"...With Christmas apporaching the band booked rehearsal time in Dave Stewart's studio in Crouch End. The sessions were relaxed and nobody thought much of it when Simon Gilbert's cousin, Neil Codling started coming down to the studio to hang out. The twenty one year old Codling had finished a three year Drama degree at Hull University and was living near to the studio and looking for auditions to attend. There was however something very appropriate about Neil's skinny, nonchalant, reptilian presence looking on as the band worked on the new songs. Brett instictively took to him and since they knew he could play a bit it seemed natural to invite him to contribute. At a run through of "By The Sea" occasional keyboardist Oakes had to play guitar, so Brett asked Neil to sit down at the piano. Immediately it was obvious that he belonged.
This guy just turned out to be this amazing all round musician," recalls Brett. "And he actually integrated himself into the band to such an extent that he started writing songs with us. He's becoming a real key member of the band who's opinion I can trust incredibly. And he's got a real brilliant overview about music. He talks about musical technicalities that don't even enter my head. So it's great."
After a Christmas break the band got back together for a fan club show at London's Hanover Grand on January 27th. The set was all new, the atmostphere was electric and to ecstatic response from the fans Brett now had an androgynous, icy, 3D pin-up backing him up on vocals and playing keyboards. Codling's cold blooded galmour acted as an aesthetic thumbs up for the band. Suddenly they were more defined, more Suede, and the less Neil actually did the more the younger kids loved it.
By the end of the year 'New Boy' had his own fanzine and was a complete hit with the teen press, introducing Suede to an audience they'd previously fought shy of.
The recording sessions for the album took place at Townhouse, Mayfair and Master Rock studios and ran through to May. Ed Buller was again producing and this time there was a genuine togetherness in the studio. As the songs racked up, crackling with energy and bursting with city joyrider euphoria the character of the new album shone through. It would be up. It would be pop..."
"...The new Suede seemed completely rejuvinated. Anderson was looking fit, lithe and healthy talking to interviewers about Neil's brown rice diet rather than any current chemical phase. Oakes and Codling had given them both a songwriting shot in the arm and a longer term youthfulness. Codling even joked vampirically that they were going to replace Mat with two 14 year old girls whose blood they could feed on to keep them young..."