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‘We want to stop in our prime’: Saint Etienne on their final album, turning down Cher’s Believe, and why pop is a dying art
The Britpop-defying indie trio are calling it a day after 35 years. From having their minds blown by techno to fireworks night with Aphex Twin, they recall the highs – and explain their eternal ‘psychic’ bond
Bringing together collaborators including Nick Heyward, Xenomania, Erol Alkan and the Chemical Brothers – who appear on the fizzing and life-affirming new single Glad – the album is a strictly-bangers leaving party for one of the most singular bands in British indie. Stanley and Wiggs asked Cracknell to become the group’s sole, permanent singer, and the newly minted trio recorded debut Foxbase Alpha in the Mitcham council house of producer Ian Catt’s parents. Its second single, Heart Failed, bitterly surveyed New Labour Britain and its market-driven urban regeneration: “Sold the ground to a PLC / Moved the club out to Newbury / Sod the fans and their families.” That flattened culture was explored again in the 2005 documentary Saint Etienne made with film-maker Paul Kelly about east London’s desolate Lower Lea Valley before it disappeared to Olympic development.
Or read this on The Guardian
