The Pipettes | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Brighton, England |
Genres | Indie pop, doo-wop |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels |
Memphis Industries (UK) Cherrytree Records (U.S.) (2006–2009) Fortuna POP! (2010–present) |
Associated acts | Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, The Indelicates, The Electric Soft Parade, Brakes, The Ghost Frequency |
Website |
Official Site Official MySpace |
Members | Ani Saunders Gwenno Saunders Monster Bobby Jon Falcone Seb Falcone Alex White |
Past members |
Julia Clark-Lowes Marc Beatty Robin of Loxley RiotBecki Rosay Jason Adelinia Anna McDonald Beth Mburu-Bowie |
The Pipettes /pɪˈpɛts/ are a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, We Are the Pipettes, and Earth vs. The Pipettes and released numerous singles to support it; the most successful being "Pull Shapes" which peaked at No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart.
The group was originally composed of Julia Clarke-Lowes, Rose Elinor Dougall and Rebecca Stephens. However, at the time of their debut album Clarke-Lowes had been replaced by Gwenno Saunders. In 2008, Dougall and Stephens also left the group. By 2010, the line-up consisted of Gwenno Saunders and her sister Ani. Their album Earth vs. The Pipettes was released on 6 October 2010 in the UK.
The female members are backed by an all-male band, The Cassettes, which at present includes Monster Bobby; the Falcone brothers, Jon and Seb; and Alex White.
The Pipettes were formed in mid-2003 by singer-songwriter and promoter Monster Bobby with the intention of reviving the Phil Spector pop sound and giving it a modern twist, after noticing the reaction girl group songs got during his DJ sets. In collaboration with singer, poet, and photographer Julia Clark-Lowes, who was inspired by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty's The Manual, he recruited friends from and around the local music scene. The Pipettes, as they were to become, were all first introduced to each other by Bobby at The Basketmakers Arms in Brighton.