Monday 05/03/07 Brett Anderson @ Bush Hall, London

Brett Anderson’s final remarks as Suede front man: “See you in the next life”, were four years ago, so why the mention? Out of a 15 song set, five are Suede songs. That’s why. So despite the freedom a solo career provides in allowing him to “find his demon again” he still acknowledges the devil of the last decade. Former bandmate, bassist Matt Osman does too.

So tonight: A collective lump in the throat drops the moment he appears, momentarily stationary, the backstage door ajar, glancing out at the 350 Suedeheads. His blue pinstripe blazer, black shirt and jeans hang off his beautifully skinny frame as he leaps onto the stage.

 “Bush Hall, who’d have thought it, eh?” he asks with all the self-reflection that’s come together in this eponymous solo album. It betrays the attitude of the man, who has not lost one iota of presence; he knew he’d be back, just like the many here tonight who saw Suede in their earliest incarnation in 1992. Single ‘Love Is Dead’, out next week, is the most familiar of the solo material. Mournful yet stirring, it bemoans the absence of love in his life and in addition, the laments of “plastic people” seem all the more relevant in a sleb-ridden society.

Anderson disappears briefly midway through the main set, comes back and is greeted by silence, Seriously. No wonder he gestures appropriately. His brief absence was a demarcation in procedings, for on retaking the stage, he launches into tonight’s first Suede number, ‘By The Sea’, and then the crowd finally start switching on. Jesus.