"Beautiful Ones" is the second single from the album '' Coming Up'' (1996) by

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...

, released on 14 October 1996 through

Nude Records Nude Records is an independent record label, established in August 1991 in London. The label was set up and operated by Saul Galpern, who had previously worked with artists such as Simply Red, The Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits and ...

. The song became a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight, and reached number one in Iceland for two weeks.

Background

Featuring one of new guitarist Richard Oakes' first guitar riffs, "Beautiful Ones" became one of Suede's more popular singles. The song was originally titled "Dead Leg" after bassist

Mat Osman Mathew David Osman (born 9 October 1967) is an English musician and author, best known as the bassist in the rock band Suede. Osman and singer Brett Anderson are the only remaining founding members left in Suede, and along with the drummer Si ...

threatened to give Oakes a dead leg if he was unable to write a top ten single. The song charted at number eight on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in October 1996, in an era when the top 10 consisted of an eclectic mix of pop, indie and dance music. The video for the song was directed by Pedro Romhanyi, who had previously made the video for the band's third single, "

Animal Nitrate "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 7 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the highest-charting ...

" in early 1993. The video features the band shot in black and white performing the song, intercut with quick edits of conceptual segments illustrating the song's lyrics in a literal fashion.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote that "like a fast-mangled Oasis song, The London Suede succeeded in making sounds of pop/rock that are definitely unique. The painfully true lyrics and vibrant sounds have already proved to be a hit in the U.K." Music writer James Masterton said in his weekly UK chart commentary, that the band’s follow up to "

Trash Trash may refer to: Garbage * Garbage, unwanted or undesired waste material ** Litter, material discarded in inappropriate places ** Municipal solid waste, unwanted or undesired waste material generated in a municipal environment Arts, enter ...

" "hits similar heights with a rather fine catchy melody that is by no means instant but gradually works its way into your consciousness with repeated listens." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it four out of five, adding that "the familiar strains of

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004- ...

ride over this strong single". In 2014, '' Paste'' listed the song at number 34 in its list of "The 50 Best Britpop Songs". Michael Danaher wrote: "The song is both simple and sophisticated, and it's a true Britpop gem that deserves much attention."

Track listings

All songs were written by

and Richard Oakes except where noted. UK CD1 # "Beautiful Ones" # "Young Men" # "Sound of the Streets" UK CD2 # "Beautiful Ones" # "Money" # "Sam" UK cassette single # "Beautiful Ones" # "By the Sea" (original demo) European CD single # "Beautiful Ones" # "Young Men" Japanese CD single # "Beautiful Ones" # "Sound of the Streets" # "Money" # "Sam"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Suede (band) songs 1996 singles 1996 songs Music videos directed by Pedro Romhanyi Number-one singles in Iceland Song recordings produced by Ed Buller Songs written by Brett Anderson Songs written by Richard Oakes (guitarist)