June 3, 2004 9:45

A NEW MORNING!

NME snatches the first photograph of the former Suede bandmates working together in a decade...

Here’s the picture SUEDE fans never thought possible – BRETT ANDERSON and BERNARD BUTLER reunited and working on their first new music since 1994.

NME.COM hunted down Brett and Bernard to a north London rehearsal studio where they’ve been putting together their new band. The duo have a brand new drummer and bassist, and have demoed 18 new songs for their album, due towards the end of the year.

A friend of Brett’s told NME.COM: "It’s all going well. They started writing in January and they demoed 18 songs. Rather than be called Anderson & Butler their new band will have a name but it’s not confirmed yet. They will start proper recording very soon. When they were in Suede they also were at their most creative in the studio, so everyone’s every optimistic."

NME.COM understands that the new group are in the process of talking to various record labels about a deal, and could even be planning impromptu live performances to try out the songs.

Suede were never the same after Butler quit during the recording of their classic second album ‘Dog Man Star’ in 1994. The group went on to release three more studio albums before splitting last year after their ‘A New Morning’ LP flopped. It was shortly after that NME.COM revealed Brett picked up the phone to Bernard in an attempt to get his "demon back" and find inspiration.