Jenga, Bouffant Hair and Pop'n'Roll: The 405 Speaks to Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell

Two years after the release of their critically-acclaimed album Words and Music by Saint Etienne, the trio have teamed up with First Third Books, an independent publisher specialising in high-end music photo-biography, to present a collection of photographs spanning their time-honoured career, bound in a rather fetching hardcover.

Doron Davidson-Vidavski

15 May, 2014. Photography by Rachael Cassells

It's rather rewarding being a Saint Etienne fan. True, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell are not hugely prolific as far as studio albums are concerned but they do keep fans' interest piqued with special editions, reissues, films and vinyl odds'n'sods. Two years after the release of their critically-acclaimed album Words and Music by Saint Etienne, the trio have teamed up with First Third Books, an independent publisher specialising in high-end music photo-biography, to present a collection of photographs spanning their time-honoured career, bound in a rather fetching hardcover.

Photographic nostalgia is the watchword for this monograph but there's also various tidbits of fact and anecdote thrown in for good measure. You'll even find a foreword by Lawrence (a.k.a Felt's Lawrence Hayward), who poetically and eruditely sums up the band's charm in 455 words. Here's a sample nugget: "The brown stuff we drink is a right murky brew - it helps us to work and see the day thru - NORF LANDAN is where we made our mark - to be more specific Tufnell Park." It's rather lovely.

The book is out next month but you can pre-order it now, which is probably a sensible course of action, seeing as the Deluxe Edition has already sold out and the standard one is limited to a run of 1,700.

We got Sarah Cracknell on the wire for a telephonic stroll down memory lane and heard a bit more about this project and how it came to be.

What have you guys been up to since Words and Music... came out a couple of years ago?

Well, we toured that record quite a bit, going all over the place, really, and more recently we've worked on a film with Paul Kelly called How We Used To Live. It's got footage of post-war London, lots of rare colour images from the BFI National Archive and Pete did the music for it. Ian McShane narrated it. And also Bob has had a book published [Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop] which he's promoted on a book tour.

How did the idea for the new photography book come about?

First Third did a similar book on Felt, whom I love, and I thought it was such a good collection and then the opportunity came for us to do a similar thing, which we thought would be a great idea. We all met up and brought loads of photograph - I have so many - well, we all do, really, and we just sat down and sifted through them and picked the ones that ended up in there. It's funny because sometimes we'd struggle to remember where a particular photo was taken or - with some of them - I'd entirely forgotten them being taken in the first place. But someone would always have some recollection and say - oh, well, actually this one was taken at London Zoo or in Malmö or wherever.

Speaking of Malmö, there's a few photos of you guys from the Good Humor sessions in Sweden and you talk about staying up late playing Jenga in Malmö.

[Laughs] Yes, that's right...

People imagine the rock'n'roll lifestyle as one laden with drugs and alcohol, rather than, well, you know... playing Jenga. These images show a different aspect of life in a band.

[Still laughing] Yes, I think what you see is just how much fun we do actually have together. And it's not just the three of us, there's other people who come with us on tour and it's that feeling of camaraderie and genuinely enjoying what we do.

So would you say that touring for you is pleasure rather than a chore?

Oh absolutely, it's a great adventure and also I always try to go out and explore whatever places we are visiting because, well - you know, I used to worry that I might never get to visit some of those places again so there's that thing of wanting to make the most of the opportunity.

The book mentions your first visit to Japan which, by the sounds of it, could have gone better...

Oh, yeah, I don't think they were very happy with us. We were supposed to be doing PAs but the promoters were actually expecting us to do a three hour set and there was the expectation that the whole thing was going to be done completely live, whereas there's always a pre-recorded electronic element to our live shows.

One of the standout shots in the book is from the session you did with Pierre et Gilles for the Etienne Daho collaboration in 1995. What was that like?

It was amazing but I really did feel sorry for Bob and Pete. We'd all arrived at the studio only for them to have to sit around for hours while I was having my hair and make-up done, which took hours! They gave me very bouffant hair. And, you know, they spent quite some time setting up the shot, there was a lot of attention to detail. There was no taking lots of different shots trying to get the right one, it was just one pose, one shot, but a lot of preparation beforehand. And after all that poor Bob and Pete ended up hidden in the bushes [laughs].

Is there a particular image from the book which you are fond of?

Let me think. That's a really difficult question. Ummm... I have fond memories from the shoot we did for the NME -

The one with the trouser suit and Bob's Estonian flag top?

[laughs] Yes. You know, it was a big thing for us to be in the NME, it was something we were definitely striving for and so that was quite a big thing for us. We felt like we'd made it.

One of the most exciting parts of the book for any Saint Etienne geek like me is the end bit where you've listed all your discography with photos of the artworks, even for the rare fan-club only releases.

Oh yeah!

It's noticeable how you've consistently had a very particular aesthetic and a passion for design in your artwork.

Yes, I think it has always been important for us to make sure that everything was thought out. It's not just about the music but also about how you present it and the imagery and even the fonts you choose for the artwork and we've always been very conscious of that.

I think my favourite artworks were for 'So Tough' and the 'Avenue' single cover. Do you have a favourite?

Which one is the one with the cat on it?

Do you mean 'I was Born On Christmas Day'?

Yes, that's the one. I also really like the one for 'Join Our Club' with the green waves. I think that was inspired by an actual soap bar or detergent packaging.

The Deluxe edition of the book comes with a limited 7" single which has two previously unreleased recordings. The A-side is a song titled 'Pocket Call' - what can you tell us about this track?

We went to Sweden to work with the guys who write and compose for the Melodifestivalen. It's a sort of pre-Eurovision song competition on Swedish television, where they choose who they're going to send to the Eurovision song contest to represent Sweden. We did some recordings with them and this was one of the songs they had, which they didn't feel was quite right for the Eurovision but we absolutely loved it and thought it would work for us.

Is this something you did a while back or quite recently?

No, this was a few months ago.

So, can we deduce from this that there may be a new Saint Etienne album in the offing?

No, not really. These were just some sessions that we did without it necessarily being songs for an album. We are not planning a new album as such, yet, but it was good to record some new stuff together again.

So what is next for you guys after this book?

We are actually going to do a gig in Sheffield next month with a screening of How We Used To Live. We'll be doing the soundtrack live together with Debsey and some other musicians. It's part of the Sheffield Doc Fest, where we had Finisterre screened as well. I think Bob is also going to be DJing and we're going to do a Q&A afterwards. It's kind of daunting playing the soundtrack to the film but also quite exciting.

The book, Saint Etienne, is out on First Third Books on 3 June. It is available to pre-order here.

The Telegraph - Sarah Cracknell on her daily routine, touring and her love of birds - 12-12-2012

Saint Etienne singer Sarah Cracknell talks to Tim Burrows about her daily routine, the band's recent tour to America and how walking through muddy fields is good for your soul.

Sarah Cracknell, 45, joined the band Saint Etienne in 1991 to sing vocals on their third single, Nothing Can Stop Us. They released their eighth studio album, Words and Music by Saint Etienne, in May, and began a British tour in Edinburgh on December 11. An expanded version of their 1996 album Casino Classics is out now (saintetienne.com). Cracknell lives in rural Oxfordshire with her husband, the band's manager Martin Kelly, their two sons, Spencer, 10, and Sam, eight, and their rabbit, Cookie.

Home We've had the house for over 10 years – the oldest bit was a damp shell when we bought it. It was built in 1635 or something. It took a long time to do up while we were living in London. I remember coming down here with my kids a few times when there was no running water and no bathroom. It was challenging, a bit like camping.

Routine I'm quite lucky as I have a double life. When I'm here, which is most of the time, I get up in the morning, have two cups of tea before I get the kids up and make their packed lunches and take them to school. Then I go and see friends, go swimming, go for walks. But when I'm working it's a completely different thing.

Picture This picture (below) of me with my dad [Derek Cracknell] was taken on the set of [the 1969 film] Battle of Britain. It is extremely special to me as he died just before I joined Saint Etienne. He worked in the film business with people like Stanley Kubrick and I spent a lot of time on sets. My parents would take me out of school and I would go on location, because he used to go away for a long time.It just felt normal.

Walking It's one of the nice things about living in the country – I've got a friend who I go trudging off with quite regularly. We usually go for six hours, and it's quite vigorous, through muddy fields and over stiles and up hills. Regardless of whether it's beautiful weather or a bit drizzly, it is really good for your soul.

Birds You are really aware of the seasons out here. I love it – sometimes you can't hear a car, nothing, which I like. You become a bit of a twitcher as well. We get tons of birds in our garden – woodpeckers, jays and red kites.

Touring Our recent American tour was amazing – they hadn't seen us in a while so I think they'd been storing up their enthusiasm. But being on tour for weeks on a sleeper bus is grim. You're all in bunks, it's grimy, and you get so shattered. Every time the bus brakes I'm always convinced we are going to crash because we had a bit of a crash once in the past. We were approaching Calais; Spencer was a baby and I had him in the bunk with me. A car cut up the bus, which went over on one set of wheels and everyone started falling out of the bunks. Now I fear the worst – it's not good for sleeping.
Band memories I've got a box of Saint Etienne stuff in a lock–up somewhere, but I've hung on to some things at home. This sign (pictured below) was made for the first ever Mercury Music Prize, for which we were nominated. This feather boa (pictured below) is around 15 years old and is a bit threadbare. I wear boas on stage all the time; I don't know – I suppose I wanted to add a bit of glamour. I had visions of arriving on stage on a crescent moon hanging from the ceiling, wearing gold lamé, if we ever became hugely famous. But that's how I started, wearing a John Lewis feather boa.

Clothes When I was a teenager I used to circle jumble sales in the local paper and come back with bin liners full of clothes. I have collected 60s clothes ever since. I think I suit shapes from that era. I got this coat (pictured below) from one of my backing singers, Siobhan – she is now one of Prince Charles's PAs.

Souvenir Recently I was at a wedding and was on a table with Chrissie Hynde. I was saying I hated touring and being away from my children and she was like, ‘No, man, this is what you do, they’re not gonna hate you for it.’ Some people find it easier, but it makes me really anxious. Our two-week stint in America was the longest I’ve ever been away from them. I cried on the plane on the way out. Thank God for Skype. I often bring souvenirs back for the kids, like this wind-up Martian toy (pictured below). I found it in Oregon in an old-fashioned toy shop. It’s a little bitof Americana.



Drama I went to Italia Conti [Academy of Theatre Arts] for a year. I begged my parents to let me go, so it took a year for me to confess that I absolutely hated it. I felt like a fish out of water. It was all about kicking your legs in the air and doing show tunes. I wanted to do drama. Then, from the age of about 15 I was in bands. In 1988 I went to a drama college and came out wanting to act, did a few fringe plays but then met Bob [Stanley] and Pete [Wiggs, her Saint Etienne bandmates] through a mutual friend. It was a surprise because I thought I had put being in bands behind me. If someone had said to me we'd still be going in 20–odd years, I'd have laughed.

First records I think the first time I got into the way a record sounds was Rock On by David Essex when I was about eight – it's such a bizarre record, really out there and forwardthinking production–wise. It made me really excited about things sounding new and different. I liked glam records by bands like T.Rex and the Sweet because the sound was so unusual.

Instruments There are quite a lot in the house – they're mostly Martin's. I got this Wurlitzer Butterfly Grand (pictured below) in a music shop in LA. I was lucky getting it back here. A friend has a company that transports stage equipment and he was transporting the stuff for Riverdance to England. He smuggled it in and delivered it to my door.

Nights in Martin and I do that DVD box set thing – we're on series four of Breaking Bad. It's addictive. We did the same with The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood and Mad Men. We usually watch two episodes in a row, but Martin always tries to push for a third.

The original article is here

Sarah Cracknell Interview - The Empire Strikes Back - Melody Maker Article 25-09-1993

I'm not convinced that photos is Sarah - looks like Dot Allison... although I might be wrong...

Sarah Cracknell at Manchester Gorilla 20-06-2015

A collection of photos I took on the day of a very fabulous gig at Gorilla in Manchester featuring Lady Sarah of Cracknell. A bit of a dodgy throat on her part did nothing to spoil the gig as it was a pleasure to hear the "Red Kite" material live. Lesson learned on my part - not going to get any good photos stood right in front of her mike stand. Bah. Bonus though of meeting Sarah beforehand, and she was as gracious as ever giving up time for fans, getting stuff signed and nabbing crib sheets from the stage afterwards. A grand day out. So forgive my indulgence...