Meriel Barham

Pale Saints
Live in Rennes, France, April 1990
Background information
Origin	Leeds, England
Genres	Shoegazing, dream pop, indie pop
Years active	1987–1996
Labels	4AD
Associated acts	Edsel Auctioneer, Spoonfed Hybrid, ESP Summer, Lorimer, The Terminals, Cyanide Pills, Kuchen, Lush, The Heart Throbs
Past members	Ian Masters Graeme Naysmith Chris Cooper Meriel Barham Colleen Browne Ashley Horner

Pale Saints were a British alternative rock band formed in 1987 by Ian Masters (bass/vocals), Graeme Naysmith (guitar), and Chris Cooper (drums) in Leeds, England. The group began as a jangly indie pop band, influenced by Primal Scream's early sound.

By the time they recorded their first EP, Barging Into the Presence of God released in 1989, the band went into a direction that displayed a mix of Ian Masters' choirboy-like vocals along with dark atmospheric and noisy pop tunes. Ashley Horner from Edsel Auctioneer briefly joined the band on guitar in the same year. The band was signed to 4AD Records after their first London show, by the label's chief Ivo Watts-Russell.

The group's first album, The Comforts of Madness, was released in 1990, and reached the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. The album's tracks were produced by John Fryer and Gil Norton. The album includes a cover version of "Fell From the Sun" by Opal.

In late 1990, Meriel Barham, the original vocalist of Lush, joined the band as second guitarist and vocalist. Barham contributed backing vocals and guitars to the Half-Life EP, then joined permanently for the Nancy Sinatra cover "Kinky Love", which gave the band a minor hit single as part of Flesh Balloon EP. In 1992 the band recorded their second full-length album, In Ribbons, which was produced by Hugh Jones. Ian Masters left the band in 1993. Former Heart Throbs bassist Colleen Browne joined afterwards.