BRETT ANDERSON and BERNARD BUTLER have spoken to each other for the first time since 1994, NME.COM can exclusively reveal.
Suede played their final gigs at the end of last year, before disbanding to work on individual projects. At the time Anderson said the split was so he could get his “demon back” after the commercial failure of last album ‘A New Morning’.
NME.COM can exclusively reveal that just days after the band’s final gig at the London Astoria, Brett and Bernard were seen out on the town in London (December 17), drinking and catching up. The pair haven’t admitted to speaking since their acrimonious split in 1994 during the recording sessions for the classic ‘Dog Man Star’.
Our source revealed: “I was in the bar in London. At around midnight Brett Anderson walked in with Bernard Butler, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. The two of them sat in a corner with a pint each and put their heads together, deep in conversation. The conversation was very friendly and it was just the two of them.”
A band source told NME.COM: “They definitely met but they’ve not spoken to each other for years. It’s early days yet. They met up and went out for an Indian meal and then some drinks. It’s important people give them space because otherwise it’ll end before it’s even started.”
It now remains to be seen if the pair got on well enough to think about going back into the studio. Butler is producing the next album by [a][/a] and is also working on a third album with David McAlmont. But the signs are good. In the past he confessed that leaving Suede was a “stupid mistake”.
He said: “I’ve fallen out with two people in my entire adult life and both were in public. When I left Suede I didn’t do it because I fell out with people. I did it because I didn’t want the producer we had to mix an album. It was a case of call my bluff. It was him or me. It was a stupid mistake. I was stupid enough to go for it. It shouldn’t have gone that far, but I had to go.”
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Butler added: “I’ve reversed one of the fall-outs and could reverse the other at any point if I saw the guy (Brett). We had a big fall out, but time’s a healer and all that stuff. I’ve worked out what I wanted in life and realised I’m not going to let that stand in my way.”
Suede will release a rarities compilation to their fanclub members this year.