David Barnett - Suede: Love and Poison: The Authorized Biography

First published in 2003 as Suede: Love & Poison.

This revised and updated edition published 2013

by Andr Deutsch, an imprint of the Carlton Publishing Group

20 Mortimer Street

London W1T 3JW

Text copyright 2003, 2004, 2013 David Barnett

Design and layout copyright 2013 Carlton Publishing Group

The right of David Barnett to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the Publishers prior consent.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-233-00376-4

eISBN 978-1-780-12227-4

The publishers would like to thank the following sources for their kind permission to reproduce the pictures in this book: Brett Anderson, Peter Anderson, Chris Delamare, Alan Fisher, Justine Frischmann, Simon Gilbert, Phillip Williams, Iain Williams, John Cheves, Mitch Ikeda, Sam McCormick, David Fraser, Petra Lohner, Mat Isepp, Chris Lopez, Tom Sheehan, Paul Khera.

Every effort has been made to acknowledge correctly and contact the source and/or copyright holder of each picture, and the Carlton Publishing Group apologize for any unintentional errors or omissions which will be corrected in future editions of this book.

Printed in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY

Authors dedication

To Ali, Jon and Peter: See you in the next life...

Many thanks to Jeremy Allen, Roland Hall and all at Carlton, Charlie Charlton, Julianne Regan, Piotr Fijalkowski, John Moore, Les Carter, Nadine McBay, Eddie Argos, Simon Price, Gary Prosser, Ian Catskillin, Simon Quinton, Rosie Gilbey, Ian Gillis, Mark Reed, Mark Galer, Keith Top of the Pops, Rob Britton, Rob Hart, Sean McGhee, Steve Horry, Nicholas Haynes, Odile Monod, Andy Barnett, Aug Stone, Joe Daniel, Stephen Wilson, Luke Turner, Caroline Richards, Marcia Rogal Kulchar, Kas Lewis, Raquel Tellez, Chris Delamare, Chris Low, Andy Barding, Ed Buller, Dorian Cox, all members of Suede past, present and future, and all the many, many other people, some of whom wished to remain anonymous, who kindly volunteered their time, knowledge and opinions and made this a much better book than it would otherwise have been. Extra special thanks to Nikki Barnett for believing in me. Youre all stars.

THIS BOOK WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED without the enthusiasm and encouragement of Brett Anderson, whose candid and revealing interviews form the backbone of this story. Mat Osman, Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes and Alex Lee have all been similarly enlightening in providing their own individual perspectives and their frankness at times has been astonishing. Wonderful All Times. Extra special thanks must go to the former members of the band, Justine Frischmann, Mike Joyce and Neil Codling whose co-operation has gone well beyond anything I could have expected. Although Bernard Butler ultimately declined the opportunity to be give his side of the story, the meeting I had with him to discuss his concerns is hugely appreciated. While never shying away from the madness and extremity of the whole affair, I hope Ive shown some understanding of the behaviour of both sides. Offering their own illuminating insights, the key peripheral players, Peter Anderson, Alan Fisher, Jon Eydmann, Phill Savidge, Saul Galpern, Victor Aroldoss, Peter Sissons, Ricky Gervais and Tony Hoffer have been vital in untangling the web of rumour and intrigue. Equally essential on the fringes are Chris Mackay, Stewart Furini, Alison Hale, Malcolm Dunbar, Mike Smith, Sheri Friers Sam McCormick, Peter van der Velde, Ali Lush and Nathalie Fraser. For much appreciated advice and support above and below the call of duty, three hearty cheers to: Ben Lurie, Bennie Brongers, Jane Glover, Phyl Sprigg and Richard Kiernan at Interceptor, Lucia Burghi Gonzalez, Jo Reilly, Jodie Banaszkiewicz, Ricky Coffey, Penny Humphreys, Kimble Garcia, Mike Gourlay, Janet Choudry, Erol Alkan, Lucy Madison, Matty Wall, Mike Christie, Vanessa Saunders, Claire Grainger, Nadine McBay, Lucy Cane, Fraser Thomson, Mat Everitt, Anissa Mangen, Alex Croft, Sam Cunningham, Jeremy Allen, Soraya Syed, Kas Syed, Jim and Alan, Michelle Kerry, Brychan Todd, Sarah McGiven, Jaci Spode, Simon Hobart, Peter Stewart, Robert Hayden, Erin Dineen, Charlotta Waggert, Iona Ogilvie, John Brandham, Sarah Bee, Jose Contreras Ramis, Peter Crompton, Max and Jack, David Gejlemo, Claudia Pramono, John W. Lucey, Baxendale, Arse, Mark Galer, Charlie Myatt, Davis Wilkie, Goth, Jessica Appla, Martin Wallace, that bloke who mistook me for Alex James at Reading, David A Smith, the Mackays, Joanne Boyle and above all Anna Spivack, Andy, Kate, Oscar, Sam, mum and my two dads. There are undoubtedly legions of others Ive missed out to whom I can only say buy enough copies of this book to ensure a revised edition. Special mention must go to Simon Price for invaluable help in the initial interviews and conception of this project. Similarly effusive thanks to my editors Ian Gittins and Mike Flynn, Miranda Filbee and all at Andr Deutsch. And Brobdingnagian gushes of gratitude to Charlie Charlton for proving, as Gabriel pointed out, that dreams can indeed come true. Its been a blast. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Everything Will Flow.

THE LIONS SHARE OF Love & Poison, the first edition of this book, was diligently thrashed out over the long hot summer of 2003 on a diet of Stella Artois and Camel Lights. Unleashed in September of that year, just as the band were disintegrating, it was an instant critical and commercial success and quickly became part of the Suede mythos; increasingly so in recent years when copies became impossible to get hold of, exchanging hands for silly money on eBay and Amazon. Of all the many flattering reviews, the one that meant the most came from Brett Anderson in the form of a no-nonsense email: The book moved me. Nice one. xBrett. Indeed, Suedes singer was the only member of the band to request precisely zero changes to the original manuscript whatsoever, intuitively understanding that the biographys unblinking snorts-and-all candor made up for the occasionally schizophrenic nature of its prose. (Although I did once see a copy inscribed in his unmistakable hand with the message This book is crap! and Im not entirely sure he was joking). So when my publishers approached me in late 2012 about a revised edition to coincide with Suedes first new studio album in over a decade, I was initially reluctant. The book is a time capsule, capturing the mad rise, fall, rise and fall again of a cultural phenomenon from the point of view of someone who was, for much of it, in the eye of the storm. For the most part, our paths diverged and we have moved in very different circles in the ensuing ten years and the band are, quite rightly, focused 100 per cent on the future right now. If youre reading this, its likely that you know more about what the various members got up to in the interim than I do. Regarding the new edition of this book, the last thing I was interested in doing or that the band or their fans deserved was a crudely appended and then they did this cut-and-paste job cribbed from Wikipedia. I tried something similar for the paperback as part of my contractual obligation shortly after the split and, with inter-band relations at an all time low, the results were best forgotten. Now that everyone even Bernard has kissed and made up since then, it would be grubby and inappropriate for me to rake up third-hand gossip just as the band were stepping back into the merciless glare of the media spotlight. And yet ... as I flicked through the book for the first time in aeons, a torrent of trivia came flooding back and I found myself repeatedly cringing at various clangers, goofs and seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time gags. Much new information has come to light since then, while my opinion on various events has also often shifted dramatically with the wonderful benefit of hindsight. Thus the idea of annotating the original sacred text, in the form of extensive footnotes, was born. To broaden the perspective, and in order to look forwards wherever possible, I invited anecdotes, corrections and criticisms from fans and associates particularly musicians and was overwhelmed by the response. What had begun as a series of cheery asides blossomed into almost an entire parallel history of Suede. I was struck time and again by the huge amount of goodwill towards the band in 2013, often from the most unlikely sources. If ever there was a time for Suede to pull off their most difficult comeback yet, then 2013 is it. One of the most rewarding aspects of reliving those crazy years all over again was rediscovering lost gems from the bands back catalogue. If the book makes one person listen to a Suede song in a different light then Ill have deemed it a success.