Suede’s first breakthrough

Suede’s first breakthrough came with their second demo, Specially Suede, which they sent to compete in Demo Clash, a radio show on Greater London Radio hosted by DJ Gary Crowley . “Wonderful Sometimes” won Demo Clash for five consecutive Sundays in 1990, leading to a recording contract with the Brighton-based indie label RML. The song appeared on a cassette compilation in April 1990, representing Suede’s first official release. After a series of performances with an unreliable drum machine, Suede decided to recruit a full-time drummer. Justin Welch briefly filled the role, though he lasted only six weeks before joining the Crawley band Spitfire . However, he remained long enough to record two songs with the band, which were set to be released as the “Be My God”/”Art” single on RML Records. The band was dissatisfied with the result, and most of the 500 copies pressed were destroyed. Suede placed another ad seeking a replacement. To their surprise, it was answered by former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce . Ultimately, he declined the job, feeling Suede still needed to forge their own identity and that his presence might hinder them due to their similarities to the Smiths. In June 1990, Suede found a permanent drummer, Simon Gilbert , through Ricky Gervais , who initially worked in the music industry and managed the band before turning to comedy. Both worked at the University of London Union (ULU). After hearing the demo and realizing the band lacked a drummer, Gilbert asked to audition.