Suede probably loves us most in all the British bands that have visited Hong
Kong.
Back in 1995, in their glorious days of Dog Man Star, Suede did not ignore
the pea-sized Hong Kong market. After the worldwide success of Coming Up,
they rocked our stage again. Now with Head Music, the band has promised us a
concert date on September 28th.
In a recent phone interview with East Touch, guitarist Richard Oakes, who has
gained more than a few pounds in the past two years, says, "We love the Hong
Kong fans. They go absolutely mad in our shows." Let the screaming begins
again.
Hong Kong
East Touch (ET): Many British bands only visit Japan for their Asian Tour.
Hong Kong is very small but why Suede bothers to come here for the third
time?
Richard Oakes (RO): We love the Hong Kong fans. They go absolutely mad and
wild in our shows. We don't consider market that much. As other bands might
do. We have also played in Thailand. The most important thing is to play a
good gig and then you go on a holiday. It doesn't matter if we didn't earn
much from touring.
ET: Have you got other plans for Hong Kong?
RO: It's really a shame. We're usually here for one or two days and didn't
see much of Hong Kong. We only went to an Irish bar last time. We'd
definitely love to visit around. For promotion, I think we'll have a press
conference, and probably an autograph session. We love having fans asking for
our autographs - something that wouldn't happen to us in England. It makes us
feel like we're big stars.
The Change
ET: Suede seems to have moved towards the electronic in Head Music, when you
used to ham it up with guitar riffs. Are you worried some old fans might
leave Suede because of the change?
RO: We hope they'd understand the spirit of Suede. We don't follow certain
rules when we write music and we write for those who love Suede. Whether a
song has guitar riffs is not what we care for. If fans leave us because of
that, they don't know Suede at all.
On Being Cool
ET: Why does Suede always look so cool? Do you have a particular kind of
lifestyle?
RO: (Laughs) No, of course not. I do see a certain charm in us in photos. But
when we're on stage, we'll get all sweaty and wet like ducks.
ET: Richard, are you aware you have gained more than a few pounds these days?
RO: (Not amused) I don't know really. If you're fat, you're fat. If you're
thin, you're thin in no respects to your state of health. You couldn't
control your weight, could you?
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