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[ikbeneenwong]

The world of... Brett Anderson

The Telegraph, 3 March 2007

By Naomi West

The singer Brett Anderson, 39, formed the band Suede at the dawn of the 1990s. Suede’s eponymous first album won them the Mercury Music Prize in 1993. Anderson releases his first solo album on March 26, preceded by the single Love is Dead on March 12. He lives in west London.

Morning routine I set my alarm for about 8am and wake up to women singing. I have a particular playlist on my iPod that I’m constantly refining that has people like Françoise Hardy, Keren Ann, Astrud Gilberto, Bat for Lashes and Kate Bush. You want to wake up with a bit of beauty. I do love the morning, I keep writing songs about it.

Exercise routine I’ve always exercised. I used to do a lot of sport at school and was a keen runner and football player. Now I use an exercise bike, which is great because you can read at the same time. I have a sacred half hour in the morning when I’m improving my mind and my body.

Reading habits I’m an obsessive reader and read a novel a week, maybe more. Current authors I love are Michel Houellebecq, Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Kurt Vonnegut and Martin Amis. Recently I’ve discovered Daphne du Maurier. I always thought she was a granny’s author, but my sister bought me The Scapegoat for Christmas. It is a really clever book about identity and guilt and blame.

Films you love While I was writing the first Suede album, my friend Alan and I were living in a squat about two streets from where I live now and we watched Performance every night. The director, Nicolas Roeg, lives around the corner and I drink in the same pub as him. I’m not particularly star-struck by people normally, but I’ve got such respect for him and always feel a bit like a blubby little fan.

First car I first bought a car in 1999, a Mercedes, and I used to have a guy to drive me around. But I decided recently that I was going to take control of my life. Being in a band you don’t have to do anything for yourself and you end up on autopilot. So I started to learn how to drive last September and I passed my test in November. My instructor said he’d never had anyone pass it that quickly. I’ve got a silver Audi now and I enjoy driving, though I’m still quite cautious.

Favourite homecooked food I cook well enough to enjoy my own food, but it’s not going to win any awards. I cook simple things – pasta, salads, fish, Sunday roasts. I don’t mind taking time to do it, it’s a nice experience.

Best present received The Lazy Hare that my sister made and gave to me is absolutely beautiful. There’s something surreal about it, it’s slightly too fat and I like that. I’ve got a few of her things – they’re always inspired by some fable or country tale.

Oldest thing in your wardrobe I don’t have any of the crap I wore in the early 1990s any more. Everything was £1.50 from Oxfam and a bit tatty. There was a series of gigs in the early days where clothes would get torn off me. Now I have a few things I’ve worn for 10 years, a couple of nice suits. I’ve got a Gucci leather suit that I really like, and I’ve worn on stage a few times. It’s quite extreme. You’ve got to feel like you’re fabulous to wear it.

Favourite room My bedroom is beautiful, an oasis of calm. I recently had it done up, which took about a year, so it was both expensive and painful. I studied architecture so I’m quite aware of my environment. I’m a tidy person. After years and years of living in an ashtray, I now like a space to be clean.

Biggest extravagance When I bought my piano for £500 after we first started getting money from Suede records, it seemed like a huge amount of money. I’m not a piano player at all, I just tinker on it to write – I wrote By the Sea on there, and Sleeping Pills. I never had formal music lessons but my dad was an obsessive classical-music fan, the sort of guy that would go to Franz Liszt’s birthplace and bring back soil. It all seeped in.

Evening routine I always fall asleep to Brian Eno. He’s my night-time music man. I love his music. If I had to choose a record that would be the only one I listened to again, it would be Ambient 1: Music for Airports.

[ikbeneenwong]

Mat is really a mysterious person, isn't he? BA said that at the beginning, Mat would drink when everyone was drunk, but he would keep himself sober; There was an album that Mat and the producer did almost all the produce together; And BA was tired of talking to the British press for a period of time, Mat just pretended to be BA ! He's an angel lol

If there is a chance to say love ur nose to u I will say that again. And I'm gonna give you this bookmark✌️

HB TO MAT🍰

[ikbeneenwong]

Oakes was so young and had a super flat face, I just cannot reach so many details (of course, my skill is limited 😢 but I really love him). The Insatiable Ones said about the scenario when Oakes just joined suede, BA lowered his eyes, let him try the audition, and Oakes just smiled, picked up the guitar, sat down, and began to play. There were only two words in my mind: SO YOUNG. While it's rather sad that they used the term "new band," the truth is that what always strikes me about suede is the young spirit and the feeling of playing together. Oakes looked so happy, which really rubbed off on me.

HB to Oakes❤️

[ikbeneenwong]

Started listening to suede nine years ago, and the first song I heard was THE DROWNERS. Before this, I was living a life without music, now I can hardly imagine the life without music. I said to Mat that u were the beginning of my rnr life, and he replied with thats sweet. But what's really sweet is seeing you guys onstage: I've heard so many other bands in between, but when THE DROWNERS started playing, all the music I've heard before fell out of the water. I just listened to the songs and did not know much about the history within suede before, but now it is not the case. What I admire most is the young spirit in the 1990s, which is completely different from me even now, full of vitality, valuable and tearful. BA, I initially admired him for the personal style and beautiful image, and sighed after learning about BABB's past. Standing at the node of 1994, looking forward, you said that you did not know how talented u were, even if there was no condition for you to create the music, even if there were so many wonderful British pops before, there was no possibility of giving up this attempt of continuing suede; Standing at this node and looking back, I would like to believe that all people have reached their own HE, even if frustrated, dissolved, restructured, but still have the enthusiasm for the stage, in my opinion BA is very: determined. That's it. I am not a suede focused, nor a BA focused, let alone a rnr focused, but I am very grateful to BA for bringing me these happiness, so I painted him:

HB to Brett Anderson!