Stay Together (Suede song)

Last updated

"Stay Together"
Stay together song.jpg
Single by Suede
B-side
  • "The Living Dead"
  • "My Dark Star"
Released14 February 1994 (1994-02-14)
Length
  • 4:19 (edit)
  • 8:29
  • 7:26 (remastered long version)
Label Nude
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Ed Buller
Suede singles chronology
"So Young"
(1993)		"Stay Together"
(1994)		"We Are the Pigs"
(1994)

"Stay Together" is a non-album single by English band Suede, released on 14 February 1994 through Nude Records. It is the last single released while guitarist Bernard Butler was in the band, though subsequent singles from Dog Man Star feature his music. It is tied with "Trash" as the highest-charting single the band has released, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted in Ireland, peaking at No. 18.

Contents

The single was released in the United States on 26 April as a six-song extended play (EP) and was the first release by the band as the London Suede. The State-side name change was the result of a successful lawsuit brought by Suzanne deBronkart, who had already been performing and recording in the US under the name Suede. The title track and the popular B-side, "My Dark Star", were ranked Suede's third and fourth-best songs by The Guardian in 2014. [1]

Background

Following the death of Bernard Butler's father, relations within Suede started to deteriorate. Butler kept to himself on the following tour of the US, while the other band members indulged in some of the worst excesses of their career. Butler travelled to concerts by himself or on The Cranberries tour bus, rather than travel with his bandmates. This influence became prevalent as Butler later stated, "Whatever I did on Stay Together was the A to Z of the emotions I was experiencing... defiance, loss, a final sigh." [2] What was intended as a couple of days' recording stretched out to two weeks. [3] It was later revealed that the song had almost 50 tracks of recorded material on it. [4] Two versions of the song were released, the full length 8:35 version and a shorter 4:21 radio edit.

According to an entry in Simon Gilbert's diary in the biography Love and Poison , Butler objected to the lyrics in "Stay Together". The entry read: "Lyrics not to be printed on cover of single in case his mother reads it. '16 tears', obviously paedophilic!." [5] The lyrics for "The Living Dead" were also criticised by Butler. At the time he said: "I've written this really beautiful piece of music and it's a squalid song about junkies." [4]

Release and promotion

Suede first premiered the song at a four-city French tour in late 1993. [6] There were many press interviews at the time, with Brett Anderson appearing on the front cover of Vox and Sky magazines. [7] While in Scotland, The List [8] and The Scotsman [9] wrote lengthy features and interviews with the band to promote the band's Edinburgh gig at the Queen's Hall. Suede secured two performances on Top of the Pops . To promote the single the band embarked on a three-date mini-tour of Worthing, Blackpool and Edinburgh. [10]

"Stay Together" was released in the UK on 14 February 1994. [11] The single was available in four formats: 7-inch vinyl and cassette, with the short version of "Stay Together" and B-side "The Living Dead"; 12-inch single with the full version of "Stay Together" and both B-sides; and CD single featuring both versions and both B-sides. [12] The 12-inch single was issued in a limited edition (10,000) gatefold sleeve featuring a large band photo inside. [12] The April issue of Select gave away a free cassette which included a piano version of "The Living Dead", recorded at Butler's flat on a 4-track. [13] The single was released on Columbia Records ten weeks later in the US as a six-song EP 26 April 1994. [14] The EP includes the B-sides "Dolly" and "High Rising", released as part of previous UK single "So Young".

The single charted at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. [15] This was the band's highest-charting single at the time, which was later matched by 1996 single "Trash". Although Anderson is very keen to downplay the success of the single, and considers the song as a rare moment in the band's career where "hype dictated its success." [16] The single did not chart in the US, although it is considered to be the closest the band came to having a hit-single there. [17]

The promotional video for the song was filmed at Riverside Studios in London and directed by Jon Klein. In a commentary for the music video, Anderson walks out and returns after the video is over complaining about the video being filled with meaningless symbolism. [18] The band felt that scenes of Butler hanging upside down and Anderson gagged are particularly misplaced considering the song's tone. [19] During the video there are short clips of two jumpers about to fall from the roof of a tall building. There are also images of the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center in New York.

Reception and legacy

The single received largely positive response upon release. NME and Melody Maker awarded it Single of the Week. John Harris of the former called the song a "four-act, eight-minute, fantastically ostentatious song. [...] Luxuriating in the ambitious, dramatic, exhausting spell of this makes everything else sound like so much ephemera." [20] The latter's Caitlin Moran called it "wild and elegant, soft then strong, and very, very long [...] It has the scope of 'High Rising' with the pop attack of 'So Young'." [21] Tom Doyle awarded the song "Best New Single" in the 16 February issue of Smash Hits , calling it "a rock ballad of epic proportions concerning itself with the wonders of love in the grim modern world of skyscrapers and motorway paths." He called it their "best single yet" and predicted it would be the band's first No. 1 single. [22]

Martin Aston of Music Week also rated its commercial prospects, writing: "An eight-minute magnum opus, Stay Together is a medium-tempo swaggerer that builds to a frenetic climax, with even a Brett Andersen 'rap' in the middle: a perfect, alternative anthem for disaffected Valentine's Day lovers. A strong candidate for their first number one hit." [23] Writing for The Guardian , Caroline Sullivan spoke favourably of Suede's new musical direction, saying that "Suede prematurely reach the eight-minute song stage of their career. But what could have been a pretentious misjudgement turns out to be one of their brightest moves." [24] In 2012, "Stay Together" was placed at No. 3 on NME's 100 Best Tracks of the Nineties. [25] In 2015 NME also included the single in their list of 50 must-have EPs, where "Stay Together" was ranked at No. 25. [26]

In the decade after its release, the band largely disowned the song. [27] Anderson considers the single and accompanying video the worst the band has released, [28] stating, "I don't think the fuss about Stay Together was justified, I think that was just hype. [...] I just find it a bit bombastic. I don't think the lyrics are that good either. It's okay." [4] However publicist Jane Savidge suggests that Anderson "can't believe he wrote it about that girl, Anick" (Brett's girlfriend at the time), which is why he has no feelings for it. [29] However, the song has since been played live on occasion in more recent years. In September 1994, just as fellow Britpop band Oasis were gaining popularity, their lead guitarist Noel Gallagher made a comment on the song's lyrics, saying: "There's not enough humour in music. Look at Suede with all this 'together in the nuclear sky' bollocks. I'm sorry, but the Cold War is over, Brett. Let’s talk about beer and fags and lasagne instead. Even Bowie had a sense of humour. He wrote the fuckin' Laughing Gnome, didn't he?" [30]

Live performances

This was the last song ever played at a live gig with Butler, at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh, on 12 February 1994, [31] although he and Anderson performed the B-sides, "The Living Dead" and "My Dark Star" on MTV's Most Wanted the following month.[ citation needed ] After its release, "Stay Together" was never performed live and has only in recent years been performed on special occasions. The band would omit it from their set list for almost ten years when they finally played it at the five-night ICA residency in September 2003. Playing it during the encore on the final night, the band played the truncated 7-inch edit format. [32] It next featured at the three-night Brixton Academy "Classic Albums" residency in May 2011 where they performed the song on the second night. [32] Suede played the full eight-minute version of "Stay Together" as the final encore of their Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Royal Albert Hall, Sunday 30 March 2014, backed by a string and brass ensemble. [33]

Track listings

All songs were written by Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler.

Standard CD single; Australian cassette EP [34] [35] [36]

  1. "Stay Together" (edit)
  2. "The Living Dead"
  3. "My Dark Star"
  4. "Stay Together"

UK 7-inch and cassette single; European CD single [37] [38] [39]

  1. "Stay Together" (edit) – 4:19
  2. "The Living Dead" – 2:49

UK 12-inch single [40]

A1. "Stay Together"
B1. "The Living Dead"
B2. "My Dark Star"

US CD and cassette EP [41] [42]

  1. "Stay Together" (edit)
  2. "The Living Dead"
  3. "My Dark Star"
  4. "Dolly"
  5. "High Rising"
  6. "Stay Together"

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Stay Together"
RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United Kingdom14 February 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Nude [49]
Japan21 March 1994CD [50]
United States26 April 1994
  • CD
  • cassette
  • Nude
  • Columbia
 [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suede (band)</span> English rock band

Suede are an English rock band formed in London in 1989 by singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Justine Frischmann, and bass player Mat Osman. Drawing inspiration from glam rock and post-punk, Suede were dubbed "The Best New Band in Britain" by Melody Maker in 1992, and attracted much attention from the British music press. The following year their debut album Suede went to the top of the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years. It won the Mercury Music Prize and helped foster 'Britpop' as a musical movement, though the band distanced themselves from the term.

<i>Suede</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Suede

Suede is the debut album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in March 1993 on Nude Records. It was recorded in London at Master Rock studios late 1992 and early 1993 and was produced by Ed Buller. At the time the fastest-selling debut album in British history in almost a decade, Suede debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart, won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize, and is often cited as one of the first Britpop records. Displaying a sound of Britishness and glam rock, its music and lyrical content has been compared to The Smiths and early David Bowie.

<i>Dog Man Star</i> 1994 studio album by Suede

Dog Man Star is the second album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in October 1994 on Nude Records. The album was recorded in London at Master Rock studios in early 1994, and was produced by Ed Buller. It was the last Suede album to feature guitarist Bernard Butler; growing tensions between him and singer Brett Anderson ended with Butler leaving the band before recording was complete. As a result, some tracks on the album had to be finished with the assistance of session musicians.

<i>Here Come the Tears</i> 2005 studio album by The Tears

Here Come the Tears is the only studio album by English rock band the Tears. It was released on 6 June 2005 on Independiente. Frontman Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler had found success together earlier in Suede, with Butler leaving that band after just two albums. Suede's career was on pause when the two reunited for this project. In January 2004, the pair had begun recording music together in secrecy; they decided to form the Tears with bassist Nathan Fisher, drummer Makoto Sakamoto and keyboardist Will Foster. The band had accumulated 18 demos by June 2004, after which, they started recording the album. Sessions were held across various studios with Butler as the producer and finished by October 2004. Here Come the Tears is a pop album that evokes the work of David Bowie, and was compared to Suede's second studio album Dog Man Star (1994).

<i>Sci-Fi Lullabies</i> 1997 compilation album by Suede

Sci-Fi Lullabies is a two-disc compilation album by English alternative rock band Suede released by Nude Records on 6 October 1997, consisting of B-sides from the singles that were released from the group's first three albums. It reached no. 9 on the UK Albums Chart, and received universal acclaim on release. In subsequent years, the record has been hailed as one of the finest B-side compilations in popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Drowners</span> 1992 single by Suede

"The Drowners" is the debut single of English rock band Suede, released on 11 May 1992 on Nude Records. It was later included on the band's debut album, Suede (1993). "The Drowners" charted at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metal Mickey (song)</span> 1992 single by Suede

"Metal Mickey" is the second single released by English rock band Suede, issued on 14 September 1992 on Nude Records. It was included on the band's debut album, Suede, the following year. The song charted at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart, an improvement on the previous single "The Drowners", which fell short of the top 40. The song also reached the top 40 in Australia and Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal Nitrate</span> 1993 single by Suede

"Animal Nitrate" is the third single by English rock band Suede, released through Nude Records on 22 February 1993 and later included on the band's debut album Suede. It charted at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the highest-charting single from the album. The song is the band's highest-charting single in Ireland and New Zealand, peaking at No. 11 in both countries. It also debuted and peaked at No. 21 in Sweden but stayed on the chart for only two weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Are the Pigs</span> 1994 single by Suede

"We Are the Pigs" is the first single from the album Dog Man Star by British band Suede, released on 12 September 1994 through Nude Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wild Ones (song)</span> 1994 single by Suede

"The Wild Ones" is the second single from the album Dog Man Star by English rock band Suede, released on 7 November 1994 through Nude Records. The song peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number six in Iceland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Generation</span> 1995 single by Suede

"New Generation" is the third and final single from English rock band Suede's second album, Dog Man Star (1994). The song was released on 30 January 1995 through Nude Records and was the first single to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Though the title track is written by Anderson and departed guitarist Bernard Butler, Oakes contributes to "Together" and "Bentswood Boys". The single reached No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trash (Suede song)</span> 1996 single by Suede

"Trash" is the first single from English rock band Suede's third studio album, Coming Up (1996). Released on 29 July 1996 via Nude Records, "Trash" was the first single on which all the songs were written without guitarist Bernard Butler, since Richard Oakes had taken his place. The single is tied with "Stay Together" as the band's highest-charting single on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number three; however, it outsold the earlier single, thus making it their biggest-selling single. Outside the UK, the song topped the Finnish Singles Chart and reached the top five in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beautiful Ones</span> 1996 single by Suede

"Beautiful Ones" is a song by English rock band Suede, released as the second single from their third album, Coming Up (1996), on 14 October 1996 through Nude Records. The song became a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight, and reached number one in Iceland for two weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturday Night (Suede song)</span> 1997 single by Suede

"Saturday Night" is the third single from English rock band Suede's third studio album, Coming Up (1996), released on 13 January 1997 through Nude Records. The single continued the success of Suede's previous two hits by entering the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number six. Outside the UK, the song peaked at number one in Iceland, number seven in Finland, number eight in Denmark, and number 11 in Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lazy (Suede song)</span> 1997 single by Suede

"Lazy" is the fourth single from English rock band Suede's third album, Coming Up (1996). Released on 7 April 1997 through Nude Records, "Lazy" was the fourth single from the album to reach the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number nine. The song also reached the top 20 in Finland, Iceland, and Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity (Suede song)</span> 1999 single by Suede

"Electricity" is the first single from the album Head Music by Suede, released on 12 April 1999 via Nude Records. It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and in Finland and Norway. It was also a top-20 hit in Iceland, Ireland, Spain and Sweden and reached number 39 in New Zealand, becoming Suede's last charting single there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's in Fashion</span> 1999 single by Suede

"She's in Fashion" is the second single from Suede's fourth studio album, Head Music (1999). It was released on 21 June 1999 and peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, number 10 in Finland, and number 59 in Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Positivity (Suede song)</span> 2002 single by Suede

"Positivity" is the first single from the album A New Morning by Suede, released on 16 September 2002 through Epic Records. Although it received mixed reviews from critics and fans, the song became one of the band's final hit singles, reaching number one in Denmark, number 12 in Spain, number 15 in Finland and Norway, and number 16 in their native United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obsessions</span> 2002 single by Suede

"Obsessions" is the second single from English rock band Suede's fifth studio album, A New Morning (2002). It was released on 18 November 2002 through Epic Records, reaching number 29 on the UK Singles Chart and number 19 in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yes (McAlmont & Butler song)</span> 1995 single by McAlmont & Butler

"Yes" is the debut single of English music duo McAlmont & Butler, released on 15 May 1995 and later included on their debut album, The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler. The soul ballad was their first UK hit, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, and remains their most successful single, selling over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom to earn a silver sales certification. The song also charted in Ireland, reaching number 24, and in New Zealand, peaking at number 40. British magazine NME ranked the song at number 174 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Hewitt, Ben (22 October 2014). "Suede: 10 of the best". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 127.
  3. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 126.
  4. 1 2 3 Barnett 2003, p. 139.
  5. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 138.
  6. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 135.
  7. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 137.
  8. ↑ Lappin, Tom (11 February 1994). "Suede's Corner". The List. No. 220. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  9. ↑ Mabbott, Alastair (12 February 1994). "True Suede Views". The Scotsman . p. 24.
  10. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 140.
  11. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week . 12 February 1994. p. 21.
  12. 1 2 Dog Man Star 20th Anniversary box set (Book). London, United Kingdom: Demon Music Group. 2014. p. 14. SUEDEBOX005.
  13. ↑ "The Select Secret Service". Select . No. 46. April 1994. p. 5.
  14. 1 2 Rosenblum, Trudi Miller (23 April 1994). "Suede to Change Name for U.S." (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 106, no. 17. p. 14. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  16. ↑ Harris 2004, p. 168.
  17. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "London Suede". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide . Simon & Schuster. pp.  493–94. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  18. ↑ Lost in TV (DVD). London, United Kingdom: Nude Records. 2001. nude5560.
  19. ↑ "The Essential Suede > Videography". Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
  20. ↑ Harris, John (12 February 1994). "Suede: Stay Together (Nude)". NME .
  21. ↑ Moran, Caitlin (5 February 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker .
  22. ↑ Doyle, Tom (16 February 1994). "New singles". Smash Hits . No. 397.
  23. ↑ Aston, Martin (5 February 1994). "Market Preview". Music Week . p. 21.
  24. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (11 February 1994). "A bloody racket – Pop/rock". The Guardian . p. A9.
  25. ↑ Breihan, Tom (16 May 2012). "NME's 100 Best Tracks of The '90s". Stereogum . Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  26. ↑ Wright, Lisa (18 March 2015). "Small But Perfectly Formed: 50 Must-Have EPs". NME. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  27. ↑ Murphy, John (20 October 2003). "Suede – Singles". musicOMH . Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  28. ↑ "60 Seconds: Brett Anderson". Metro . 5 March 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  29. ↑ Barnett 2003, p. 138–139.
  30. ↑ Jones, Cliff (29 May 2019). "If You Don't Want to Be Bigger Than the Beatles, Then It's Just a Hobby". Guitar Magazine. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  31. ↑ Barnett 2003, pp. 141–142.
  32. 1 2 Barnett, David (2013). Suede the Biography (revised, updated ed.). London: André Deutsch. p. 160. ISBN   978-0-233-00376-4.
  33. ↑ Wright, Lisa (31 March 2014). "Suede debut new track at 'Dog Man Star' 20th anniversary show for Teenage Cancer Trust". NME . Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  34. ↑ Stay Together (UK CD single liner notes). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. NUD 9CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ↑ Stay Together (Australian CD single liner notes). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. 660135 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  36. ↑ Stay Together (Australian cassette EP sleeve). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. 660135 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  37. ↑ Stay Together (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. NUD 9S.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. ↑ Stay Together (UK cassette single sleeve). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. NUD 9MC.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  39. ↑ Stay Together (European CD single liner notes). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. NUD 660135 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  40. ↑ Stay Together (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Suede. Nude Records. 1994. NUD 9T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  41. ↑ Stay Together (US CD EP liner notes). The London Suede. Columbia Records, Nude Records. 1994. CK 64382.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  42. ↑ Stay Together (US cassette EP sleeve). The London Suede. Columbia Records, Nude Records. 1994. CT 64382.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  43. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard . 12 March 1994. p. 43. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  44. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Stay Together". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  45. ↑ "Suede – Stay Together". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  46. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  47. ↑ "Suede – Stay Together". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  48. ↑ "Årslista Singlar – År 1994" (in Swedish). Topplistan. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  49. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week . 12 February 1994. p. 21.
  50. ↑ "ステイ・トゥゲザー | スウェード" [Stay Together | Suede] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 17 January 2024.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.