Suede Are Open To Persuasion

SUEDE have this week appealed for more applications for their guitar vacancy. They received "quite a few replies" to the advertisement placed in the July 23 issue of Melody Maker (below, right), but although they haven't yet auditioned anyone, they want to widen the net. Would-be Suede members should send tapes and photos to the Suede Information Service, PO Box 3431, London N1 7LW.

Suede are this week said to be "very high-spirited", following the departure of Bernard Butler. They held a party on Friday (July 29) at a venue in London, where their friends were invited to celebrate the completion of the band's eagerly awaited second album. The mixing was finished on July 26.

A spokesman said: "It's an astonishing album. It surpasses the debut easily. You could say it's trippy, poppy and very diverse.

"There's a 40-piece string orchestra on two of the tracks. They recorded 16 tracks altogether, although I don't know if they'll all make it on to the album. It hasn't been cut yet."

Meanwhile, a source close to Brett Anderson said this week of Butler's departure: "Bernard was really arrogant. He thought he was God, especially where the music was concerned." Other sources are continuing to report that Butler's next project involves former All About Eve singer Julianne Regan.