VIA PRESS RELEASE | Suede have announced details of the 30th anniversary release of Dog Man Star. Due on 4th October via Demon Music, fans can look forward to Suede’s essential second album newly mastered and presented across a range of formats including reimagined artwork and bonus tracks from the Dog Man Star era.
Dog Man Star was originally released on 10 October 1994 and has become a mainstay on all-time greatest album lists. Featuring the immortal “The Wild Ones,” the stunning “Daddy’s Speeding,” live favourite “We Are The Pigs,” the devastating “The 2 of Us,” and the orchestral heft of dramatic closer “Still Life,” Dog Man Star is unquestionably one of the most celebrated and revered studio albums. The album not only delivered on the ecstatic reception of the band’s self-titled debut and the infamous “The Best New Band In Britain” Melody Maker front cover headline—it set the bar for future generations of British bands.
30 years since its release, Dog Man Star sounds as thrilling as ever, and in reaching this milestone, deserves its story to be celebrated anew. Dog Man Star is the follow up to Suede’s era-defining self-titled 1993 debut. After that Mercury Prize winning record shot to #1 in the UK Album Chart, becoming the fastest-selling debut LP ever in the UK at that time, expectations for what Suede did next were at fever pitch. Their next single release was 1994’s “Stay Together.” The song ate up the UK singles chart peaking at #3 and leaving the NME stunned—“like most great things, it leaves you utterly silent.” The appetite for new Suede music was rabid. A new era beckoned.
Reflecting on Dog Man Star 30, bassist and founding member Mat Osman said: “Your first album is songs you’ve been playing live for a long time. Generally, it’s almost set. The songs evolved in a certain way and you’re just trying to get them down. Dog Man Star was the first time where we just said, right, what happens if you push everything further? The slow songs, we take all the drums out. If we have a big closing song, we’ll have a fucking orchestra. To start the record, let’s have something that’s on one chord, and it’s just like a mantra. The kind of band we are, how far can we take it before it breaks?”
With Dog Man Star’s release came the dawn of Suede’s triumphant second act. Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler had parted company, but at the apex of their songwriting partnership stood Dog Man Star. Vast, sweeping strings, orchestral ballads, and epic widescreen pieces intertwined with rock abrasion. Brett Anderson sang of urban anarchy, surreal, dream-like and apocalyptic visions. Intoxicating music that blew your head off. Anthems were born. Suede had created a sophomore album exuding confidence and ambition, sounds that pushed the creative envelope and offered an alternative to the British pop zeitgeist.
Critical praise abounded on the album’s release. Dog Man Star is a UK Gold certified record. But the real indicator of the sky-scraping power of Suede’s second LP lies in the reaction these songs continue to receive at the band’s live performances. Songs like “We Are the Pigs,” “New Generation,” and Dog Man Star-era B-side “Killing of a Flash Boy” remain screamed along to by fans at concerts across the world to this day.
As part of Dog Man Star 30 celebrations Suede have released the “Killing Of A Flash Boy” Dog Man Star Tour Film, one of nine rare vignettes captured on location in London and Kent in 1994 by Mike Christie, the band’s long-term visual collaborator who went on to direct and produce the acclaimed 2018 documentary film, Suede: The Insatiable Ones.
Dog Man Star 30 will be released as a new half-speed master edition pressed on 2LP 180g black vinyl, and a newly mastered 3CD edition. CD1 features the original classic album, CD2 includes the B-sides to all Dog Man Star-era single releases, and the full-length version of the non-album single “Stay Together.” CD3 includes bonus tracks from the Dog Man Star period. A highly collectable “Dinked” edition of the album will be available on 2LP, including yellow gatefold packaging, and an exclusive two sided 7” single featuring the songs “The Living Dead (Piano Version)” and “La Puissance (The Power)” on vinyl for the first time. More Dog Man Star 30 releases are soon to be announced.
Art and design for Dog Man Star 30 has been undertaken for Suede by the band’s official designer and photographer Paul Khera, reimagining the iconic original photographs taken by Joanne Leonard and selected by Brett Anderson for the album’s front and back cover. The release also includes new sleeve notes by acclaimed music journalist and biographer, Simon Price.
The announcement of Dog Man Star 30 arrives amidst a busy summer packed with live activity. Suede headlined The Big Top at the 2024 Isle of Wight Festival debuting a brand new song titled “Antidepressants,” now a fixture in the current set as the band continue to perform new material whilst on a sold out co-headline tour of the UK and Ireland with Manic Street Preachers. Opening night in Llangollen was described as “provocative and potent” by The Guardian and their Dublin concert heralded “thrilling” by The Times whilst MOJO confirmed, “Suede are operating on a different level.” The tour continues this week at London’s Alexandra Palace on 18th July, concluding at Margate’s Dreamland on 19th July. All Suede live activity is detailed at www.suede.co.uk.
Dog Man Star 30 is due for release on 4th October 2024 via Demon Music here.
