Peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, "Suburbia" was the band's second top 10 hit after "West End Girls",[5] and in their view it saved them from becoming a one-hit wonder.

[6] The song's primary inspiration was the 1983 Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia, and its depiction of violence and squalor in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

The music is punctuated by sounds of suburban violence, riots, and smashing glass, along with barking dogs—a motif derived from scenes in Spheeris's film.

In a 2023 interview with Classic Pop, Tennant recalled, "When we finished ["Suburbia"] with Julian Mendelsohn, I thought: 'Now, that is a hit record', and it was huge, particularly in Germany and France.

[12] The song was also a top 10 hit in other countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden, and Austria (see Charts).

A 7-inch EP in a double pack sleeve, limited to 25,000 copies, came with the standard single on one disc and a Shep Pettibone remix of "Love Comes Quickly" backed with "Jack the Lad" and the short edit "Suburbia Part 2" on the other.

The main 12-inch single has a selenium-toned portrait of Lowe wearing a striped Poshboy shirt[16] and a pair of Issey Miyake shutter sunglasses.

Tennant and Lowe are shown walking in the streets among the residents and sitting on a sofa in a house full of unpacked boxes, which represent sudden wealth and the acquisition of things that haven't been used, according to Watson.

[20] During the theatrical spectacle of the 1991 Performance Tour, "Suburbia" was staged with the duo in cages surrounded by little red houses as Tennant pretended to undergo electroshock therapy.