Suede and Manic Street Preachers show Britpop’s dynamism still burns bright

Rob FitzpatrickSat, November 7, 2026 at 1:46 PM UTC

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Suede’s Brett Anderson covered every inch of the stage, managing to be both shameless and spell-binding - Redferns/James Klug

At the O2 Arena on Friday night, Manic Street Preachers and Suede delivered a spectacular object lesson in how middle-aged bands can still be lit up by the fire and dynamism of their youth. What’s interesting is they did it so differently.

The Manics – the very definition of fiercely political autodidacts – opened this co-headlining show with dense, lyrical songs that owe as much to the melodic genius of Burt Bacharach as they do Nietzschean readings of self-responsibility. Throughout, James Dean Bradfield, their singer and guitarist, radiated a warmth and personal magnetism that made the O2 feel like a village hall.

James Dean Bradfield radiated warmth and magnetism with the Manic Street Preachers - Redferns/James Klug

The Blackwood, Caerphilly band’s songs, such as 1993’s La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) or 1992’s Little Baby Nothing, are exquisite, anthemic and powerfully inclusive pieces that lifted every voice in the room. There was a glimpse of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart before No Surface all Feeling and Nicky Wire’s head-thrown-back smile as they played 1992’s glam-rock stomper Slash ’n’ Burn was raw and affecting. They closed with If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next facing each other, huddled together on Sean Moore’s drum riser. A surprisingly moving moment.

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Bassist Nicky Wire and the Manics made the vast arena feel more like a village hall - Redferns/Jo Hale

While the Manics’ production was full of colour, Suede appeared bathed in plumes of dry ice and acres of deep black and sepia tones. Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, singer Brett Anderson – 60 next year, pop-pickers – writhed in the pencil-thin spotlights, very much a man in his element. Last year’s single Disintegrate had a Sex Pistols-by-way-of-Joy-Division grind, while Animal Nitrate – one of the defining tracks of the early 1990s – provoked a colossal singalong.

Anderson covered every inch of the stage, went down to sing with the (young) crowd at the front and fell to his knees during We Are the Pigs, managing to be both a shameless old ham and a spell-binding performer.

Anderson was in his element as Suede mixed new material with 30-year-old hits - Redferns/Jo Hale

“Welcome to Suede World,” he exclaimed before Killing of a Flash Boy’s metallic roar, like joyous Bowie fronting a frowning Bauhaus. Saturday Night was a love letter to London and the “a-------s and dear friends” you might meet there, while new song Tribe was a monumental hymn to the band’s own audience. They closed triumphantly with the 33-year-old Metal Mickey and the 30-year-old Beautiful Ones, both rich and intense and full of future promise.

“They’ve weathered well,” said a man on the way out. Haven’t they just.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”