"A friend first, and a manager second..." - When Ricky Gervais managed Suede

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What do Ricky gervais and suede have in common? 
Well for a while, Ricky Gervais was Suede's manager!

In 1983, while he was in his final year at the University College London, Gervais and his best friend Bill Macrae, tried their luck by forming a new wave pop duo Seona Dancing. While they did release two singles with ‘More to Lose’ and ‘Bitter Heart’ after being signed by the London Records. But despite promoting the singles on a variety of shows, the babd never got the traction they needed to become a success. 
Later, Gervais worked at the University of London Union (ULU) at the same time as Suede members were there, In order to stay in touch with his pop world dream, Gervais briefly managed the Britpop band Suede shortly before they became successful in the 1990s.
He helped them book gigs and even introduced them to their drummer, Simon Gilbert. He also passed their demo to Saul Galpharn of Nude Records, who ultimately signed them. 
Brett Anderson, the band’s frontman, in an interview with the Shortlist, answered: “Well, he was funny back then…The level of his success has been pretty stellar, but good luck to him, he’s a very charming and talented chap."

The band’s bass player Matt Osman said “When he made it on TV, I did the longest double take. He was always a really sarky bugger, he really was. I’m really glad he’s a comedian rather than a manager because he was a fucking shit manager!”

Osman also has a now famous brother, but that is a whole other story.

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