Saint Etienne

United Kingdom • b. 1990-01-01

Biography

Saint Etienne () are an English band from Greater London, formed in 1990. The band consists of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. Initially emerging from the indie dance scene of the 1990s, their music has blended club culture with 1960s pop and other disparate influences. Their debut album, Foxbase Alpha, was released to critical acclaim in 1991, featuring their most enduring hits "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Nothing Can Stop Us". It was followed by So Tough (1993), with the number twelve single "You're in a Bad Way", and the techno folk experiment of Tiger Bay (1994); both albums reached the top-ten. Their early period was rounded out by the gold-certified compilation Too Young to Die: Singles 1990–1995, producing the band's highest-charting single, "He's on the Phone" with Étienne Daho. The band recorded Good Humor (1998) at Tambourine Studios in Sweden on entirely analogue equipment, and the album's lead single "Sylvie" reached number twelve in the UK charts. With Sound of Water (2000), recorded in Berlin with To Rococo Rot, the group pivoted towards ambient music, while Finisterre (2002) and Tales from Turnpike House (2005) distilled these stylistic diversions and saw a return to their early influences and subject matter, referencing London, British cinema and popular culture. Words and Music by Saint Etienne (2012) saw them work with former Xenomania's Tim Powell and Nick Coler as well as Rob Davis, while Home Counties (2017) was co-produced by Shawn Lee. The group used vaporwave-inspired samples on I've Been Trying to Tell You (2021), which became their highest-charting album since 1994 at number fourteen. The Night (2024) took their sound further into beatless atmospherics. International was released on 5 September 2025. The band has said it is their final studio album. The band's name comes from the French football club AS Saint-Étienne.

Bio from Wikipedia