Saint Etienne

Saint Etienne are...

• Sarah Cracknell - vocals
• Ian Catt - guitar, keyboards
• Bob Stanley - keyboards
• Pete Wiggs - keyboards

Formed by childhood friends Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs in 1991, Saint Etienne immediately carved a niche with their unique brand of quintessentially English, breezy indie-pop. The first album, the classic Foxbase Alpha set out the agenda: coo-ing vocals from new-recruit Sarah Cracknell, lush Northern Soul beats and a giddy 60s pop sensibility unheard of in the indie-schmindie world of the early 90s.

Foxbase Alpha and the follow up, 93's So Tough became the band's love letter to London. The lyrics are infused with (fairly) idealised London-centric imagary whilst playful vocal and musical samples are interwoven into the mix.

After the folk-tinged Tiger Bay in '94 and the 'He's On The Phone' single of '95, the band split. Stanley and Wiggs went into production and Cracknell released a solo album, the Etienne-esque Lipslide. Mercifully however, they returned in '98 with the more euro-sounding Good Humor. Produced by The Cardigans' Tore Johansson (quite fitting as The Cardigans were one of the many Et-influenced bands to emerge in the 90s) it saw the band move away from the more 'dancey' soft electro vibe of old to a more striaght-forward 'live band' sound. Though it has many super tracks, Good Humor disappointed many hard-core fans. It's follow up though, more than made up for it.

A new decade, a new century, a new beginning, a new label (Mantra). A gorgeous, sprawling epic-as-single, 'How We Used To Live', and the serious headphone-music album Sound Of Water showed that Saint Et were starting the 'noughties' as they did the nineties: by crafting shimmering modern pop music in their own distinctive style; walking their own path; declaring their undying love for love, life and music.

"Put on your teenage head - this is a love thing!"