Androgyny vs lad culture in the 1990's
But it was Suede's performance of 'Animal Nitrate' at the 1993 Brit awards that caused the most controversy and conflict between Suede and the industry that they were beginning to resent. This is where Anderson became the NME's androgynous anti-hero of indie. Suede had a great time ruffling the feathers of "500 50-year-old men in suits with their 19-year-old girlfriends". All intentions of approaching the performance professionally went out of the window as they took to the stage armed with their charity shop blouses unbuttoned to the navel whilst Anderson pirouetted around the stage savagely pouting at the "pigs" before him.
"It was great. Really enjoyed it. I thought it'd be a load of shit. The people there were pigs, though, pretty much. Yeah. They were pushing us around, it was like a farmyard. Stupid silly people. But if you were there, it was quite a thrillin' moment. You should have seen their faces when we performed."
"I thought they were joking. Serious sad cases. They had no sense of excitement about their performance at all. They were all completely relaxed. We're like chewing the paint on the walls, and they're saying: 'Oh, I'm just poppin' on stage. See you in a bit.' It was like a bleedin' Country Life outin'."
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO TURN YOU ON?