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"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.


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 jokingly 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 in October 1996, in an era when the top 10 consisted of an eclectic mix of pop, indie and dance music.


Reception and legacy

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote, "Like a fast-mangled
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentThe Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' commented, "The Suede resurrection continues apace with this second single from the band's brilliant '' Coming Up'' album �� Richard Oakes's crispy guitar intro sets the sordid scene, and Brett takes up the trashy torch with bum slapping gusto. As immediate and invigorating as, well, a good sniff of premium unleaded." Music writer
James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...
said in his weekly UK chart commentary, that the band’s follow up to " Trash" "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 ''
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'' gave 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 singer 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". Alex Needham of ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' was mixed, giving the song a rating of two out of five. He called it: "A jovial, if hardly life-changing, bit of fluff from the nation's favourite pop spooks ..It gains extra points for the line 'shaking their bits to the hits', but ultimately falls rather flat. The terrible truth is that Suede used to be brilliant until their old guitarist/tunesmith Bernard Butler left, and now they're just pleasantly average." 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 Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
gem that deserves much attention." In a '' Clash'' retrospective feature on ''Coming Up'', Ricky Jones called the single "a jangly pop masterpiece with one of the most melancholic sing-a-long choruses Britpop would ever produce."


Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Pedro Romhanyi, who had previously made the video for the band's third single, " Animal Nitrate" 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.


Track listings

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


Release history


References

{{Authority control 1996 songs 1996 singles Suede (band) songs Columbia Records singles 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) UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles