Synopsis
Suede perform "The Wild Ones" against the bleak, windswept landscape of Dartmoor. The video opens with frozen images before shifting to Brett Anderson walking along a deserted road, surrounded by heightened, multicolored tones. The band and several models appear in and around a Volkswagen camper van, while computer-generated effects give the clip a dreamlike, almost surreal atmosphere. Its expansive visual treatment contrasts with the song's intimate, melancholy plea for a relationship to survive.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was filmed in Dartmoor during harsh weather conditions. Members of Suede later recalled strong winds, rain, and spending around 15 hours shivering inside a Volkswagen camper van with six models.
- It was one of Suede's few genuinely expensive promotional videos, with a reported budget of around 150,000 pounds. Much of the money went toward computer-generated special effects.
- Richard Oakes appears in the video, making it his first job with Suede. He had joined the band after Bernard Butler's departure, although Butler played on the studio recording.
- Suede encountered the filmmaker behind the project during a promotional trip to New York for the MTV Video Music Awards. He had just received major attention for Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" video.
- Brett Anderson has repeatedly praised "The Wild Ones" as his favorite Suede song while expressing strong dislike for its video, feeling that the elaborate visuals do not match the emotional character of the track.
- The song was released as the second single from 1994's "Dog Man Star." The video therefore captures a transitional moment for Suede, with the recording tied to the Butler era but the visual lineup already featuring Oakes.