Neil Codling
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| Neil Codling | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Neil John Codling |
| Born | December 5, 1973 |
| Origin | Teddington, Warwickshire, England |
| Genre(s) | British Alternative Rock (Britpop) |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards and Guitar |
| Years active | 1996 - present |
| Label(s) | SonyBMG/Columbia/Nude |
| Associated acts | Suede and Barry O'Neil |
Neil Codling (born Neil John Codling, 5 December 1973, Tiddington, Warwickshire, England) is a singer-songwriter and former keyboardist and backing vocals for the English band, Suede.
[edit] Early life
Neil Codling was raised in Stratford-upon-Avon and majored in English and Drama at Hull University.
He and former drummer of Suede, Simon Gilbert, are cousins.
[edit] Suede
Neil came to borrow a suit from Simon and just sort of stayed and hung around the studio quite frequently. They then decided to let him in the band as keyboardist and backing vocals, and he officially became one of them in the autumn of '95 to record their third album, Coming Up.
His first appearance for Suede took place in Hanover Grand, on a secret fanclub gig in January 27, 1996, while his first public performance with Suede was on September, 1996.
For their 1999 album, Head Music, his role become considerably larger within the band, co-writing many of the album's best songs. He also performed lead vocals on several Suede b-sides namely, "Digging A Hole," "Waterloo" and "Weight Of The World" and then later, played some rhythm guitar during live shows.
His entrance to Suede is often being taken cynically by the public due to his handsome looks—proving them wrong when Neil plugged away and came up with/co-wrote most of the greatest songs Suede has ever made. Even more so when he, together with Richard Oakes, gave Suede's style a touch of pop and electricity, giving birth to 2, #1 albums in the UK—Coming Up and Head Music.
His last appearance with Suede was in the Iceland Airwaves Festival in October 21, 2000. In March 23, 2001, he quit from Suede, causing shock and tears to many, due to his Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. In May 2005 he played a show featuring his musical project Barry O'Neil which is a duo comprising him and Harriet Cawley.
Subsequently, Neil has played keyboards on tour with the pop singer, Natalie Imbruglia. In April 2007, it was announced that Codling would be playing keyboards for two Brett Anderson solo gigs in Germany—the first time the pair would be re-united since he left Suede.
