Fan Artwork
"What you do with difficult ideas is turn them into art."
- Mat Osman, Interview on 'Nail Your Novel' Blog
Artwork Competition
Our #StayAtHomeWednesday #ART event was held on 29 April 2020. We re-created our own versions of Suede singles/album artwork. Suede wanted to be involved and turned it into a competition from which the band picked their top 16, the finalists fought it out on public Twitter polls with Mikaela Rennerfelt declared as the winner for her excellent 'Metal Mickey' artwork.
Here are the 4 finalists:
Artwork by Ben Robinson
Artwork by Mikaela Rennerfelt
Artwork by Susan Smu
Artwork by Pim Harputpong
Poems Competition
In May 2020, we ran a poetry competition judged by Brett. Brett read all of our 108 poems, chose 3 winners and sent us this beautiful message:
"I’ve been living with your poems for the last few days and it’s been wonderful- they’re all so full of passion and life and light. Some funny, some heartbreaking, some jagged and broken and strange but all in their own ways humbling. It makes me proud that this community is so full of feeling and not afraid to express that feeling. In many ways you’re all winners so please don’t be disheartened if yours is not one I mention- after all I'm just one person, drawn to the kind of stuff that I’m drawn to and in no way any sort of authority on anything.
I finally narrowed it down to about ten which I thought were exceptional and in the end after much head scratching couldn’t decide between three poems in particular.
Poem 73 -The Smell Of Coffee was just so heartfelt and real, tinged with longing and regret and made all the more lovely by it’s callow charm. Poem 86 -A Tuesday Morning was simple and raw, carnal and troubled and ultimately very powerful. Poem 107 - Untitled was complex and intriguing and beautifully crafted .
Congratulations to those writers but massive congratulations to you all. Thank you for sharing them.
Brett"
Here are Brett's 3 winners and their poems:
Poem 73 by Dominique Tasso
The smell of coffee
It is not your courage, it is not your glory,
not even your cleverness, not even your beauty,
what I miss in my life since you went away
Is every morning the taste of coffee
we were sharing together, you were making for me
First i was afraid to forget you when you left me,
but it was only pride because now you are free
High in the city where the skyline stained the snow,
I’m just waiting for a sign from you to let me know,
that you keep in yourself sweet memories of me,
like my kisses on your neck, and the smell of coffee,
we were sharing together, you were making for me
Poem 86 by Benjamin Cutler
A Tuesday Morning
Awoke by crack of pigeon wing.
Hazily circle under sheets,
Lips like semaphore to my heart
Unfold like peonies. Take me.
Her body sprawled, I’m pacified
The grey woods of mind kept at bay
A pitiful sanctuary.
Poem 107 By Erin Hydrabadi
Untitled
Just like a woman
To think a compliment a threat
Just like a man
To weigh a gesture as a promise
Just like that
Space-time bends around
the heavy-handed heart
Of the pig-headed novice
But the mute night calls
Across the city streets like staves
A siren call to fly
from disguised suburban graves
To Manhattan's evening savageries
And eventually, if luck gives way to grace,
In anger to the linen
for the only form of prayer
that ever saves
"Spoon Band"
Handmade by fans in the queue - UK Coming Up 25th Anniversary Tour, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 November 2021
Videos
Visit The IOs YouTube channel for all videos
Every week since the 2020 lockdown, we've been running a Suede fan event and making videos each week.
Here's some of our fan videos:
Here are some videos from several festival events featuring contributions by members of the fan club:
Our own fan versions of some of Suede's videos. Suede own the copyrights to all songs and videos.