992, Suede were dubbed "The Best New Band in Britain" by Melody Maker, and attracted much attention from the British music press. The following year their debut album Suede went to the top of the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years. It won the Mercury Music Prize and helped foster 'Britpop' as a musical movement, though the band distanced themselves from the term. The recording sessions for their second album, Dog Man Star, were fraught with difficulty and ended with original guitarist Bernard Butler departing after confrontations with the other members. The album was completed without Butler, and the band toured the record with replacement Richard Oakes. Although a commercial disappointment at the time, the album was met with a generally enthusiastic reception on release and has over time been lauded as one of rock music's great albums. In 1994, Suede would become a component of the Britpop "big four", along with Oasis, Blur and Pulp.

In 1996, following the recruitment of keyboard player Neil Codling, Suede went on to greater commercial success with Coming Up. The album reached number one in the UK, producing five top ten singles and becoming Suede's biggest-selling album worldwide. Despite problems within the band, Suede's fourth album, Head Music (1999), was a British chart-topper. The album was promoted heavily with the band receiving considerable press coverage on its release, however the response from fans and critics was less enthusiastic than for previous records. Codling left the band in 2001, citing chronic fatigue syndrome and was replaced by Alex Lee. The band's fifth album, A New Morning (2002), the first following the collapse of Nude Records, was a commercial disappointment, and the band disbanded the following year. After much speculation Suede reformed in 2010 for a series of concerts. Three years on from their reunion gigs, Suede released their sixth album, Bloodsports. It was well received by critics and returned the band to the top ten in the UK. Their seventh album, Night Thoughts, followed in 2016 and became an even bigger critical and commercial success than its predecessor. Their eighth studio album, The Blue Hour, was released in September 2018. It became the group's first top five record since Head Music.