The world of... Brett Anderson
The Telegraph, 3 March 2007
By Naomi West
The singer Brett Anderson, 39, formed the band Suede at the dawn of the 1990s. Suede’s eponymous first album won them the Mercury Music Prize in 1993. Anderson releases his first solo album on March 26, preceded by the single Love is Dead on March 12. He lives in west London.
Morning routine I set my alarm for about 8am and wake up to women singing. I have a particular playlist on my iPod that I’m constantly refining that has people like Françoise Hardy, Keren Ann, Astrud Gilberto, Bat for Lashes and Kate Bush. You want to wake up with a bit of beauty. I do love the morning, I keep writing songs about it.
Exercise routine I’ve always exercised. I used to do a lot of sport at school and was a keen runner and football player. Now I use an exercise bike, which is great because you can read at the same time. I have a sacred half hour in the morning when I’m improving my mind and my body.
Reading habits I’m an obsessive reader and read a novel a week, maybe more. Current authors I love are Michel Houellebecq, Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Kurt Vonnegut and Martin Amis. Recently I’ve discovered Daphne du Maurier. I always thought she was a granny’s author, but my sister bought me The Scapegoat for Christmas. It is a really clever book about identity and guilt and blame.
Films you love While I was writing the first Suede album, my friend Alan and I were living in a squat about two streets from where I live now and we watched Performance every night. The director, Nicolas Roeg, lives around the corner and I drink in the same pub as him. I’m not particularly star-struck by people normally, but I’ve got such respect for him and always feel a bit like a blubby little fan.
First car I first bought a car in 1999, a Mercedes, and I used to have a guy to drive me around. But I decided recently that I was going to take control of my life. Being in a band you don’t have to do anything for yourself and you end up on autopilot. So I started to learn how to drive last September and I passed my test in November. My instructor said he’d never had anyone pass it that quickly. I’ve got a silver Audi now and I enjoy driving, though I’m still quite cautious.
Favourite homecooked food I cook well enough to enjoy my own food, but it’s not going to win any awards. I cook simple things – pasta, salads, fish, Sunday roasts. I don’t mind taking time to do it, it’s a nice experience.
Best present received The Lazy Hare that my sister made and gave to me is absolutely beautiful. There’s something surreal about it, it’s slightly too fat and I like that. I’ve got a few of her things – they’re always inspired by some fable or country tale.
Oldest thing in your wardrobe I don’t have any of the crap I wore in the early 1990s any more. Everything was £1.50 from Oxfam and a bit tatty. There was a series of gigs in the early days where clothes would get torn off me. Now I have a few things I’ve worn for 10 years, a couple of nice suits. I’ve got a Gucci leather suit that I really like, and I’ve worn on stage a few times. It’s quite extreme. You’ve got to feel like you’re fabulous to wear it.
Favourite room My bedroom is beautiful, an oasis of calm. I recently had it done up, which took about a year, so it was both expensive and painful. I studied architecture so I’m quite aware of my environment. I’m a tidy person. After years and years of living in an ashtray, I now like a space to be clean.
Biggest extravagance When I bought my piano for £500 after we first started getting money from Suede records, it seemed like a huge amount of money. I’m not a piano player at all, I just tinker on it to write – I wrote By the Sea on there, and Sleeping Pills. I never had formal music lessons but my dad was an obsessive classical-music fan, the sort of guy that would go to Franz Liszt’s birthplace and bring back soil. It all seeped in.
Evening routine I always fall asleep to Brian Eno. He’s my night-time music man. I love his music. If I had to choose a record that would be the only one I listened to again, it would be Ambient 1: Music for Airports.