Beautiful Ones
1996 single by Suede
title: "Beautiful Ones" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1996-singles", "1996-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)", "suede-(band)-songs", "uk-independent-singles-chart-number-one-singles"] description: "1996 single by Suede" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Ones" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1996 single by Suede ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Beautiful Ones |
| cover | Beautiful Ones.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Suede |
| album | Coming Up |
| released | |
| genre | Britpop |
| length | 3:50 |
| label | Nude |
| producer | Ed Buller |
| prev_title | Trash |
| prev_year | 1996 |
| next_title | Saturday Night |
| next_year | 1997 |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] the Suede single ::
| name = Beautiful Ones | cover = Beautiful Ones.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Suede | album = Coming Up | B-side =
- "Young Men"
- "Sound of the Streets"
- "Money"
- "Sam"
- "By the Sea" (demo) | released = | recorded = | studio = | genre = Britpop | length = 3:50 | label = Nude | writer =
- Brett Anderson
- Richard Oakes | producer = Ed Buller | prev_title = Trash | prev_year = 1996 | next_title = Saturday Night | next_year = 1997
"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 song, The London Suede succeeded in making sounds of pop/rock that are definitely unique. The painfully true lyrics and vibrant sounds have already proved to be a hit in the U.K." Kevin Courtney from The Irish Times 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 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 Music Week gave it four out of five, adding that "the familiar strains of Brett Anderson ride over this strong single". Alex Needham of Smash Hits 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 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 and Richard Oakes except where noted.
- UK CD1
- "Beautiful Ones"
- "Young Men"
- "Sound of the Streets" (Anderson)
- UK CD2
- "Beautiful Ones"
- "Money"
- "Sam" (Anderson)
- UK cassette single
- "Beautiful Ones"
- "By the Sea" (original demo) (Anderson)
- European CD single
- "Beautiful Ones"
- "Young Men"
- Japanese CD single
- "Beautiful Ones"
- "Sound of the Streets" (Anderson)
- "Money"
- "Sam" (Anderson)
Charts
Weekly charts
::data[format=table] | Chart (1996) | Peak position | Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) | Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) | UK Indie (Music Week) | |---|---|---|---|---| | 56 | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 1 | | | | | ::
Year-end charts
::data[format=table]
| Chart (1996) | Position | Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) |
|---|---|---|
| 57 | ||
| :: |
Certifications
Release history
::data[format=table]
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. | United Kingdom | Japan | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 October 1996 | Nude | ||||||
| 21 October 1996 | CD2 | ||||||
| 20 November 1996 | CD | ||||||
| 21 July 1997 | Modern rock radio | ||||||
| :: |
References
References
- Barnett, David. (23 March 2010). "Trash, You & Me: The Story Of Suede's Coming Up".
- Myers, Justin. (20 October 2016). "Flashback to 1996: Spice Girls hit Number 1 with Say You'll Be There". [[Official Charts Company]].
- Flick, Larry. (2 August 1997). "Reviews & Previews".
- Courtney, Kevin. (25 October 1996). "Bohemian Rapping Fandango". [[The Irish Times]].
- Masterton, James. (20 October 1996). "Week Ending October 26th 1996".
- (5 October 1996). "Reviews: Singles".
- Needham, Alex. (9 October 1996). "Suede: Beautiful Ones".
- Stiernberg, Bonnie. (11 June 2014). "The 50 Best Britpop Songs".
- Jones, Ricky. (6 February 2020). "With ‘Coming Up’ Suede Provided Britpop's Full Stop".
- (1996). "Beautiful Ones". [[Nude Records]].
- (1996). "Beautiful Ones". Nude Records.
- (1996). "Beautiful Ones". Nude Records.
- (1996). "Beautiful Ones". Nude Records.
- (1996). "Beautiful Ones". Nude Records.
- (9 November 1997). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
- (29 November 1996). "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (28.11. – 04.12 '96)". [[DV (newspaper).
- (9 November 1996). "Independent Singles".
- (2 January 1997). "Árslistinn 1996". Dagblaðið Vísir.
- (12 October 1996). "New Releases: Singles".
- (19 October 1996). "New Releases: Singles".
- "ビューティフル・ワンズ {{!}} スウェード". [[Oricon]].
- (19 July 1997). "Upcoming New Releases".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::