Despite recent reports of The Specials and System of a Down reforming, it turns out another major reunion may happen first. Influential Britpop group Suede will be coming together in March for a gig at Royal Albert Hall in London (via NME). Saul Galpern, the founder of Suede’s former label, the defunct Nude Records, told NME that it is the band’s only planned show.
You might remember former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler’s interview with BBC News last year, where he disparaged other bands doing this kind of thing:
“There’s an awful lot of Britpop reunions going on at the moment and I find it embarrassing personally….I just feel uncomfortable with nostalgia.”
Evidently, his bandmates feel less uncomfortable with nostalgia, and to his credit he hasn’t changed his mind. Butler, who has been spending his time producing records for the likes of Tricky, Kate Nash, Black Kids and Duffy, will not be participating in the reunion. According to NME, the lineup will be that of late 90s Suede, featuring Brett Anderson as frontman, Mat Osman on bass, Simon Gilbert on drums, Neil Codling on keyboard, and Richard Oakes on guitar. Oakes replaced Butler in 1994 and stayed with the band until its dissolution in 2003.
The reunion is for the Roger Daltrey-patroned Teenage Cancer Trust, which has held annual concerts to raise money for young people with cancer since 2000. The organization has not announced Suede’s date, though the shows will run from March 22-30, according to its website. Depeche Mode is slated to play a show for the charity on February 17th.
