Suede are re-releasing their landmark self-titled debut LP as ‘Suede30’ to mark its 30th anniversary.
To mark three decades since the release of the Mercury Music Prize-winning LP, which shot to the top of the UK album chart upon its release in 1993, fans will be able to listen to the record clearer than ever before in Dolby Atmos, thanks to the audio being newly mastered by Phil Kinrade from the original tapes and production masters, and signed off by the LP’s original producer Ed Buller.
Recalling making the record in 1992, frontman Brett Anderson, 55, said: “It was a genuinely magical time in my life and one for which I’ll always be grateful. It felt incredible being in what I thought was quite probably the most exciting band in the world at the time, making a record which felt like more than just another band making another album.”
The band are releasing a special Blu-Ray audio edition centred on a 5.1 mix and Dolby Atmos treatment created by the musician and producer Steven Wilson; a half-speed master edition pressed on 180g black vinyl; a newly mastered 2CD edition complete with B-sides, the limited edition full album picture disc with newly reimagined bespoke sleeve, and highly collectable 30th anniversary 7″ picture discs of the band’s classic first four singles, ‘The Drowners’ / ‘To The Birds’, ‘Metal Mickey’ / ‘Where The Pigs Don’t Fly’, ‘Animal Nitrate’ / ‘The Big Time’ and ‘So Young’ / ‘High Rising’, each featuring the original and striking cover artwork on the discs.
Bassist Mat Osman, also 55, added: “So, 30 years ago, this is where it all began. A mixture of the live songs that had won us a following and our first experiments in the studio. Listening back now it still has that sense of wildness, and drama, and possibility of those early days. So young and so gone, indeed!”
The 2CD Deluxe Gatefold edition of ‘Suede’ comes with nine B-sides on a second CD, along with a cover of ‘Brass in Pocket’, originally recorded for an NME covermount cassette. The two CDs are presented in brand new seven-inch deluxe gatefold packaging, with an 8-page booklet including lyrics and credits.
The original artwork of two naked women kissing courted some controversy at the time, with Brett responding in an interview with The Independent at the time: “I chose it because of the ambiguity of it, but mostly because of the beauty of it.”
All formats are available to pre-order now ahead of global release on July 7.
For Record Store Day 2023, the album’s demos are issued on vinyl for the first time in specially-commissioned sleeve artwork, created by Brett, which resembles a cassette inlay.
Meanwhile, the Brit rock legends continue their UK ‘Autofiction’ tour in support of their ninth studio album with two nights at London’s Brixton Academy on December 15 and 16.
A press release teases that “further activity” is to be “announced soon”.
The ‘Suede30’ 2CD Edition track-listing:
CD 1: SUEDE
1. So Young
2. Animal Nitrate
3. She’s Not Dead
4. Moving
5. Pantomime Horse
6. The Drowners
7. Sleeping Pills
8. Breakdown
9. Metal Mickey
10. Animal Lover
11. The Next Life
CD 2: THE B-SIDES
1. My Insatiable One
2. To The Birds
3. He’s Dead
4. Where The Pigs Don’t Fly
5. Painted People
6. The Big Time
7. High Rising
8. Dolly
9. My Insatiable One [piano version]
10. Brass In Pocket