B-side The Big Time Recorded 1992 | Released 22 February 1993 Length 3:27 | |
Format CD, Vinyl record (7", 12"), Genre Britpop, alternative rock, glam rock | ||
"Animal Nitrate" is the third single from the debut album by Suede released on Nude Records in 1993. It charted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the highest charting single from the album. The song was the band's highest charting single in Ireland, peaking at no. 11. The single was previewed to the nation at the 1993 Brit Awards. The song was also later nominated for Best British Single at the 1994 Brit Awards.
Contents
Background
The title of the song is a reference to the inhalant drug amyl nitrite. Chris Jones, reviewing Suede's debut album for the BBC, concurred. "Despite its punning title it’s a thrill-seeking slice of cynicism that perfectly summed up what it was like to be young and chemically imbalanced in the nation’s capital at the time". According to Suede's biography Love and Poison, the chorus's guitar part was inspired by the intro to popular BBC television series Dixon of Dock Green. The song was almost overlooked as a single; Brett Anderson was convinced "Sleeping Pills" would be the third single. He was soon overruled by Nude Records owner Saul Galpern.
Music video
The video for the title track was directed by Pedro Romhanyi. The band caused some controversy with the video when it was banned for its depiction of two men engaging in a kiss. It won the first MTV Euro Video Song Contest in 1993. The band took cocaine to prepare for the video. Anderson wanted to replicate the energy of their live shows, he explained: "We weren't experienced enough at the time to just do it on cue. I think we ended up getting a load of coke in an jumping around like lunatics. Back in the days when we used to do things like that." The video was filmed in Lisson Green housing estate in Westminster. The band reportedly used flat number 18 and paid the occupants a tenner for the inconvenience caused.
Accolades
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Animal Nitrate" at number 97 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Animal Nitrate" at number 43 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. In 2012 the same magazine placed the song at number 14 in its "100 Best Tracks of the Nineties" list. It would again recognise the song in 2014 by ranking it at number 33 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A 2010 Radio X poll of listeners, presenters and a team of experts compiled a list of the top 1000 songs of all time, where "Animal Nitrate" ranked at number 60.
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian included the song in her "10 of the best" Britpop songs. She said that "Butler’s opening riff is one of the most undeniable in pop."
Track listings
All songs written by Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler.
- "Animal Nitrate"
- "The Big Time"
- "Animal Nitrate"
- "Painted People"
- "The Big Time"
Cover versions
Basement covered the song on their 2014 EP Further Sky. Zachary Houle of PopMatters wrote that the cover "strip[ped] away all of the glam" of the original, making it "a straightforward rock anthem." Alternative Press contributor Brian Kraus considered it "faithful to the original" and the best song on the EP. He called it "a fine fit" amongst the "lighthearted moods" found on the EP. AbsolutePunk staff member Aj LaGambina thought the track "blend[ed] in as if it" was one of the band's own compositions. Punknews.org reviewer RENALDO69 called the cover "tight—knit and sharp" within the "very polished" EP.
In September 2015 The Libertines performed a live version of the song at a gig in Dublin Castle, London.