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Saint Etienne

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St. Etienne

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The Old Market

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Named after the French football team AS Saint Etienne - rather than the city in which they’re based - you could certainly be forgiven for thinking that it was the latter that was actually the case, given what a European flavour there’s always been to Saint Etienne’s sound. Over the course of a career that has lasted close to twenty five years, at this point, the Croydon outfit have rewritten the rules of alternative dance, blending pop sounds with house affectations in order to make their own sonic lane. They’ve released eight studio albums to date and maintained a steady level of commercial success - two of their early nineties albums, 1993’s So Tough and 1994’s follow-up Tiger Bay cracked the top ten in the UK, at numbers seven and eight respectively on the albums chart - and their cult fanbase continues to pack out their gigs, both in the UK and on the continent.

They remain a flamboyant live proposition, too, with their standard rock band setup used in unorthodox ways - listen to their washed-out bass sounds, for instance - and Sarah Cracknell a genuinely enthralling frontwoman, with her energetic presence often balanced against her sultry, laid-back vocals; there’s nobody quite like Saint Etienne on the live circuit today.

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Just back from Edinburgh where St Etienne performed on 9 June at Queens Hall. Fabulous concert comprising a set of old numbers rather than the promised run through the new album. Initially it was hard to hear Sarah let alone understand what she was singing due to over amplification of the 'backing' musicians. Fortunately the balance between voice and instruments (and pre-recorded stuff) improved as the set progressed. The choice of back numbers was brilliant with interesting variations from a variety of instruments and electronica in the enlarged band of 9 (I think). The songs were accompanied by big screen animation and visuals with St Etienne 60's tropes (Butlins, shopping precincts, new towns). The Queen's Hall (once a church) is a terrific venue combining upstairs seating in a semi-circle of pews with a large downstairs standing area. The music and venue combined to create a brilliant atmosphere. 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' for me was a highlight - St Etienne are indeed balm for tender places.

I saw Saint Etienne perform live at Webster Hall in NYC on Oct. 26, 2012. What an excellent show! Lead singer Sarah Cracknell did an amazing job singing the hits and best-known songs from the group's catalogue. Both Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs from the band were present on stage and provided the electronic pop sound for Sarah to sing smoothly over. Debsey, a frequent backing vocalist for Saint Etienne, was also on stage singing. It was a very memorable show. The sound was great and everything was executed quite nicely. Overall, I'm very glad I saw them in concert, and I would jump at the chance to see them again.

Loved it! Took me right back to the 1990s. The collaboration with a contemporary orchestra really brought the artistry of St Etienne's songs to life. Even Sarah Cracknell got emotional listening at one point. I love this format of reproducing with a collection of musicians. Saw ABC play the Lexicon of Love a couple of years ago in the same way...

You will never get a bad performance when you go to see a Saint Etienne show.

And this performance proofs it.

The Shepherd Bush Empire is a ideal venue for the band hope they play here again soon.

One of the best performances from Saint Etienne I have seen,A great full band performance with a fabulous set list of old and new songs.

Hope they play London again soon.

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• London (61)
• Manchester (15)
• New York (NYC) (14)
• Brighton (11)
• Glasgow (10)

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Past Events

Here are the most recent UK tour dates we had listed for Saint Etienne. Were you there?

November 2022

• Fri 11 Nov Brighton & Hove, The Old Market Saint Etienne
• Fri 10 Jun → Sun 12 Jun Kirtlington Park Kite Festival 2022 Nubiyan Twist, Flamingods, Mermaid Chunky, Grace Jones, Mavis Staples…
• Fri 10 Jun Sunderland, The Fire Station Saint Etienne
• Thu 9 Jun Edinburgh, Old Royal High School Hidden Door 2022 Night 1 Saint Etienne, Connie Constance, Makeness
• Wed 8 Jun Manchester, O2 Ritz Saint Etienne

November 2021

• Sat 27 Nov Brighton & Hove, The Old Market Saint Etienne
• Fri 26 Nov Liverpool, Grand Central Hall Saint Etienne
• Thu 25 Nov Shipley, Victoria Hall Saint Etienne
• Wed 24 Nov Birmingham, O2 Institute Saint Etienne
• Tue 23 Nov Bristol, Trinity Saint Etienne
• Sat 20 Nov London, Alexandra Palace Saint Etienne
• Thu 18 Nov Glasgow, Saint Luke's Saint Etienne

October 2019

• Sat 19 Oct Edinburgh, The Queen's Hall Saint Etienne
• Wed 16 Oct Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre Saint Etienne
• Wed 22 May London, Barbican Centre Saint Etienne, London Contemporary Orchestra

November 2018

• Fri 2 Nov → Sat 3 Nov Flaming Lips, Ride, Cat Power, Saint Etienne, ChameleonsVox, Addictive TV, Megabeat …

December 2017

• Sun 10 Dec Bexhill-on-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion Saint Etienne
• Sat 9 Dec London, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire Saint Etienne
• Fri 8 Dec SWX Bristol Saint Etienne
• Sat 2 Dec Manchester, O2 Ritz Saint Etienne
• Fri 1 Dec Glasgow, The ABC Saint Etienne

November 2017

• Thu 30 Nov Holmfirth Picturedrome Saint Etienne

August 2017

• Thu 17 Aug → Sun 20 Aug Brecon Beacons Green Man 2017 Future Islands, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, Lift To Experience, British Sea Power, Hurray For The Riff Raff…
• Sat 29 Jul Saltash, Port Eliot Estate Port Eliot Festival Nick Lowe, Saint Etienne, Bombino, The Lilac Time, Melt Yourself Down…
• Sun 11 Jun Manchester, RNCM Saint Etienne
• Sat 10 Jun Sheffield City Hall and Memorial Hall Saint Etienne
• Fri 9 Jun Edinburgh, The Queen's Hall Saint Etienne
• Thu 8 Jun Gateshead, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music Saint Etienne
• Tue 6 Jun Bexhill-on-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion Saint Etienne
• Mon 5 Jun Cardiff, Tramshed Saint Etienne
• Sun 4 Jun Birmingham Town Hall Saint Etienne
• Sat 3 Jun Cardiff, Tramshed Saint Etienne
• Fri 2 Jun London, Royal Festival Hall Saint Etienne
• Mon 29 May → Sun 4 Jun Primavera Sound Festival 2017 Jeremy Jay, The Wave Pictures, Cigarettes After Sex, Les Sueques, Let's Eat Grandma…
• Sat 27 May → Sun 28 May Oxford, South Park Common People - Oxford Sean Paul, Groove Armada (DJ Set), Wild Beasts, Foals DJ Set, The Selecter…

December 2016

• Mon 19 Dec London, MOTH Club Saint Etienne
• Thu 15 Dec Shipley, The Live Room @ Caroline Street Social Club Saint Etienne

October 2016

• Fri 7 Oct → Sun 9 Oct Bognor Regis, Butlins Rockaway Beach Festival 2016 Saint Etienne, Suede, Killing Joke, We Are Scientists, Wire…
• Wed 5 Oct London, Heaven Saint Etienne
• Tue 4 Oct London, Heaven Saint Etienne

September 2016

• Sat 10 Sep → Sun 11 Sep London, Blackheath Common OnBlackheath 2016 Primal Scream, Hot Chip, Roisin Murphy, LoneLady, Rosie Lowe…
• Sun 31 Jul Ripley, The Midland Railway Indietracks Festival The Spook School, Simon Love & The Old Romantics, Nervous Twitch, Don’t Falter DJs , Saint Etienne…
• Wed 22 Jun → Sun 26 Jun Glastonbury, Worthy Farm Glastonbury Festival 2016 Muse, Adele, Coldplay, Jeff Lynne's ELO, PJ Harvey…

December 2015

• Fri 11 Dec Croydon, Fairfield Halls Saint Etienne, The Pre New
• Thu 10 Dec Wakefield, Unity Hall Saint Etienne
• Wed 9 Dec Manchester, Albert Hall Saint Etienne
• Tue 8 Dec Gateshead, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music Saint Etienne

September 2015

• Fri 4 Sep → Sun 6 Sep Salisbury, Larmer Tree Gardens End Of The Road Festival 2015 Tame Impala, Sufjan Stevens, The War on Drugs, Aero Flynn, Alvvays…
• Fri 4 Sep Leamington Spa, The Assembly Saint Etienne
• Thu 21 May Brighton Dome Saint Etienne

September 2014

• Sat 13 Sep London, Barbican Centre Saint Etienne

December 2012

• Fri 14 Dec London, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire Saint Etienne
• Thu 13 Dec Brighton, Concorde 2 Saint Etienne, Scritti Politti
• Wed 12 Dec Manchester, O2 Ritz Saint Etienne
• Tue 11 Dec Edinburgh, Liquid Rooms Saint Etienne
• Mon 10 Dec York, Fibbers Saint Etienne, Scritti Politti

August 2012

• Sat 4 Aug London, Hyde Park Saint Etienne, McFly
• Mon 25 Jun London Palladium Saint Etienne
• Sat 2 Jun London Palladium Saint Etienne, Summer Camp, The 2 Bears
• Mon 28 May London Palladium Saint Etienne, Summer Camp, The 2 Bears
• Sat 26 May Leamington Spa, The Assembly Saint Etienne, Stereo Venus
• Fri 25 May Cardiff, The Gate Arts and Community Centre Saint Etienne, Colorama
• Thu 24 May Liverpool, The Kazimier Saint Etienne, Edgar Jones
• Wed 23 May Glasgow, Òran Mór Saint Etienne, Lightships
• Tue 22 May Sheffield, Leadmill Saint Etienne, Stereo Venus

December 2011

• Sun 11 Dec London, Bethnal Green Working Men's Club Saint Etienne

August 2011

• Sun 7 Aug London, Victoria Park The Apple Cart Badly Drawn Boy, Chilly Gonzales, James Yorkston, Saint Etienne, Soul II Soul…
• Fri 22 Jul → Sun 24 Jul Steventon, Hill Farm Truck Festival 2011 Little Bulb Theatre, Pilgrims Way, Admiral Fallow, Alessi's Ark, Bellowhead…
• Sat 30 Apr → Sun 1 May Gaymers Camden Crawl Never Means Maybe, Heights, Turbowolf, P Money, The Qemists…

December 2010

• Sat 18 Dec London, O2 Forum Kentish Town Saint Etienne
• Fri 17 Dec Manchester, O2 Ritz Saint Etienne, Radio Dept
• Thu 16 Dec Glasgow, The ABC Saint Etienne
• Fri 10 Dec → Sun 12 Dec Minehead, Butlins All Tomorrows Parties Presents Bowlie 2 Abigail Grey, Belle & Sebastian, Best Coast, Camera Obscura, Crystal Castles…

October 2010

• Wed 20 Oct London, The Social W1 Martin Kelly (1), Andres Lokko, Saint Etienne, Johnny Chandler
• Fri 8 Oct London, St Aloysius Social Club Saint Etienne
• Sun 25 Jul London, Shoreditch Park Saint Etienne, Clinic, Steve Mason, Gilles Peterson, Emo Phillips, Shappi Khorsandi, Kevin Bishop, Edwyn Collins, Lambchop …

October 2009

• Fri 16 Oct London, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire Saint Etienne
• Thu 15 Oct Manchester, O2 Ritz Saint Etienne
• Mon 12 Oct London, The Social W1 Saint Etienne, Richard X

September 2009

• Fri 4 Sep Birmingham, Moseley Park & Pool Saint Etienne, Frida Hyvonen, Seeland, Mary Hampton, Circulus, Ben Calvert, The Fancy Toys, The Music Lovers …

August 2009

• Fri 28 Aug → Mon 31 Aug South Downs, Beachdown Festival Grace Jones, The Zutons, Super Furry Animals, Ida Maria, Saint Etienne, Grandmaster Flash, The Fall, James Taylor Quartet (JTQ), Laurent Garnier, Dreadzone, The Blockheads, Norman Jay, Gilles Peterson, The Sugarhill Gang, Secret Affair, The Mighty Jah Shaka Sound System, Jazzanova, More To Be Announced! …
• Fri 14 Aug → Sun 16 Aug Leicester, De Montfort Hall The Streets, The Charlatans, The Zutons, Saint Etienne, Bon Iver, Beardyman, Baddies, First Aid Kit, The Kabeedies, Noisettes, The Joy Formidable, Micachu & The Shapes, Karima Francis, Imelda May, Dan Black, James Yuill, Woodpigeon, Teitur, The Jim Jones Revue, Oi-Va-Voi …
• Thu 16 Jul → Sun 19 Jul Southwold, Henham Park Bat For Lashes, Spiritualized, Gossip, Squeeze, Newton Faulkner, Magazine, Mew, Ladyhawke, Teitur, Music Go Music, Hjaltalin, Chairlift, The Mummers, White Belt Yellow Tag, The Invisible, Marnie Stern, iLiKETRAiNS, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Saint Etienne, The Temper Trap …
• Sat 4 Jul London, Hyde Park Basement Jaxx, The Streets, Dizzee Rascal, Afrika Bambaataa, Saint Etienne, Jack Penate, Paul Oakenfold, Digitalism, Does It Offend You Yeah?, FrankMusik, Fischerspooner, Sneaky Sound System, N.A.S.A, Tommy Sparks, Delphic, Filthy Dukes, Skint & Demoralised, The Japanese Popstars, Master Shortie, The Black and White Years …
• Sat 16 May London, Bloomsbury Ballroom Saint Etienne
• Fri 15 May London, Bloomsbury Ballroom Saint Etienne
• Thu 14 May Sheffield, Leadmill Saint Etienne
• Wed 13 May Glasgow, The ABC Saint Etienne

September 2008

• Sun 14 Sep London, Queen Elizabeth Hall Saint Etienne, The Little Ones, Dot Allison

January 2008

• Thu 17 Jan → Fri 18 Jan Newcastle upon Tyne, Star and Shadow Cinema Saint Etienne
• Sun 15 Jul London, Finsbury Park Kelis, Jamelia, Saint Etienne, K'Naan, The Noisettes, The Skatalites, Beardyman …

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Saint Etienne

Saint etienne concert setlists & tour dates, saint etienne at shiiine on weekender 2022.

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Saint Etienne at The Old Market, Hove, England

• Like a Motorway
• Mario's Cafe
• Split Screen
• Magpie Eyes
• Who Do You Think You Are
• Heart Failed (In the Back of a Taxi)
• Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Saint Etienne at Glastonbury Festival 2022

• Nothing Can Stop Us
• He's on the Phone

Saint Etienne at KITE Festival 2022

Saint etienne at the fire station, sunderland, england, saint etienne at hidden door festival 2022, saint etienne at o2 ritz, manchester, england.

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Saint Etienne at The Dome, Grand Central Hall, Liverpool, England

Saint etienne at victoria hall, saltaire, england.

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Most played songs

• Nothing Can Stop Us ( 193 )
• Like a Motorway ( 172 )
• He's on the Phone ( 161 )
• Sylvie ( 161 )
• Only Love Can Break Your Heart ( 148 )

More Saint Etienne statistics

The Blackeyed Susans Sarah Cracknell Paul van Dyk

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Artists covered

Cilla Black David Bowie Robert Burns Candlewick Green Sarah Cracknell Étienne Daho The Field Mice Billy Fury Margo Guryan Madness Ramones Chris Rea The Smiths Spandau Ballet Squeeze Neil Young The Zombies

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768 people have seen Saint Etienne live.

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Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell Describes Her Band's Return to the 'Home Counties'

By Chris Steffen

Jun. 7, 2017

• Latest News

Songs About Jealousy: 24 Tunes That You Wish You Had Written

Writer, publishing executive and nashville royalty, fred rose, the who in 1989: recreating ‘tommy’ and much more besides, ‘tattoo you’: how the rolling stones made their mark on the 80s, ‘the 12 year old genius’: little stevie and a wonderful chart double, the beatles meet the maharishi for the first time, ‘chronic town’: r.e.m. bids farewell to the underground, justin bieber’s ‘baby’ reaches one billion spotify streams, listen to frank zappa play ‘penguin in bondage’ live, watch jayne mansfield play violin on the ed sullivan show, new edition’s ‘christmas all over the world’ ep headed to vinyl, afi’s ‘all hallow’s’ ep earns 25th anniversary reissue, sonora ponceña’s ‘sabor sureño’ celebrates 50th anniversary with new reissue, def leppard announce ‘one night only live at the leadmill sheffield’, saint etienne.

The British dance pop band comprised of Pete Wiggs, Sarah Cracknell, and Bob Stanley have made music that has been influential on decades of pop.

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While the theory that a frustrated rock star is trapped inside the body of every able music journalist could be debated until the cows come home, there have certainly been instances where ambitious members of the media have laid down pen – or laptop – and strapped on a guitar for the greater good.

Alan McGee’s legendary Creation imprint, for example, released highly collectable vinyl from Jerry Thackray (aka influential NME journalist Everett True) and future Sounds correspondent John Robb’s post-punk combo The Membranes, while The Loft – further hotly-tipped contenders from McGee’s stable – consisted of no less than three part-time music scribes.

Also, regulars in print during the late 80s were two highly respected writers who arguably left a more lasting impression on the British pop scene over the next decade. Friends since childhood, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs had both been involved in an acclaimed indie-pop fanzine called Caff during the mid-80s, before Stanley (who has since written for The Times and The Guardian) went on to become a regular contributor to UK rock weekly Melody Maker between 1989 and ’91.

‘Teenage Dream’: How Fantasy Became Reality For Katy Perry

Fans of an eclectic array of sounds from the pop world past and present, the pair collectively conceived their own outfit, Saint Etienne (copping the name from top-flight French football team AS Saint-Etienne) with the intention of making euphoric, chart-friendly records that alchemised 60s soul and classic British pop with 70s dub and dabs of acid and deep house.

The duo timed their entrance into the marketplace to near perfection. With the Madchester explosion having recently made stars of bands such as Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, and DJ Andrew Weatherall’s influential remix of Primal Scream’s ‘Loaded’ kicking open the door for the indie-dance revolution on the cusp of the 90s, the charts were awash with trippy, dancefloor-friendly 45s when Saint Etienne recorded their first song: a smart cover of Neil Young ’s ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’, built upon breakbeats, Italian house-style piano figures and a seductive vocal from Moira Lambert, formerly of indie contenders Faith Over Reason.

Reputedly recorded in producer Ian Catt’s bedroom in just two hours, the song snagged Saint Etienne a deal with Jeff Barratt’s hip Heavenly imprint and was released as the band’s first 45, climbing to No.95 on the UK chart. Lambert’s vocal performance was widely praised, but Stanley and Wiggs had actually conceived Saint Etienne as a collaborative project, so their second Heavenly 45, ‘Kiss And Make Up’ (adapted from UK indie outfit The Field Mice’s tune ‘Let’s Kiss And Make Up’), featured vocals from Donna Savage, on loan from New Zealand popsters Dead Famous People.

The third Saint Etienne single, May 1991’s ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’, again featured a different female vocalist, Chelmsford-born Sarah Cracknell, who had previously performed with Windsor-based indie foot soldiers The Worried Parachutes, and cut several singles during the late 80s with a band called Prime Time. Wiggs and Stanley’s collaboration with Cracknell was also intended as a one-off, but the trio clicked from the off, and ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’ – which leant on a smartly deployed sample from Dusty Springfield ’s version of ‘I Can’t Wait To See My Baby’s Face’ – was so positively received by the critics and performed so well commercially (cracking the UK Top 75 and appearing in America’s Dance Charts for a week) that the trio continued working together full-time.

Saint Etienne scored a lot of crucial support in the UK rock weeklies NME and Melody Maker, and their Heavenly Records debut, Foxbase Alpha (reissued in a 2CD Deluxe Edition during 2009) reflected the band’s growing popularity when it charted at No.34 in the UK upon its release in September 1991. A pleasingly eclectic affair, the LP demonstrated the band’s love of everything from classic 60s pop (‘Nothing Can Stop Us’, ‘Wilson’) to reggae (‘Carnt Stop’ (sic), based upon 70s producer Glen Brown’s ‘Youthman’ rhythm) and longer, ambient-tinged outings such as ‘Stoned To Say The Least’, which recalled The Orb at their amorphous best.

The band went one better with their second LP – and arguable career-best – So Tough , which was released through Heavenly in March 1993, charting at an impressive No.7 in the UK. As with Foxbase Alpha , the LP was granted a Deluxe Edition 2CD release in 2009, with a raft of B-sides and bonuses, and it remains an accomplished and beautifully crafted pop LP, chock full of infectious melodies and topped off by Cracknell’s alluringly dreamy vocals. The album’s name derived from The Beach Boys ’ 1972 LP, Carl And The Passions – “ So Tough ”, and it also ingeniously utilised clever samples of dialogue from cult movies such as Lord Of The Flies, Billy Liar and The Picture Of Dorian Gray as links between its tracks.

Andy Weatherall’s dub-infused remix of ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ had previously (if briefly) introduced Saint Etienne to the UK Top 40, but So Tough  also spawned an impressive quartet of hits courtesy of the wistful ‘Avenue’, ‘Join Our Club’, the double A-side ‘Hobart Paving’/‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, and the irresistible, Bruce Forsyth-referencing ‘You’re In A Bad Way.’ The latter – which was given a makeover by ex-Cliff Richard producer Alan Tarney for its 45RPM release – rose to No.12, giving Cracknell, Stanley and Wiggs their first Top 20 hit.

Issued in June 1994, Saint Etienne’s third LP, Tiger Bay , was their last for Heavenly. Most of the songs were initially conceived in the rural isolation of Gloucestershire’s Forest Of Dean, and a number of them – not least ‘Former Lover’ and the haunting traditional English folk song ‘Western Wind’ – had noticeably rootsier leanings. Elsewhere, ancient and modern clashed to staggering effect on ‘Like A Motorway’, which melded Kraftwerkian proto-techno and the melody from the 19th-century folk song ‘Silver Dagger’, demonstrating that, stylistically, the sky was still the limit for the band.

Tiger Bay also bequeathed two of St Etienne’s most enduring Top 40 hits in ‘Hug My Soul’ (co-penned by Sarah Cracknell and songwriting duo Guy Batson and Johnny Male) and the exotic ‘Pale Movie’, which ingeniously blended a Euro-dance backbeat with Spanish guitars and was promoted with a memorable video of the band riding scooters around Nerja in the Spanish province of Andalusia.

The trio’s close relationship with commercial success continued with 1995’s self-explanatory Too Young To Die: The Singles 1990-1995 , which climbed to No.17 in the UK charts. Its spirited performance earned the band a silver disc for sales of over 60,000 copies, as well as an upbeat, dance-enhanced Top 20 UK hit, ‘He’s On The Phone’, which was written and performed in collaboration with French singer-songwriter Etienne Daho. The CD came with a bonus second disc featuring a raft of B-sides and remixes, which was later released as the standalone collection Casino Classics , and reached No.34 in the UK on its own merits.

Saint Etienne transferred to Creation Records in 1996, but their lone LP for the label, Good Humor , only materialised in 1998, partly because Alan McGee’s team were committed to promoting Oasis’ massive-selling third LP, Be Here Now , in the summer and autumn of 1997. Recorded at Tambourine Studios in Malmö, Sweden, with The Cardigans’ producer Tore Johannson, Good Humor  continued the move away from the band’s trademark synth-driven indie-dance sound that had begun with Tiger Bay , with Johannson bringing in a full band, including a horn section. The LP was still suffused with delectable pop, however, not least the dub-infused ‘Wood Cabin’, the shimmering ‘Lose That Girl’, and ‘Sylvie’, which peaked at No.12 in the UK Top 40 singles chart. Its parent album rose to No.18 in the UK Top 20 and also sold well in Scandinavia, where it climbed to No.11 in Norway.

The band greeted the new millennium with Sound Of Water , released through Beggars Banquet subsidiary Mantra in June 2000. Recorded in Berlin, with arrangements from post-rock duo To Rococo Rot and The High Llamas’ Sean O’Hagan, it was something of a stylistic departure, with dreamy, ambient textures and electronica largely usurping the warmer, poppier feel of Good Humor . The LP’s ambitious (unedited) nine-minute trailer single, ‘How We Used To Live’, narrowly missed the charts, though third single ‘Boy Is Crying’ rose into the Top 40, as did Sound Of Water , which eventually peaked at No.33 in the UK.

Saint Etienne have continued to enjoy considerable acclaim this side of the millennium. Though it also contained a couple of typically ravishing pop tracks such as ‘Stop & Think It Over’, much their next LP, 2002’s Finisterre , continued to explore the ambient electro-vibe of Sound Of Water  and peaked at No.11 in the US Top Electronic Albums chart. Akin to the content of Scott Walker ’s ’Til The Band Comes In, meanwhile, Tales From Turnpike House (issued in 2005 and released by Sanctuary) consisted of tracks depicting characters who lived in the eponymous block of flats (which actually exists and can be found on London’s Goswell Road). The record itself boasted some fabulous music, including ‘Stars Above Us’ and the dancefloor-friendly ‘A Good Thing’, as well as a surprise guest vocal from 70s pop star David Essex on ‘Relocate’.

Featuring an extensive two CDs that took in the band’s hit singles, album tracks and remixes, plus a bonus DVD of promos, Heavenly’s career-spanning anthology, London Conversations: The Best Of Saint Etienne , appeared in 2009, followed by Words And Music By Saint Etienne . Released by Universal Music/Heavenly in May 2012 – and, to date, the band’s most recent fully-fledged studio LP – this latter contained some of the trio’s most well-executed songs, ranging from the nostalgic ‘I Threw It All Away’ to the Northern soul-esque ‘Haunted Jukebox’ and the memorable single ‘I’ve Got Your Music’, which neatly referenced Donna Summer ’s 1977 hit ‘I Feel Love’. Attracting almost universal acclaim from critics, Words And Music By Saint Etienne  sold strongly from the off and deservedly reacquainted this most enduring and inventive of modern pop bands with the UK album charts, climbing to No.26 within weeks of its release.

Cracknell, Stanley and Wiggs have been busy with side projects in the interim, but reconvened to supply the gorgeous, introspective soundtrack to director Peter Kelly’s acclaimed 2014 film, How We Used To Live : a fascinating celluloid history of London put together using footage from 1950-80. Saint Etienne have since performed the soundtrack at sold-out shows at London’s Barbican Centre and at the Sheffield Doc Centre and took the same set around the UK on a five-date mini-tour in May 2015. Meanwhile, with a number of special festive showed staged in December 2015, and hints of new material in the wind, St Etienne may be in for further skirmishes with the Top 40.

Words: Tim Peacock

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European Tour Dates

We’re pleased to announce a string of European shows this autumn.

We’ll be visiting Denmark , Sweden , Finland , Germany and Spain during October and November. Full details of cities, venues and links to buy tickets are listed below.

We’re not forgetting the rest of Europe and hope to fill the gaps during early 2018. We will also be bringing you news of a 6 date UK Christmas tour early next week.

Looking forward to seeing you at one of the following……

OCTOBER 2017 Mon 23 Copenhagen – Pumpehuset – TICKETS

Tue 24 Gothenburg – Stora Teatren – TICKETS

Wed 25 Stockholm – Kagelbanen – TICKETS

NOVEMBER 2017 Sun 05 Helsinki – Korjaamo – TICKETS (onsale Wednesday 16th August)

Mon 06 Berlin – Columbia Theatre – TICKETS

Tue 07 Madrid – Sala Butte – TICKETS

Wed 08 Barcelona – Razzmatazz – TICKETS

Bob, Pete and Sarah xxx

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