Dragon Review: Suede at G-Live

Published on: 5 Feb, 2026
Updated on: 5 Feb, 2026

Setting up the stage for Suede at GLive

By Isabelle Trubshaw

Judging by the audience, I thought I’d walked into an old-people’s home (no offence!), but as the strobe lights snapped on and Brett Anderson began to sing, the party began and no hearing-aids were required.

Last night, Suede – the former “Best New Band in Britain”– took to the G-Live stage at a punctual 8.45pm, pouring heart and sweat into a performance promoting their 10th studio album, Antidepressants.

The album’s cover art was instantly striking – angel or butcher’s shop? Ominously projected behind the band, its unsettling ambiguity paired well with the album’s themes of mortality and modern disconnection. The band members followed suit: all wearing black, bar Anderson, who stood out in white.

‘Suede’ cover art, ominously projected

Despite the album’s gothic undertones, Anderson performed with unprecedented energy and emotion, and ‘swayed’ across the stage in a style not unlike Michael Jackson. His playful performance certainly pleased the crowds packed into the front-of-stage rows, as he flung the microphone by its cord and even joined fans on the dance floor. Cheers and claps reached all the way to the back of the auditorium.

Whilst some of the album’s tracks were clearly less familiar to members of the audience, Anderson did not shy in taking an accessible approach to his performance – encouraging sing-alongs, call-and-response choruses, and clapping in unison.

Suede’s stage presence extended beyond Anderson’s performance. Carefully paired lighting – washes of white, blue, and green – complemented Richard Oak’s guitar riffs, Mat Osman’s bass, and Simon Gilbert’s drumming beats. Nevertheless, pre-show warnings of haze and strobe lighting were much appreciated, particularly during moments when startling white flares jolted the nervous system awake.

At times, the 90-minute set lost some musical subtlety, with Anderson’s vocals occasionally straining to be heard over the bass and drums. However, a welcome-shift in musical texture was gladly appreciated near the end of the night when Neil Codling accompanied Anderson singing The Wild-Ones on the piano, offering a brief moment of melody before the thump and vibration resumed.

A definite crowd-pleaser was She Still Leads Me On from 2022’s Autofiction, which drew one of the loudest responses of the night.

For those drawn to emotionally charged music, theatrical performance, and the satisfying ring of post-concert ears, Suede delivered a night that proved age has done little to dull their intensity.

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