Each week Hit The Floor delves through the nether regions of YouTube to find the tastiest live nuggets from the bands that everyone loves, or should love anyway…
This week’s bootleg comes courtesy of Suede. At the peak of their powers having recently won the Mercury Prize for their self titled debut album and with the semaphore album ‘Dog Man Star’ on the near horizon, the band on a personal level was falling apart.
Bernard Butler was growing further and further estranged from his band mates, and in particular singer Brett Anderson, with both sides attempting to battle through to complete their 2nd album. Bernard eventually left the band after finishing his guitar parts for the album. Several urban legends about these sessions are oft repeated, including Butler whispering threats onto the overdubs and the rest of the band announcing his departure from the band by chucking his guitar into the road.
Below is the penultimate Suede show with Butler. Tense and dramatic are two words often associated with Suede gigs in general but this is something else with Butler’s guitar seemingly attempting to strangle out Brett Anderson’s vocals before going off into a different stratosphere entirely. Check out the solo on popular B-side ‘He’s Dead’ for proof.
It’s messy at times, fraught perhaps but exciting and compelling listening. Check it out below!
Setlist:
1. Pantomime Horse
2. Trashy (This Hollywood life)
3. We Are The Pigs
4. Animal Nitrate
5. Heroine
6. My Insatiable One
7. He’s Dead
8. Metal Mickey
9. Losing Myself (New Generation)
10. She’s Not Dead
11. Sleeping Pills
12. Stay Together
13. So Young
14. The Next Life *
15. My Insatiable One *
*Bonus Tracks from Jools Holland performance
