news

 

 

ECLIPSE IS AT IT AGAIN!

July 2nd 2009

The next four comps on our Eclipse label are available as of Monday. They've been a lil while coming, but trust us

it's been worth the wait.

You can buy them exclusively from Record Store, at http://www.recordstore.co.uk/saintetienne

Click here to find out more:

 

RADIO...LIVE TRANSMISSION

June 17th 2009

If you live in the Brighton area you can tune in to Pete and compatriot Dem's weekly show The Seance on

Radio Reverb (97.2 fm or online here) - Wednesdays at 8pm and again midnight Thursdays. It's a nocturnal

mish-mash of electronica, unhinged pop, dub, soundtracks and other ethereal wonders.

Tonight's show is a corker.

 

CALLING ALL CATS

Such was the joyfulness surrounding our Foxbase Alpha shows, we're doing a couple more, one at the Manchester Ritz on October 15th and one at Shepherds Bush Empire on the 16th. Book now!

There are posters all over the London underground but I'll make it 'official' - on July 4th we're playing Wireless in Hyde Park with Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx, The Streets, and Afrika Bambaataa (whoo hoo). Plus our fellow Croydonian buddy Frankmusik.

http://www.wirelessfestival.co.uk/lineup/index.aspx

What else? I'll be on Roundtable on BBC6 tomorrow at 7pm, casting a 'beady' eye over some new releases. Last time I did it I got to meet Colin Blunstone. Maybe Roxana Saberi will be sharing a seat with me tomorrow. I'm on a roll.

We'll have news on the deluxe Foxbase Alpha pre-tty soon. I saw a 'demo copy' today. Beautiful!

Okay, see you soon

Bob xx

 

 

FOXBASE FANX

May 19th 2009

Thank you everyone who came to the Foxbase Alpha shows and everyone behind the scenes who helped make them such a success. We really enjoyed ourselves and it looked like you did too. Click here for some great pictures from the Bloomsbury Ballroom courtesy of Johnny Green.

See below for the rest of our summer fixtures.

XXX

SUMMER SMASHED

April 9th 2009

Here's how our summer is shaping up. C'mon and join us, join our com-pa-nee.

MAY

Wed 13 GLASGOW ABC
Thu 14 SHEFFIELD LEADMILL
Fri 15 LONDON BLOOMSBURY BALLROOM
Sat 16 LONDON BLOOMSBURY BALLROOM

all with support from Go Kart Mozart

Fri 29 BARCELONA PRIMAVERA
Sat 30 CORK OPERA HOUSE

JULY

Sat  04 WIRELESS London
Sun 19 LATITUDE Southwold, Suffolk

AUGUST
Fri 07 BERLIN FESTIVAL

Sat 15 SUMMER SUNDAE Leicester

Sat 29 BEACHDOWN FESTIVAL Brighton

SEPT
Fri 04 MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL* Birmingham

*This one is partly curated by me, so you know who to throw rotten eggs at if Frida Hyvonen, The Pastels, El Perro Del Mar, Mary Hampton, and Seeland don't float your boat. It should be quite a day. Late summer sun, soft electronica and acoustica, followed by a Balti.

Bob xx

 

 

BOB AND PETE ON RADIO 6

Catch the boys talking to the Queens of Noize and spinning a "6 mix" of saturday night friendly tunes

tomorrow night ( 7th March) at 9pm (UK) on BBC 6 Music.

Listen online here - will be available online for a week after initial broadcast

 
   
 

STOP PRESS! EXTRA LONDON DATE ADDED :

BUY LONDON or SHEFFIELD TICKETS

BUY GLASGOW TICKETS

 
 

We're excited to announce that to celebrate its 18th birthday and special edition re-release, we'll be taking Foxbase Alpha on the road this May (venues and dates above).
We'll be performing the entire album, plus a set of faves.
We've picked non seated venues so you can rock your socks off like its 1991.
Support comes courtesy of our heroes Go Kart Mozart
.

 

 

Method of Modern Love / This Is Tomorrow

 

Our new single will be available for sale to UK customers from noon on wednesday 21st

from our recordstore shop, where there will be two bundle offers, one including the

download only Method of Modern Love remix by Heartbreak.

All copies are hand numbered (as below) and 500 of each format have been signed by
a member of the band.

The 7” (signed by Sarah)

      - Method of Modern Love (radio edit)

CD1 (signed by Bob)

      - MOML
      - This Is Tomorrow (film version)

CD2 (signed by Pete)

     - MOML
     - MOML Cola Boy Remix
     - MOML Richard X remix
     - MOML Acapella

We’ll have some news about upcoming gigs, and releases (including the export version for

non UK customers) soon.

XXX

 

Rough Trade East signing postponed!

It grieves us to tell you that London Conversations release has been delayed (again!!)
So this means that the Rough Trade signing will be postponed too.
Sorry about this - looks like major labels get these problems too

We'll let you know as soon as we know the new release date.

 

Burnt Out Car is out on Monday!! (22nd September)


Our first new single in 3 years is out Monday - Burnt Out Car!

Well it's not BRAND new of course, but it's a Xenomania-dusted version of our 1995

withdrawn single (a few of you might have the original tear-soaked promos).

CD 1 has two new B-Sides: Night Vision and Destroy The Building

CD 2 has extra mixes by Sarah’s recent collaborator Mark Brown
(This mix CD is not eligible for the chart so if you feel compelled to see us back
in the top 40 erm… why not buy Cd1 or the 7” too!)

The Ultra Limited 7” vinyl has new B-Side: River

ITunes and 7Digital will be offering a download only demo version of Burnt Out Car.

Physical releases available to fans from all countries from:
The Official Saint Etienne Shop TM

And there’s a bargain bundle of all 3 formats for £4.99 from :
Townsend Records

London Conversations release put back to 13th October


Thanks to our complicated deluxe packaging (yes, I know), London Conversations

has been put back two weeks to October 13th. Too bad.

On a happier note we've got a couple of verrry exciting (to us at least) new songs

in the bag for our next album.

We've been inspired by our splendid summer, obviously.

Read more about the album, watch some vids and tell us your favourite London story,

memory, or dream at www.londonconversations.com

Or perhaps you would like to converse with us in London in person as we’ll be signing

albums and dj’ing at RoughTrade East (Dray Walk' ,Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane,

London E1 6QL) between 7-9pm on October 14th.

Come witness the Tap moment.

More news v. soon.

 

Some most intreeging news...

First up, we're releasing
a 'new' single - or more precisely, a
Xenomania-produced re-make of a 'lost' single. It's
BURNT OUT CAR, and it'll be out in early September.
Mark Brown has done a very seasonal Balearic mix, and
there will be three new b-sides to boot: River is the
7", Destroy The Building and Night Vision are on CD1.
Mr Brown's work will appear on CD2.

A couple of weeks later, LONDON CONVERSATIONS: THE
BEST OF SAINT ETIENNE will be in the shops. It comes
in three delicious 'flavas': a single 18 track cd; a
double with every other a-side, some of our best album
tracks, and - yes! - Lover Plays The Bass; and a 3
disc set in a beautiful book cover with a dvd of all
our promo vids. You can pre order now from:

play.com

Then on September 14th we'll be playing at the Queen
Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank as part of the
FOREVER HEAVENLY weekend. Supporting us are our dear
mate Dot Allison, playing her Afterglow album in full,
and The Little Ones.

Tickets go on sale to the public on the 24th July from this link:
forever-heavenly

And, in case you didn't know, we're headlining the
Secret Garden Party festival this weekend.

Busy bees r us.

Shapes of things to come...

7th July 2008

A new “career” spanning compilation entitled “London Conversations” will
be released in September by Universal. It will come in 2 editions: one a condensed greatest hits,

the other a 2 disc set which will finally include Lover Plays TheBass!


Plus two brand new singles – the first of which will be out in August.

‘As a part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture, Saint Etienne and Pilgrim Films are pleased to announce

the following special events:

Friday 11th July, 6.20pm, British Film Institute
Screening: This is Tomorrow, Dir Paul Kelly & Saint Etienne, 2007 (57 mins)
Followed by Q&A with Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs (Saint Etienne) & Paul Kelly

Bob and Pete will dj in the BFI bar afterwards.

Friday 18 July, 6pm til 12midnight, Bloomsbury Ballroom
Architecture Rocks!

Saint Etienne will DJ as part of London Festival of Architecture’s closing party, Architecture Rocks!

If you are a Facebook member, here's a link to the events: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21625526769

 

We’ll be headlining The Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire on Sunday
the 27th July. www.secretgardenparty.com

And on the 15th August we’re playing at the Ola festival in Almeria in very sunny Spain.
http://www.olafestival.es/

Also this August there is a bumper crop of Eclipse releases:

The Impressions - Complete A and B sides 1961-68
Paradise Island: the lost Burt Bacharach
The Girls are at it Again
Gary Walker & The Rain
Let's Slip Away: Johnny Dankworth On Stage And Screen

More details soon…

 

Looking for something free to do in London tonight?

28th March 2008

erm we'll give you a bit more notice next time - soz

 

Sarah Cracknell speaks!

1 Feb 2008

Good things come to those who wait, or something....  look here for the clip of Sarah with her soprano pal Jane Sheldon, playing a stripped down version of The Journey Continues and giving away all kinds of crazy secret info, including how to win handwritten lyrics....

And if you are enamoured of the hit radio version you can pre-order it as a download

It's out on monday. We're excited.

love Bob x

 

 

Unplug the beatbox

27th January 2008

Sarah and classically trained soprano Jane Sheldon have just recorded a sublime acoustic version of radio smash The Journey Continues in the tiny Boosey & Hawkes studio in central London. We were there to capture the process on film! To watch footage of Sarah and Jane in the studio, see Sarah introducing the track and hear from her own lips the latest Saint Etienne news - not to mention get an exclusive pre-release listen of the acoustic rendition in it’s entirety - watch this space over the next coupla days...

Bob x

 

Pop! Justice talks to Crackers

24th January 2008

With The Journey Continues clogging up the airwaves Pop! Justice, the site we affectionately call Smash-Hits-On-Sea, has got Sarah Cracknell on the blower. And - strike a light - the cat is truly out of the bag. Yes, Richard X was so enamoured of the theme to our last movie This Is Tomorrow that he has done a discotronic mix of it. More news on this as and when... In the meantime, feast your eyes on this Pop! Justice piecette.

On a rather different "schmindie" note, I'm dj'ing at How Does It Feel To Be Loved at the 100 Club, Oxford Street, London on saturday night. The evening is a tribute to Morrissey, who will no doubt turn up to "scoff" and make caustic comments along the lines of "more Skrewdriver please, you clod." There may be a Manchester bias to my set. Details here.

love Bob x

 

Journey To The Centre Of The Top 5

18th January 2008

The Journey Continues, the tune Sarah has written over lovable moptop Mark Brown's Lloyds Bank rave-up, is all over Radio One - I heard it five times on Friday! It's released by Positiva on February 4th, but if you can't wait that long why not

pre-order as a download

Even the super soaraway scenesters at The Sun are lovin' it. You can also watch the hi-tech daftness of the promo and some behind the scenes bits here...

Scare in The Sun

This photo was taken in the Dusseldorf branch of Lloyds - swish, isn't it?

Set the controls for the heart of the chart!

Bob x

 

Greece and Newcastle

17th January 2008SarahCracknell_ExclusiveFootage

The re-arranged nights in Greece have been confirmed. Fancy a break from relentless grey skies? C'mon over!

Friday 8 Feb
Principal Club Thessaloniki

Sat 9 Feb
Gagarin 205 Athens

This weekend we're up in Newcastle at the bijou and compact Star And Shadow, where they'll be films, football programmes, and me and Pete spinning discs.

click here

See you there

Bob x

 

 

Boxette Help

Just to clarify a couple of things with the new shop:

You only need your member number to order Boxette.

Select the Purchase option and choose the number of sets you want (1 or 2)

At the check out please choose either the option "order and register" or

 "order without registering" you will be asked for your membership number later. 

The password section is for returning customers of the shop.

 

Rush hour

14th December 2007

So, at 8 o'clock last night, there was a rush on our site not unlike the great Led Zeppelin ticket freak-out. As a result, some of you experienced problems getting through. Apologies to the unlucky few, but hopefully you all made it in the end. There are still copies of Boxette available, we just weren't expecting such a glut of requests in the first couple of hours!

It's tough being so popular, innit.

love Bob xx

 

Boxette: Have yourself a merry little xmas present

13th December 2007

The much "vaunted" boxed set of Saint Etienne rarities - Boxette - is now available. It contains I Love To Paint (1994), Built On Sand (1999) and Asleep At The Wheels Of Steel (2001). All of these were very limited compilations of unreleased material made available to the Saint Etienne fan club, Lovers Unite.

Now they're back, boxed, and they're all numbered (in a run of 3,000), with exquisite new artwork care of Lora 'Turnpike' Findlay. What's more, you now get a fourth disc which mops up odd tracks from EPs and other giveaways over the years, plus six previously unreleased tracks. It's all 'appenin'.

Originals have been selling for "silly" money, so it will be a great relief to everyone (apart from the lank-haired bootlegger) that the whole set will now cost just £25 plus p+p.

You have to be a Lovers Unite member to buy Boxette - it's free to join. Find out who, what, where, why and how at:

http://www.saintetienne.com/signup.php

And if you're an older Lover go straight to:

http://www.loversuniteshop.com

Because we're up against xmas post - and we want a lil break of our own - we're taking orders now but the boxes won't be shipped until January. And to stop Ebay Eric hogging them all, you can only buy a maximum of TWO Boxettes.

Goodnight and good luck

Bob xx

 

Ride a black horse

7th December 2007

So, eagle-eyed fan club members will be aware that BOXETTE, our 4 cd limited box of outtakes is up for grabs next week, mailing out in Jan '08 to avoid Christmas Mourning..More news sooon.

And you may have heard Sarah's honeyed tones on Radio One...

The mystery track is called THE JOURNEY CONTINUES and it's by Mark Brown featuring Sarah Cracknell. It features a sample from a 'well known' tv ad, but we're convinced that the words and vocal melody - care of SC - will send it chartbound. It's released on Positiva on February 4th 2008.

Have a wondrous windswept weekend.

Bob x

 

North of Cornwallis

22nd October 2007

We're down at the Tate St. Ives this Friday showing This Is Tomorrow, chatting and Dj-ing afterwards.

More news soon!!

 

Back to School

11th September 2007

Its been a soggy old summer but we return refreshed with smart new uniforms and pencil cases .

Michaelmas term begins with a free screening of "...Mervyn Day" on Friday 14th Sept at 7pm the Canary Wharf Film Festival, details here: http://www.cwff.org.uk/events.html

This Is Tomorrow is to be shown at BFI Southbank from the 1st to the 4th October. (It's in NFT1 on the

1st and the studio on the other days). Tickets are on sale now : http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/southbank/film/8016

Bob, Pete, Sarah and director Paul Kelly will be doing a Q&A after the showing on the 1st and then Bob and Pete will be DJing in the BFIs swanky new bar. And I have a lovely new flyer for you.

You can now also book to come along to the (free!) Blueprint talk at the Festival Hall on the 22nd September which is part of London Design Festival. Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance by calling the ticket office on 0871 663 2500 , or calling in to the RFH Foyer. It is not a screening of the film, but an illustrated talk about the making of the film and a chance to see some of our previous work and ask questions.

Way back in July we played at a Fred Perry Subculture event, and they've posted some lovely pictures up on their website http://www.fredperrysubculture.com .You'd never know we were having a technological meltdown at the time (although on closer inspection, Pete's face is also melting down under the pressure).

The next issue of The Illustrated Ape magazine is a special edition concerning all things Heavenly our erstwhile

label and spiritual home. The first 2000 copies will feature an exclusive new Heavenly Saint Etienne 7".

Side A - This Is Tomorrow comes from our new film, with old fave Stoned To Say The Least on the flip.

Last but not least you can hear Bob talking to Stuart Maconie about his beautiful new UK baroque compilation 'Tea and Symphony" on BBC6's suitably named Freakzone (9th September edition).

XXX

 

 

Finsbury gladness, Greek sadness            

4th July 2007

Sorry, but due to reasons totally beyond our control the two shows in Greece have been put back to the winter. As soon as we know the new dates we'll let you know. Sarah had already bought a new swim suit and Bob had a vat of child-strength sun block, they're disappointed.

But possibly they can put their new acquisitions to use in Finsbury Park on July 15th at the Rise Festival. We're on between 2 and 3, in spite of what it may say elsewhere, between The Holloways and Jamelia. Which gives us all time to relax before The Skatalites and Kelis. Please say it won't rain.

xxx

 

Festivus for the Restivus            

10th June 2007

Yes indeed, the Royal Festival Hall is finally re-opening this weekend and here's a saucy little bill we've put together that will see us locked inside the place for the best part of 48 hours...

Saint Etienne's TURNTABLE CAFE takes over the Westminster Pavilion this weekend, inside the freshly re-opened Royal Festival Hall.

Saturday night sees Brummie psych-pop girls POPPY AND THE JEZEBELS headline with support from folk-rock dreamboats the NOAH KELLY BAND and Muswell Hill agit nutters LET'S WRESTLE. Djs are St Et's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs with Andy Rossiter (Have A Go Hero) and Adrian Lobb (Vermont). 8 til late.

From 2 til 7, Sunday afternoon teatime treats come from East London electro pop darlinks THE DULOKS, queens of garage punk THE PRISCILLAS, and new Heavenly signing JAYMAY. Guest Djs are Martin Green (Workers Playtime and Jonny Trunk (Trunk Records).

From 10 am til 6 on the saturday and 10 til 2 on the sunday there will be vintage documentaries under the banner of LONDON 1951 (including Ten Year Plan with Charles Hawtrey and the beautiful Festival Of Britain doc Brief City) plus SAINT ETIENNE's films and shorts to date including the Finisterre (acclaimed by Alain De Botton and Ken Livingstone!) and What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?.

Admission is free and it all takes place on the 6th floor of the building. Panoramic views and all! C'mon down!

Bob xx

 

                

 

Summertime Time

May 15th 2007

A bumper crop of Etienne news for you!

First, we are putting together a boxed set of  all the fanclub releases, with new artwork (courtesy of Lora 'Turnpike House' Findlay) and a few extra goodies, for release - at non ebay prices - later this year.

There's a sneak preview of "Say It To The Rain" - a demo version of one of the songs from the soundtrack to our forthcoming film This Is Tomorrow - on our myspace.com/saintetienne page. Hope you like. Tickets are going fast for the June 29th Festival Hall performance.

The details are as yet slim and shady but we will be doing a micro tour of Greece in July taking in Thessalonika on Thursday 5th and Athens on Friday 6th.

The full line up has not been released yet but on Sunday 15th July we will be playing at Rise - London's anti racist music festival in Finsbury Park, London. Should be a corking day out and it's FREE.<<www.risefestival.org>>

see yous soon

xxx

 

Mervyn Day at the Rio

April 14th 2007

What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?

Wednesday 25th April 6.30pm Rio, Dalston

Named after a 1970s West Ham goalkeeper, What Have You Done Today, Mervyn
Day is a dreamy snapshot of the Lower Lea Valley and is an oral history of
a part of London that is being developed to house the 2012 Olympic Games.
This eastern fringe, the capital's last remaining wilderness, represents an
unruly kind of beauty. The overgrown, tumbledown roughscape of pylons,
dirty canals and industrial warehouses that it offers is the antithesis of
the gentrified, boom-time city of London. Accompanied by a haunting
Saint Etienne soundtrack, this is Paul Kelly's follow up to Finisterre
(2003) and documents the changes past and present that the Lea Valley
has seen and looks forward to it's future.
Featuring the voices of David Essex and Linda Robson

45mins / UK / 2006 / Dir: Paul Kelly / Prod: Andrew Hinton / Screenplay:
Kevin Pearce

EAST END FILM FESTIVAL 19th - 26th APRIL 2007
www.eastendfilmfestival.com
Join us at www.myspace.com/theeastendfilmfestival

 

This World Of Water

April 12th 2007

We have been very busy bees in the last couple of months, which of course means no time to update this page. Alanis Morisette would find this ironic... which reminds me, I'm no fan but her video/cover of My Humps deserves a tip of the hat - maybe a wink, even...

A couple of things I've put together:
Bobbie Gentry 'The Best Of The Capitol Years' on Zonophone. Close observers may remember us reactivating this label with a Glen Campbell comp 10 years ago. Well, it's back, and even though Paul Kelly's deft touch could not be applied to the cover, the sounds inside are superlative, slinky, bouffanty, bounteous.
The Chiffons 'Sweet Talkin' Girls' on Stateside. Every A and B side from the most consistently great of all girl groups... and a few tracks from their super rare album My Secret Love (no, I don't have one).

Most of our time has been spent working on THIS IS TOMORROW, our latest and most intense film/music event, due to all come together at the Royal Festival Hall on June 29th. It's about the Festival Of Britain, post war Britain, modern buildings, and it asks the big question WHAT IS ART? Answer: meh. 75 minutes of sustaned brilliance.

In the meantime there's CHERRYBOMB on April 26th, with super special guest djs MARIE DU SANTIAGO and EMMY KATE MONTROSE from KENICKIE. Don't miss! The Betsey Trotwood, Farringdon Road, 9 til 1am. Non stop femme pop with host djs me, Sheila B and Mazza.

Back to the edit suite at Erwic...

Bob xx

 

This Is Tomorrow

March 20th 2007

Tickets are now on sale for This Is Tomorrow, our latest film/music event on June 29th at the Festival Hall in London. It's what's known in the trade as a "creative documentary" about the Hall, the Festival Of Britain, and the history of the site. This may sound a tad dry, but trust us...

The soundtrack will be played live by the regular Saint Etienne band - only this time we're backed by a 60 piece orchestra and a 30-strong choir. It won't sound much like Deep Purple's Concerto For Group And Orchestra, though. Keeping everyone in check is John Cameron who wrote the scores for Kes and Poor Cow, as well as arranging all Donovan's greatest recordings.

The film is 75 minutes long and it will include a bunch of brand new songs, some of which we're still working on, but those already nailed include Say It To The Rain, Miss Trudy Jones, Out In The Cold, and Magic Mike McCart.

The Southbank Centre website has been saying the event is sold out but of course it isn't. And dear Robert Kirby had to pull out, but JC is a worthy replacement. Sooooo.......

To buy tickets click here <http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/music/productions/saint-etienne-this-is-tomorrow-16277>

And why not come along to our next Turntable Cafe? The theme is Paris In the Spring, we are playing anything from Chantal Goya to Lio, and electric dolls Pravda are playing their debut London show. April 4th, 8pm start, £8 in.

Buy Turntable Cafe tickets here <http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/music/productions/turntable-cafe-presents-paris-16281>

Spring has sprung!

 

 

A Merry Evening...

February 20th 2007

Will be had by all at our next Turntable Cafe on Friday March 2nd  in the Purcell Room:

First a rare chance to see clips from Disc A Dawn - the Welsh language Top of the Pops from the sixties and seventies.

Then live music from Richard James of Gorkys Zygotic Mynci. Afterwards we'll join Gruff Rhys' audience in the QEH foyer to hear Welsh and other exotic records from Andy Votel (B music) , Bob and Pete.

 

More info and tickets

 

Two Turntables and a Microphone

January 19th 2007

Happy mid Jan. We've all been in the studio writing songs for the new album / soundtrack. Got a tentative date for the film event at the Festival Hall - June 29th.
Footage is blinding. Going to have an orchestra of local youths. Almost got a title. More info soon...

Plus we've got two mindblowing Turntable Cafes in rapid succession!

          

Tickets and Info    

 

                                                                                    

Tickets and Info

 

Xmas Mp3s

Here's some mp3 versions of the Christmas cd tracks:

21st Century Christmas

Through The Winter

(Click to play or Control Click to download)

 

archived news - 2006

archived news - 2005