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Suede

Sep 16, 2025 By Dom Gourlay Web Exclusive

​Suede are a force of nature. Living proof that some bands really do get better with age. Their output since returning from a seven-year hiatus in 2010 has been near flawless ever since, culminating in the band’s tenth long player (and fifth since coming back) Antidepressants, released earlier this month and awarded 9/10 on these very pages. If tonight’s show at the Royal Festival Hall acts as a celebration of both the new record and Suede’s back catalogue, their intimate set at Walthamstow’s Signature Brew forty-eight hours earlier proved to be a statement of intent. Not least that the post-reunion material stands up on its own merits. Playing a set that lasted just over forty minutes to a crowd that included members of former tour supports Desperate Journalist among its number, Suede delivered a masterclass in live performance that went above the standard album promo duties of your average band. With a setlist almost exclusively made up of songs from Antidepressants and its predecessor Autofiction bar a rousing rendition of “Outsiders” off 2016’s Night Thoughts, the oldest song played this evening. For an event billed as an album signing with an additional live set, it whets the appetite somewhat for the main event that follows over the coming weekend.

While Saturday 13th September might go down as one of London’s darkest days due to the events happening outside, inside the luxurious Royal Festival Hall tells an entirely different story altogether. Suede fans old and new congregate in the entrance hall and bars, the Southbank Centre’s ornate surroundings proving somewhat fitting to host the headliners’ three week takeover of the venue. Tonight being the second of those events, and arguably the most mouthwatering bearing in mind many have now become familiar with Antidepressants over the past week. The queue for the merch stand before the show tells its own story, stretching all the way back to the ground floor entrance from the foyer, with fans eager to be the first to snap up newly designed t-shirts, tote bags and hoodies. Being a Suede fan might not be a religion, but it isn’t far off (more of that later).

One thing Suede have always done is given new - and often unsigned bands - an opportunity to open for them at some of their biggest shows, and this evening is no different. Hotly tipped Nottingham three-piece Bloodworm - a band we’ve been championing at Under the Radar for over two years ourselves - grasp said opportunity with both hands, delivering a set that’s poised and accomplished throughout. Steeped in similar reference points to those that punctuate the aforementioned Antidepressants - The Cure (“Depths”), Bauhaus (new single “The Crown”), Banshees (“Bloodlust”) and even The Smiths (“Cemetery Dance”), Bloodworm are a minor revelation that sets the scene perfectly for what’s about to follow. All dressed in black, the trio - George Curtis (vocals/guitar), Chris Walker (bass) and Euan Stevens (drums) - ooze with a confidence and charisma way beyond their tender years that unsurprisingly, results in their own merchandise becoming “must have” items before the evening’s out.

For Suede, tonight represents an opportunity of their own to cement just how great Antidepressants really is when compared against some of the best known songs from the band’s extensive back catalogue. The opening trio of “Disintegrate”, “Dancing With The Europeans” and “Antidepressants” is as good an opening salvo as on any record released over the past two decades, and those three songs provide a rabble rousing introduction that gets the whole room on its feet where the majority remain standing for the entire duration of this evening. “Personality Disorder” continues the post-punk theme which is omnipresent throughout the last two records and is welcomed as enthusiastically as any of the bands biggest hits, which follow suit.

“Trash” and “Animal Nitrate” are received with rapturous applause culminating in the entire room singing along to every word, something that’s repeated at numerous times throughout tonight’s set. Another dozen songs are played before the band play any more of the big singles that announced their arrival in the first place, “So Young” leading into “Metal Mickey” before a tumultuous “Beautiful Ones” threatens to take the roof off the building, Brett taking his customary stroll into the audience for the second time this evening. Prior to that, 2010’s comeback single “It Starts And Ends With You” demonstrates why Suede’s return was greeted with a fanfare from the outset, while “Life Is Golden” - complete with Anderson walking into and occasionally duetting with audience members at various points - has to be the most beautiful song ever written from a father to his son. To many, being greeted and acknowledged by the singer takes on something of a religious experience as audience members scream “We love you!” while grabbing Anderson’s hands and shirt.

Backed by long time associates Richard Oakes (guitar), Neil Codling (guitar/piano), Mat Osman (bass) and Simon Gilbert (drums), each one accomplished in their craft in a way that transports these songs so exquisitely in the flesh. There’s very little if anything to criticise about tonight’s performance. As with the first part of the show, more Antidepressants numbers become intertwined with choice cuts off its predecessor. “She Still Leads Me On” and “Shadow Self” sounding like buoyant precursors to the exuberant “Sound Of The Summer” and “Criminal Ways”.

When it comes to playing the deep cuts, not many bands go deeper than Suede which means a welcome return to the set for live favourite “Killing Of A Flashboy”, the only song played tonight from the Dog Man Star era. While “Crackhead” - a song first released in 1999 as a b-side to “Everything Will Flow” makes its live debut some twenty-six years later. Meanwhile “This Time”, another b-side from 1997’s “Saturday Night” and the days of CD singles with multiple tracks across numerous formats makes a rare appearance that sees Codling on piano and Anderson sing the second verse without the microphone adding to the song’s haunting demeanour.

By the time “The Only Way I Can Love You” brings the show to a close we’re in little doubt that Suede are undeniably the finest live band on the planet at this moment in time. Untouchable in many ways, and a living embodiment that age is merely a number when it comes to musical ability and showmanship. With a full UK tour scheduled for 2026, we urge anyone reading this to grab a ticket while you still can. Because on this form Suede are simply unmissable.