page_title: Suede (band)
section_title: 1994–1995: Butler's exit and Dog Man Star
hierarchical_section_title: Suede (band) / History / 1994–1995: Butler's exit and Dog Man Star
caption_attribution_description: English: Bernand Butler performing live with The Tears in 2005.
context_page_description: 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 by Melody Maker as "The Best New Band in Britain", 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.
context_section_description: In February 1994, the band released the stand-alone single "Stay Together", which became their highest charting single at the time, reaching number three in the UK. The single was backed by a collection of strong B-sides. The bombastic new sound, however, fractured the band and led to the departure of Butler. Despite the success of the single, the band has since distanced itself totally from the song, an aversion usually attributed to problems with Butler at the time. In the aftermath of "Stay Together", Anderson isolated himself in a house in Highgate and began to write songs for Suede's next album. It was at this time that Anderson isolated himself from what was dubbed the "laddish Britpop movement," which he was seen by many to have set the scene for its emergence. Bands such as Blur, Oasis and Pulp began to dominate the music scene, while Suede became more experimental and introverted. Tensions grew worse during the recording of the album when Butler criticised Anderson in a rare interview, claiming that he worked too slowly and that he was too concerned with rock stardom. Of Anderson he said, "He's not a musician at all. It's very difficult for him to get around anything that isn't ABC."
  Around this time, journalist Neil Strauss wrote that Suede were a band who were "unafraid to be out of step with its peers." However, Suede's experimentation on the second record would ultimately lead to the band's separation. The band started to record excessively lengthy songs at the behest of Butler. Osman said that he, Anderson and Gilbert often thought these tracks were the result of Butler trying to wind them up. Anderson recalled that Butler had largely recorded his parts separately from the rest of the band. This was usually done in shifts, with Anderson coming to the studio in the evenings after Butler had recorded his guitar parts during the day. The point at which tensions became unbearable was when Butler clashed with the producer Ed Buller, who he insisted should be sacked as he wanted to produce the record himself. Butler then gave Anderson an ultimatum demanding that the producer be fired or he would leave. "I called his bluff," said Anderson. Days after Butler's wedding, he returned to the studio to find he was not being allowed in and his guitars were left out on the street. According to John Harris's Britpop history, The Last Party, the final words Butler uttered to Anderson were "you're a fucking cunt." Butler left the band with a quarter of the recording still to be finished. In the first interview the band gave as a three-piece, Anderson foresaw the scenario, telling NME's Steve Sutherland: "I saw it coming two years ago. It was no shock, I don't think he ever really wanted to be in the band or anything that goes with it."
  Led by the single "We Are the Pigs", Suede's second album, Dog Man Star, finally appeared in October 1994. The album was very well-received by critics in the UK who wrote favourably of the band's new experimental direction. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number three, but slid quickly down the charts. The singles from the album charted poorly, though they are still regarded as Suede's best output, especially "The Wild Ones", which is considered by some to be Suede's best single. Reviews in the US were more mixed, with some critics comparing it unfavourably to the singles from the first album; and several labelling it as pretentious and other synonyms to that effect. Rolling Stone would describe it as "one of the most pretentious albums ever released by a major label." Nevertheless, despite not gaining mass exposure at the time, it steadily garnered a legacy throughout the decade and beyond as one of rock music's great albums. In September 1994, Suede announced that 17-year-old Richard Oakes was to be the new guitarist. After reading about Butler's departure, he had sent a demo tape to the band's fanclub. When Gilbert heard Anderson playing back the tape whilst going through audition tapes, he mistakenly believed it to be an early Suede demo. Oakes' first official duty as a member of Suede w
caption: Bernard Butler (shown here during a live performance with the Tears in 2005), left Suede in 1994 due to growing tensions between him and lead vocalist Brett Anderson, with whom he finally made amends in 2003.
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