Throwback to the Southbank: This Perfect Day
Daniel Fury was at Royal Festival Hall for the Sunday evening show of the Suede Takeover.
No Queuing Anxiety
By this point, my pre-show ritual - arrive in the requisite city, mooch about for a few hours, get ready, then out the door two hours beforehand to nab a barrier spot - is well-established. But for Suede’s two shows at the Royal Festival Hall, part of the labyrinthine Southbank Centre, it’s an entirely different atmosphere.
The all-seated setup removes any queuing anxiety, and the hall is sizable enough to accommodate the assembled crowds before the doors open, allowing us all to escape from the chilly September air outside. The heavy rain earlier did briefly make me wonder if the band would change the lyrics to ‘September Rain’ but then I realised that doesn’t scan…
Written to shout along
After opener Gazelle Twin, who paired an interesting lighting scheme with vocal prowess and atmospheric electronica, the band came on. Following a similar pattern to the Autofiction tour, they opened with four high-energy songs off the new album. ‘Disintegrate’ sounds as if it was written for an audience to shout along to the chorus, which we all duly do.
'Ignore them'
During ‘Trash’ and ‘Animal Nitrate’, the raked seating gives a spectacular view of the crowd at the front, pressed against the stage, arms in the air. I was very tempted to make my way down and join them - but despite Brett’s pleas to “ignore him, ignore them!” I didn’t want to end up having an awkward encounter with security!
Smooth as butter
After ‘To The Birds’, a pair of Autofiction tunes showed the band still have a lot of love for their last album, which flows smooth as butter into the new Antidepressants songs. ‘June Rain’ offers the first ballad of the night, a beautiful spoken-word melody that builds to a crescendo, which has only grown on me since I first listened to it on a train to Liverpool.
The Sadness
Which other bands would, while promoting their latest album, bring out a never-played before B-side? It’s part of why I love Suede, the strength of their back catalogue combined with an unusual commitment to digging deep into it means at nearly every show, you’ll hear some rarity or other. In this case, it was ‘The Sadness In You, The Sadness In Me.
This kicked off one of the greatest runs of Suede songs I’ve seen, with ‘Snowblind’ and ‘Pale Snow’/’I Don’t Know How To Reach You’ being personal favourites that still had me giddy despite hearing them live before.
Much-needed Sit Down
Back in the crowd again, and this time for ‘Life Is Golden’, which in the absence of an acoustic song provides Brett with a much-needed sit down! Then it’s the ever-reliable ‘She Still Leads Me On’ and ‘Shadow Self’ - before my pick for the highlight of Antidepressants, ‘Trance State’.
It’s such a vulnerable song, with Brett singing on his knees for much of it, but it has that gigantic sound and energy that Suede are so good at. They’ve evolved just as much lyrically as they have sonically, each album feeling like a natural but distinct progression from the last.
Tinkling The Ivories
It’s piano time again, and as Neil tinkles the ivories, I find myself wondering which song this is. “I know a girl…” and the cheering that comes from the audience answers my question. As with the previous night, the second verse is sung off-mic, Brett’s hands behind his back.
Clearly audible even from my distant position, it only enhances the beauty of the piano arrangement and it’s something I hope Brett does more often - if venue acoustics allow!
And Then: The Holy Trinity
The Holy Trinity of Suede songs next, and no matter how many times I hear ‘So Young’, ‘Metal Mickey’, and ‘Beautiful Ones’, they never get old for me. They’re “bouncy” songs, which is how Brett introduces the encore: ‘The Only Way I Can Love You’.
As it ends, with Brett singing “all day long”, the bittersweetness is tempered by the knowledge of how lucky we’ve been to experience this night, and how many more nights of Suede there are to come in 2026. February feels like such a long time away…
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