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Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 02:59
by the_escapist
Suede has always been a very personal part of my life and I am certain they are to everyone here as well. Here is my story on how they have played a huge role in my growing up years and I hope others will share theirs. There aren’t many of us left so it will be nice to know that there is someone out there who feels the same way.

I’m 26 and I am from Singapore. I’m lying down on my bed in a guesthouse in London as I am writing this. This will not be the greatest essay you have read, but it’s from the heart.
My first day in Secondary school (aged 13) was daunting, I was posted to a school without any of my Primary school mates and at that age the last thing anyone wanted was to be lonely. However, I made friends with a tubby quiet kid who was sitting in the school yard alone. After talking for a bit, he took out his walkman cassette player and shared one side of his ear phones with me.

The first Suede song in my life was “Beautiful Ones” and I was blown away. Brett’s unique metallic voice, a dozen guitar parts woven into one single masterpiece and words that meant so much. Coming from a poor family, I knew I had to save up for at least a month to buy the album (I was given 50 cents a day and the album was $12).

The next day Zamri gave me a copy of the album which he had dubbed using his Cassette player at home and he wrote out the lyrics to every song. I was truly touched that someone I barely knew spent so much of time on a stranger. We remained good friends ever since.

8 months after our graduation from secondary school, Zamri passed away at the age of 17, a victim of diabetes. I was devastated, I cried and I mourned. I couldn’t even bring myself to attend his funeral, which is something I regret till this very day. 9 years have passed but the pain still lingers.

This trip to London, is the first time I’ve travelled out of Asia. I’m here with my fiancé, who is also a Suede fan, for her graduation ceremony which had happened last week. A month before we departed, we found out that Suede were having a reunion show at the Royal Albert Hall and my fiancé was ecstatic because the date coincided with our trip. I’ve had the good fortune to have watched Suede perform in Singapore thrice, but she has never been to a Suede gig so this reunion show really meant a lot to her.

The performance was spectacular and as I looked around from my seat in the grand tier, I saw so many people dancing in their seats, jumping on the stairs, hugging their loved ones. It hit me; everyone here was lost in time, that one show had given every single member of the audience an opportunity to relive their youth for one night. It didn’t matter if you were saving lives in a hospital or flipping burgers for a living because at that moment in time you were a teenager again. Everyone was equal.

Tears ran down my cheeks as I sat looking at my fiancé jump up and down in her seat. Memories and images of him began to fill my mind, but they were happy ones.

Thank you; Brett, Mat, Richard, Simon, Neil and everyone else who was there for making it a truly memorable experience. Zamri, this one’s for you old friend.

"Let's do this again in 7 years." - Brett Anderson

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 14:31
by Claudia
Thanks for sharing, it's such a beautiful story! You're lucky you were able to attend. I'm stuck here in Indonesia. However I can relate to what you said that the gig gave everyone a chance to relive their youth... I feel it even just by chatting about the gig. Cheers!

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 14:50
by Jan
Claudia wrote:to relive their youth...
maybe... but the day after you're seariously confronted with your actual age, I can guarantee you. Gee, I'm getting old.

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 15:03
by Claudia
We all are, Jan. We all are. Although I hear that Jose STILL doesn't change a bit.

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 15:25
by kats_d
Jan wrote:
Claudia wrote:to relive their youth...
maybe... but the day after you're seariously confronted with your actual age, I can guarantee you. Gee, I'm getting old.
Ha, ha, at least with Suede I have a band my own age though, so I don't feel too bad...

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 17:08
by sunshine
still so young! Jan, you saw me just before... I felt like back in 95!

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 18:13
by Brettspiel
kats_d wrote:
Jan wrote:
Claudia wrote:to relive their youth...
maybe... but the day after you're seariously confronted with your actual age, I can guarantee you. Gee, I'm getting old.
Ha, ha, at least with Suede I have a band my own age though, so I don't feel too bad...
I'm Neil's age - maybe the reason why I got so tired from the suede weejend! 8)

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 26 Mar 2010, 21:41
by disco bunny
:lol: :lol:

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 27 Mar 2010, 00:10
by sunshine
were you tired?

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 27 Mar 2010, 17:57
by mark
Just read that story and have to say was very eloquent and extremely interesting to read.... Glad you enjoyed it for yourself, fiancé and your friend who passed....

As for getting old, well if José hasn't aged and he looks the way he does now that's a scary thought!!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 27 Mar 2010, 18:52
by Valeria
Your story is really beautiful and moving, I understand exactly how you feel. I grew up in a small city in Italy and felt a bit an outcast because of my musical tastes, listening to Suede has surely helped me going through my teenage years and become the person I am now. I like lots of bands and lots of songs, but nothing's never touched my heart like Suede. As I said in another topic, rah was my first Suede gig though I've been a fan for so many years. As soon as I knew about the reunion I thought: "I have to be there, no matter what". And I was there. Finally I could see them and listen live to those songs that are so familiar to me. My boyfriend came with me and he enjoyed the gig so much though he barely knows Suede. Now here he is, whistling "Beautiful ones" and saying Suede are great...I think that's a proof of how much they can still give as band, even after 7 years.

Re: Suede, Me & a Late Friend.Listen to my story and share yours

Posted: 30 Mar 2010, 21:16
by some albino
Thank you for your personal and beautiful story

What touches me the most, is that Suede hasn't lost his universal appeal.

Last Wednesday I met people from Taiwan, Japan, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, France, Holland, Germany, even the UK!

That's the power of music, and the power of this band, to stretch beyond boundaries, age, sex, colour.