BERNARD BUTLER’S DEPARTURE from Suede is “my biggest regret in life” Brett Anderson tells MOJO this month.

The guitarist’s decision to quit the group after completing second album Dog Man Star in 1994 shocked and upset many fans, but while Suede managed to successfully continue without him – both in the immediate aftermath and since their 2010 reunion – the singer says he now believes he should have tried harder to keep their partnership alive.

“It’s probably my biggest regret in life that I didn’t try harder to salvage it,” he tells Danny Eccleston in out latest issue (March ’16 / #268), on sale now.

“It’s the stupidest thing that I will ever do, because the relationship between me and him was something special, and with all due respect to everyone I’ve worked with since it was a special partnership and we made some pretty special music,” he admits.

Anderson, the subject of this month’s MOJO Interview, explains how he failed to prevent the deterioration of the pair’s relationship following Suede’s initial success.

“At the time I didn’t know how to f***ing do it,” he says when asked if their collaboration could have been saved. “I didn’t know how to reach him. And I was sick of it, I was f***ing sick of it. The whole experience was unpleasant and part of me just couldn’t be bothered any more. It was like, For f***’s sake, if you don’t want to be in this band then don’t be in this band.”

Get the latest issue of MOJO, for the full, candid interview with Anderson, including the early days with Justine Frischmann, the band’s years of excess, their recent renaissance and much more.

Plus read MOJO’s review of new Suede album Night Thoughts now.