Saint Etienne (band)
Encyclopedia
Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell
, Bob Stanley
and Pete Wiggs
. They are named after the French football
team AS Saint-Étienne
.
and Pete Wiggs
were childhood friends and former music journalists. They originally planned that Saint Etienne would use a variety of different lead singers, and their first album, Foxbase Alpha
features several vocalists, including Moira Lambert
and Donna Savage. However, after working with Sarah Cracknell
on "Nothing Can Stop Us
", they decided to make her the permanent vocalist, and Cracknell has written or co-written many of the band's songs.
Saint Etienne were associated with the "indie dance" genre in the early 1990s. Their typical approach was to combine sonic elements of the dance-pop
that emerged in the wake of the so-called Second Summer of Love
(e.g. samples and digitally synthesized sounds) with an emphasis on songwriting involving romantic and introspective themes more commonly associated with traditional British pop and rock music. Early work demonstrated the influence of 60s soul, 70s dub and rock as well as 80s dance music, giving them a broad palette of sounds and a reputation for eclecticism
. Years later, The Times wrote that they "deftly fused the grooviness of Swinging Sixties London
with a post-acid house
backbeat". Their first two albums, Foxbase Alpha and So Tough feature sounds chiefly associated with house music
, such as standard TR-909
drum patterns and Italo house
piano riffs mixed with original sounds, notable by the use of found dialogue, sampled from 1960s British realist cinema. Some of these earlier recordings included skits by satirist Chris Morris
.
In 1991, the band also released two singles - "7 Ways to Love" and "He Is Cola" - under the name "Cola Boy" with different singers; their explanation for publishing under a nom de plume is that the tracks were "too cheesy for Saint Etienne. We'd have been finished overnight".
During the early 1990s the group enjoyed extensive coverage in UK music weekly papers NME
and Melody Maker
and gained a reputation as purveyors of "pure pop" in the period immediately prior to the Brit-Pop explosion. So Tough reached #7 in the UK album charts. Their most popular singles of this period were "You're in a Bad Way
" and "Join Our Club
" (which reached #12 and #21 in the UK charts).
Tiger Bay
(1994) represented a change of direction: the entire album was inspired by folk music
, combined with modern electronica. Although the album reached #8 in the UK album charts, the singles performed disappointingly, with "Pale Movie
", "Like a Motorway
" and "Hug My Soul
" reaching #28, #47 and #32 in the UK charts. In a 2009 interview, Bob Stanley said that in retrospect the band "got ahead of ourselves a bit" by releasing such an uncommercial album, which "definitely could have done with a couple more obvious songs".
In 1995, they released their biggest hit single, "He's on the Phone
", a reworking of Etienne Daho
's "Weekend a Rome" that they had created for a collaborative EP with Daho entitled Reserection. It reached #11 in the UK charts.
Stanley has said that with hindsight it was "a bit stupid" that the band "didn't release another single for two and a half years". Instead, they released a compilation album, Too Young to Die
(1996), and then returned in 1998 with Good Humor
, which de-emphasized the contemporary dance music influence on their previous work, replacing it with a more traditional sound.
In 2000, they shifted toward a more atmospheric type of electronica
in 2000 with the release of Sound of Water
.
Finisterre
was released in 2002. A follow-up DVD by photographer and film maker Paul Kelly
was released on .
In November 2004, they released their first US compilation of greatest hits
, called Travel Edition 1990-2005
.
13 June 2005 saw the release of the band's new album, entitled Tales from Turnpike House
. It was preceded by a single for the track "Side Streets". A second single, "A Good Thing
", was released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2005. Early editions of the album were accompanied by a six-track sampler CD for a planned album of children's songs entitled Up the Wooden Hills.
After years floating around various record labels, the band came back to original label Heavenly
for their 2009 career retrospective, London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne
. The album contained two singles, a reworked "Burnt Out Car
" and new track, the Richard X-produced "Method of Modern Love
". The album also contained as a third "new" track, a remix by Richard X of the previously vinyl-only "This is Tomorrow".
. The song was also covered by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods and by Candlewick Green
, a winning act on the UK talent show Opportunity Knocks. Saint Etienne recorded it as a duet with Debsey Wykes, former singer of Dolly Mixture.
In 1993, the band collaborated with Kylie Minogue
for two songs: a cover of "Nothing Can Stop Us" (intended at the time to be her first single release for her new label) and "When Are You Coming Home" (unreleased).
Also in 1993, the Xmas 93 EP featured Tim Burgess from The Charlatans on the lead track "I Was Born on Christmas Day."
In 1995, the band co-recorded the Reserection
EP with French pop star Étienne Daho
; later, they also worked on his album Eden and single "Le Premier Jour."
For the band's first greatest hits compilation, Too Young to Die (1995), Eurodance
producer Steve Rodway
reworked the track "Accident" from the Reserection EP, producing the renamed single "He's on the Phone
." The single, co-credited to Daho, gained the singer additional exposure to English-speaking audiences.
Rodway's co-producer Brian Higgins
produced the band's following single, "Burnt Out Car," released in 1996.
In 2000, the band crossed genres by working with trance producer and DJ Paul van Dyk
, resulting in the single "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)
", with vocals by Cracknell.
The 2005 album Tales from Turnpike House features David Essex
as a guest vocalist. Several tracks on the album were co-written and co-produced by Brian Higgins' songwriting production team, Xenomania
.
Sarah Cracknell has collaborated with Marc Almond
on his single "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" for his album Stardom Road.
In addition to the Richard X collaboration on the This is Tomorrow/Method of Modern Love
single, 2009 also saw the limited release of Foxbase Beta, the producer's reworking of the band's debut album Foxbase Alpha
.
The Misadventures of Margaret, starring Parker Posey
. After the soundtrack was completed, the film's producers opted to replace it with a more 'conventional' soundtrack, although a number of tracks can still be heard in the background of the film's final version and Saint Etienne received top "Original Music" credit on the film. The band also recorded a duet by Cracknell and Posey titled 'Secret Love' for the soundtrack, but due to legal entanglements it has never been released.
"We're in the City" from the Places to Visit
EP is featured in Jamie Babbit's 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader
.
The band has also stepped out from behind their instruments and microphone stands to produce films, including two documenting the landscape of the city of London: Finisterre (2002) inspired by the 1967 short film The London Nobody Knows, and What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day? (2005), which has a more specific focus on the dilapidation of the Lower Lea Valley
. The band have produced a new film, This Is Tomorrow, in their new capacity as artists-in-residence at the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall
in London, telling the story of the Hall's first 50 years. This Is Tomorrow premiered on as part of the RFH's opening season with the band performing the film's soundtrack live. All three films were directed by filmmaker and long-time collaborator Paul Kelly
who, over the years, has directed a number of the band's music videos and provided artwork for many of their releases.
"A Good Thing" is featured both in Pedro Almodóvar
's award-winning 2006 Spanish film Volver
and in the Grey's Anatomy
episode titled "Tell Me Sweet Little Lies," the fourteenth episode of season 2 in 2006.
Their song "Hobart Paving
," with slightly altered lyrics (eliminating the title reference in favor of "Catch Me"), was covered for the soundtrack of the film Bandits
(1997), and was an integral part of the soundtrack album (one of two promotional videos released for the soundtrack was for the song) which became the best-selling soundtrack album to a European film soon after release; actor-singer-guitarist Jasmin Tabatabai
still performs that version in concert.
They have recently recorded the theme song and incidental music for Maryoku Yummy, a children's television show currently showing on The Hub
.
Sarah Cracknell
Sarah Cracknell is an English pop singer who fronts the band Saint Etienne and is known for her light, smooth singing voice. She is the daughter of Stanley Kubrick's first assistant director Derek Cracknell.-Career:...
, Bob Stanley
Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne)
Bob Stanley is a UK musician, film producer and journalist.-Saint Etienne:Stanley is best known as a member of the pop/dance group Saint Etienne for which he co-writes songs and produces...
and Pete Wiggs
Pete Wiggs
Pete Wiggs is an English musician and DJ.-Saint Etienne:Pete Wiggs is a member of the pop/dance group Saint Etienne for which he co-writes songs, produces and plays keyboards on stage...
. They are named after the French football
Football in France
Football is the most popular sport in France. The Fédération Française de Football is the national governing bodyand is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of association football in the country, both professional and amateur...
team AS Saint-Étienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...
.
History
Bob StanleyBob Stanley (Saint Etienne)
Bob Stanley is a UK musician, film producer and journalist.-Saint Etienne:Stanley is best known as a member of the pop/dance group Saint Etienne for which he co-writes songs and produces...
and Pete Wiggs
Pete Wiggs
Pete Wiggs is an English musician and DJ.-Saint Etienne:Pete Wiggs is a member of the pop/dance group Saint Etienne for which he co-writes songs, produces and plays keyboards on stage...
were childhood friends and former music journalists. They originally planned that Saint Etienne would use a variety of different lead singers, and their first album, Foxbase Alpha
Foxbase Alpha
- CD: Warner / 9-26793-2 :2009 release- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP1CDDE :- Credits :The liner notes list the album's personnel as follows:* Sarah Cracknell - vocals.* Bob Stanley - Roland Jupiter 4, Korg M1, tambourine...
features several vocalists, including Moira Lambert
Moira Lambert
Moira Lambert is a UK recording artist.She has collaborated with St Etienne on the Neil Young cover "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" . Polygram gave her a publishing deal and UK independent label Big Cat Records signed Moira as a teenager...
and Donna Savage. However, after working with Sarah Cracknell
Sarah Cracknell
Sarah Cracknell is an English pop singer who fronts the band Saint Etienne and is known for her light, smooth singing voice. She is the daughter of Stanley Kubrick's first assistant director Derek Cracknell.-Career:...
on "Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us
Nothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.-Concept:Consisting primarily of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early '80s, it only contains one Wyatt composition...
", they decided to make her the permanent vocalist, and Cracknell has written or co-written many of the band's songs.
Saint Etienne were associated with the "indie dance" genre in the early 1990s. Their typical approach was to combine sonic elements of the dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
that emerged in the wake of the so-called Second Summer of Love
Second Summer of Love
The Second Summer of Love is a name given to the period in 1988-89 in Britain, during the rise of acid house music and the euphoric explosion of unlicensed MDMA -fuelled rave parties...
(e.g. samples and digitally synthesized sounds) with an emphasis on songwriting involving romantic and introspective themes more commonly associated with traditional British pop and rock music. Early work demonstrated the influence of 60s soul, 70s dub and rock as well as 80s dance music, giving them a broad palette of sounds and a reputation for eclecticism
Eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.It can sometimes seem inelegant or...
. Years later, The Times wrote that they "deftly fused the grooviness of Swinging Sixties London
Swinging London
Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
with a post-acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
backbeat". Their first two albums, Foxbase Alpha and So Tough feature sounds chiefly associated with house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, such as standard TR-909
Roland TR-909
The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based drum machine built by the Japanese Roland Corporation in 1983. The brainchild of Tadao Kikumoto, the engineer behind the Roland TB-303, it features a 16-step step sequencer and a drum kit that aimed for realism and...
drum patterns and Italo house
Italo house
Italo house is a form of house music popular in Italy, Britain and United States since the late 1980s. It fuses house music and Italo disco. The genre's main musical characteristic is its use of predominantly electronic piano chords in a more lyrical form than classic Chicago House records...
piano riffs mixed with original sounds, notable by the use of found dialogue, sampled from 1960s British realist cinema. Some of these earlier recordings included skits by satirist Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
.
In 1991, the band also released two singles - "7 Ways to Love" and "He Is Cola" - under the name "Cola Boy" with different singers; their explanation for publishing under a nom de plume is that the tracks were "too cheesy for Saint Etienne. We'd have been finished overnight".
During the early 1990s the group enjoyed extensive coverage in UK music weekly papers NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
and gained a reputation as purveyors of "pure pop" in the period immediately prior to the Brit-Pop explosion. So Tough reached #7 in the UK album charts. Their most popular singles of this period were "You're in a Bad Way
You're in a Bad Way
"You're in a Bad Way" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne. It appears on their 1992 album So Tough and was released as a single in 1993.The song is a deliberately old-fashioned throwback to 1960s pop music...
" and "Join Our Club
Join Our Club
Join Our Club is a single by Saint Etienne. Released by Heavenly Records in May 1992 as a double-A side with "People Get Real", it was originally intended as a between album single, between Foxbase Alpha and So Tough. However, it appeared on the US version of So Tough with "People Get Real"...
" (which reached #12 and #21 in the UK charts).
Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay (album)
- CD: Warner / 9 45634-2 :- CD: Heavenly/Sony / 01-475962-11 :- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP8CDDE :-Personnel:* Sarah Cracknell - vocals, snowboard, scaremonger* Bob Stanley - keyboards, wulfren, Scouse wit...
(1994) represented a change of direction: the entire album was inspired by folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, combined with modern electronica. Although the album reached #8 in the UK album charts, the singles performed disappointingly, with "Pale Movie
Pale Movie
"Pale Movie" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne from the album Tiger Bay. It was released as a single in February 1994, and reached #28 in the UK Singles Charts. It also became a hit in other countries, reaching number 1 in Lebanon....
", "Like a Motorway
Like a Motorway
- 12": Heavenly / HVN 40 12 :* also available on CD - 12": Heavenly / HVN 40 12 P II :* UK promo- CD: Warner Bros. / PRO-A-6962 :* US promo...
" and "Hug My Soul
Hug My Soul
Hug My Soul is a single by British band Saint Etienne. It was the third single from the album Tiger Bay, and was released by Heavenly Records...
" reaching #28, #47 and #32 in the UK charts. In a 2009 interview, Bob Stanley said that in retrospect the band "got ahead of ourselves a bit" by releasing such an uncommercial album, which "definitely could have done with a couple more obvious songs".
In 1995, they released their biggest hit single, "He's on the Phone
He's on the Phone
"He's on the Phone" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne in collaboration with French singer-songwriter Étienne Daho. A fast-paced Eurodance track, it is one of Saint Etienne's biggest hits, reaching #11 on the UK Singles Chart...
", a reworking of Etienne Daho
Étienne Daho
Étienne Daho is a French singer, songwriter and record producer who has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.- Career :...
's "Weekend a Rome" that they had created for a collaborative EP with Daho entitled Reserection. It reached #11 in the UK charts.
Stanley has said that with hindsight it was "a bit stupid" that the band "didn't release another single for two and a half years". Instead, they released a compilation album, Too Young to Die
Too Young to Die
Too Young to Die is the name of:* Too Young to Die? - a film starring Brad Pitt* Too Young to Die * Too Young to Die * Too Young to Die - The Singles - A compilation album by Saint Etienne in 1995...
(1996), and then returned in 1998 with Good Humor
Good Humor (album)
Good Humor is an album by Saint Etienne released in 1998. The American spelling 'humor' is used in the title as the band were, according to Sarah Cracknell, "fed up with the 'quintessentially English' tag, so there was a bit of a backlash against that."...
, which de-emphasized the contemporary dance music influence on their previous work, replacing it with a more traditional sound.
In 2000, they shifted toward a more atmospheric type of electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
in 2000 with the release of Sound of Water
Sound of Water
- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP72CDDE :- Credits :Saint Etienne is:*Sarah Cracknell*Bob Stanley*Pete WiggsAugmented by:*Gerard Johnson*Robert Lippok*Ronald Lippok*Sean O'Hagan*Stefan Schneider- Singles :How We Used to LiveMarch 2000...
.
Finisterre
Finisterre (Saint Etienne)
Finisterre is an album by the British pop band Saint Etienne. It was released by Mantra Records in 2002; and as a deluxe edition by Heavenly Records in 2010.-Commentary:...
was released in 2002. A follow-up DVD by photographer and film maker Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (film maker)
Paul Kelly is an English film director, musician, photographer and designer.-Music:The son of an RAF fighter pilot - he took up flying aged fourteen, making his first solo flight on his seventeenth birthday. However, a passion for music and electric guitars eventually led him to follow a musical...
was released on .
In November 2004, they released their first US compilation of greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
, called Travel Edition 1990-2005
Travel Edition 1990-2005
Travel Edition 1990–2005 is a compilation album by the British pop band Saint Etienne. It was released 22 November 2004 in the United States only on the Sub Pop label....
.
13 June 2005 saw the release of the band's new album, entitled Tales from Turnpike House
Tales from Turnpike House
Tales from Turnpike House is an album by British pop group Saint Etienne. Is a concept album in which the songs depict characters who all live in the eponymous block of flats in London.-Setting:...
. It was preceded by a single for the track "Side Streets". A second single, "A Good Thing
A Good Thing
A Good Thing is a single by the British band Saint Etienne. Taken from the album Tales from Turnpike House, it was released in the UK by Sanctuary Records...
", was released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2005. Early editions of the album were accompanied by a six-track sampler CD for a planned album of children's songs entitled Up the Wooden Hills.
After years floating around various record labels, the band came back to original label Heavenly
Heavenly Records
Heavenly Records, aka Heavenly Recordings, is a London-based record label, distributed by EMI. Founded by Jeff Barrett, a former press officer for Creation Records and many successful indie bands of the time including Happy Mondays, Heavenly Recordings' first releases were 7" and 12" singles for...
for their 2009 career retrospective, London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne
London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne
London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne is a compilation album by Saint Etienne. It was released as a deluxe 2CD/DVD set , standard 2CD set and on double 12" vinyl. It features the 2008 Xenomania Mix of "Burnt Out Car", the Richard X mix of "This Is Tomorrow" and "Method Of Modern Love"...
. The album contained two singles, a reworked "Burnt Out Car
Burnt Out Car
"Burnt Out Car" is a single by Saint Etienne. It was released by Heavenly Records to promote the November 2008 release of the band's latest best of album, London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne. The release of London Conversations was eventually delayed to February."Burnt Out Car" was...
" and new track, the Richard X-produced "Method of Modern Love
Method of Modern Love (Saint Etienne song)
- CD: Heavenly / HVN185CD :- CD: Heavenly / HVN185CDR :- CD: Heavenly / CDR :* UK promo.- Download: Heavenly / HVN 185DIG :* The Heartbreaks Remix was sold as a bundle, together with the 7"/CD1/CD2 set at Recordstore.co.uk....
". The album also contained as a third "new" track, a remix by Richard X of the previously vinyl-only "This is Tomorrow".
Collaborations
1993's non-album single "Who Do You Think You Are" is a cover of a song by JigsawJigsaw (band)
Jigsaw were an English pop music group, fronted by the singer-songwriter duo of Clive Scott and Des Dyer. In Australia the group was called "British Jigsaw" due to the existence of a local band of the same name.-Overview:...
. The song was also covered by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods and by Candlewick Green
Candlewick Green
Candlewick Green were a five piece English pop group. They are best known for their cover of Jigsaw's song, "Who Do You Think You Are" .-Career:...
, a winning act on the UK talent show Opportunity Knocks. Saint Etienne recorded it as a duet with Debsey Wykes, former singer of Dolly Mixture.
In 1993, the band collaborated with Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
for two songs: a cover of "Nothing Can Stop Us" (intended at the time to be her first single release for her new label) and "When Are You Coming Home" (unreleased).
Also in 1993, the Xmas 93 EP featured Tim Burgess from The Charlatans on the lead track "I Was Born on Christmas Day."
In 1995, the band co-recorded the Reserection
Reserection EP
Reserection EP was a 1995 release by French pop star Étienne Daho, working alongside English dance-pop band Saint Etienne. It was only released in France and Japan....
EP with French pop star Étienne Daho
Étienne Daho
Étienne Daho is a French singer, songwriter and record producer who has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.- Career :...
; later, they also worked on his album Eden and single "Le Premier Jour."
For the band's first greatest hits compilation, Too Young to Die (1995), Eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
producer Steve Rodway
Steve Rodway
Steve Rodway , also known under the alias Motiv 8 or Motiv8, is an Electronic dance music record producer, songwriter, remixer and sound engineer....
reworked the track "Accident" from the Reserection EP, producing the renamed single "He's on the Phone
He's on the Phone
"He's on the Phone" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne in collaboration with French singer-songwriter Étienne Daho. A fast-paced Eurodance track, it is one of Saint Etienne's biggest hits, reaching #11 on the UK Singles Chart...
." The single, co-credited to Daho, gained the singer additional exposure to English-speaking audiences.
Rodway's co-producer Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins (producer)
Brian Thomas Higgins is a British music producer who has written and produced albums and tracks for several highly successful pop music singers and groups, most notably Girls Aloud, through his Xenomania production group...
produced the band's following single, "Burnt Out Car," released in 1996.
In 2000, the band crossed genres by working with trance producer and DJ Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
, resulting in the single "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)
Tell Me Why (The Riddle)
"Tell Me Why " is a song released by Paul van Dyk in collaboration with English indie dance band Saint Etienne, with Sarah Cracknell of the group on vocals...
", with vocals by Cracknell.
The 2005 album Tales from Turnpike House features David Essex
David Essex
David Essex OBE is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK , and sixteen Top 40 albums...
as a guest vocalist. Several tracks on the album were co-written and co-produced by Brian Higgins' songwriting production team, Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...
.
Sarah Cracknell has collaborated with Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
on his single "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" for his album Stardom Road.
In addition to the Richard X collaboration on the This is Tomorrow/Method of Modern Love
Method of Modern Love (Saint Etienne song)
- CD: Heavenly / HVN185CD :- CD: Heavenly / HVN185CDR :- CD: Heavenly / CDR :* UK promo.- Download: Heavenly / HVN 185DIG :* The Heartbreaks Remix was sold as a bundle, together with the 7"/CD1/CD2 set at Recordstore.co.uk....
single, 2009 also saw the limited release of Foxbase Beta, the producer's reworking of the band's debut album Foxbase Alpha
Foxbase Alpha
- CD: Warner / 9-26793-2 :2009 release- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP1CDDE :- Credits :The liner notes list the album's personnel as follows:* Sarah Cracknell - vocals.* Bob Stanley - Roland Jupiter 4, Korg M1, tambourine...
.
Films and television
The 1998 album The Misadventures of Saint Etienne is the soundtrack to the independent filmIndependent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
The Misadventures of Margaret, starring Parker Posey
Parker Posey
Parker Christian Posey is an American actress. She became known during the 1990s after a series of roles in several well-received independent films. As a result, she has often been referred to as the "Queen of the Indies"....
. After the soundtrack was completed, the film's producers opted to replace it with a more 'conventional' soundtrack, although a number of tracks can still be heard in the background of the film's final version and Saint Etienne received top "Original Music" credit on the film. The band also recorded a duet by Cracknell and Posey titled 'Secret Love' for the soundtrack, but due to legal entanglements it has never been released.
"We're in the City" from the Places to Visit
Places to Visit
Places to Visit is an EP released by British group Saint Etienne. It showed the band moving toward the experimental electronic sound that they perfected on their next official full-length, 2000's Sound of Water....
EP is featured in Jamie Babbit's 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader
But I'm a Cheerleader
But I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 satirical romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, an apparently happy heterosexual high school cheerleader...
.
The band has also stepped out from behind their instruments and microphone stands to produce films, including two documenting the landscape of the city of London: Finisterre (2002) inspired by the 1967 short film The London Nobody Knows, and What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day? (2005), which has a more specific focus on the dilapidation of the Lower Lea Valley
Lower Lea Valley
The Lower Lea Valley is the southern end of the Lea Valley, surrounding the River Lea , which runs along the boundary of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on its western bank and the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest and Newham on its eastern bank, into the River Thames. The river forms the...
. The band have produced a new film, This Is Tomorrow, in their new capacity as artists-in-residence at the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
in London, telling the story of the Hall's first 50 years. This Is Tomorrow premiered on as part of the RFH's opening season with the band performing the film's soundtrack live. All three films were directed by filmmaker and long-time collaborator Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (film maker)
Paul Kelly is an English film director, musician, photographer and designer.-Music:The son of an RAF fighter pilot - he took up flying aged fourteen, making his first solo flight on his seventeenth birthday. However, a passion for music and electric guitars eventually led him to follow a musical...
who, over the years, has directed a number of the band's music videos and provided artwork for many of their releases.
"A Good Thing" is featured both in Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
's award-winning 2006 Spanish film Volver
Volver
Volver is a 2006 Spanish dramatic comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Headed by actress Penélope Cruz, the film features an ensemble cast starring Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, and Chus Lampreave...
and in the Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
episode titled "Tell Me Sweet Little Lies," the fourteenth episode of season 2 in 2006.
Their song "Hobart Paving
Hobart Paving
"Hobart Paving" is a single by British pop group Saint Etienne. It was released by Heavenly Records in May 1993 as a double A-side with the band's cover of "Who Do You Think You Are", originally released in 1974 by Jigsaw...
," with slightly altered lyrics (eliminating the title reference in favor of "Catch Me"), was covered for the soundtrack of the film Bandits
Bandits
Bandits is a 2001 American crime-comedy drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001...
(1997), and was an integral part of the soundtrack album (one of two promotional videos released for the soundtrack was for the song) which became the best-selling soundtrack album to a European film soon after release; actor-singer-guitarist Jasmin Tabatabai
Jasmin Tabatabai
Jasmin Tabatabai is a German-Iranian singer, songwriter and actress.- Life and work :...
still performs that version in concert.
They have recently recorded the theme song and incidental music for Maryoku Yummy, a children's television show currently showing on The Hub
The Hub (TV network)
The Hub is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that launched on October 10, 2010. The channel, which replaced Discovery Kids, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro...
.
Discography
- Foxbase AlphaFoxbase Alpha- CD: Warner / 9-26793-2 :2009 release- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP1CDDE :- Credits :The liner notes list the album's personnel as follows:* Sarah Cracknell - vocals.* Bob Stanley - Roland Jupiter 4, Korg M1, tambourine...
(1991) - So ToughSo Tough- CD: Warner Bros. / 9 45166-2 :- CD: Warner Bros. / WPCP-5209 :- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP6CDDE :- Personnel :The liner notes list the album's personnel as follows:...
(1993) - Tiger BayTiger Bay (album)- CD: Warner / 9 45634-2 :- CD: Heavenly/Sony / 01-475962-11 :- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP8CDDE :-Personnel:* Sarah Cracknell - vocals, snowboard, scaremonger* Bob Stanley - keyboards, wulfren, Scouse wit...
(1994) - Good HumorGood Humor (album)Good Humor is an album by Saint Etienne released in 1998. The American spelling 'humor' is used in the title as the band were, according to Sarah Cracknell, "fed up with the 'quintessentially English' tag, so there was a bit of a backlash against that."...
(1998) - Sound of WaterSound of Water- CD: Heavenly / HVNLP72CDDE :- Credits :Saint Etienne is:*Sarah Cracknell*Bob Stanley*Pete WiggsAugmented by:*Gerard Johnson*Robert Lippok*Ronald Lippok*Sean O'Hagan*Stefan Schneider- Singles :How We Used to LiveMarch 2000...
(2000) - FinisterreFinisterre (Saint Etienne)Finisterre is an album by the British pop band Saint Etienne. It was released by Mantra Records in 2002; and as a deluxe edition by Heavenly Records in 2010.-Commentary:...
(2002) - Tales from Turnpike HouseTales from Turnpike HouseTales from Turnpike House is an album by British pop group Saint Etienne. Is a concept album in which the songs depict characters who all live in the eponymous block of flats in London.-Setting:...
(2005)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart