SONG OF THE DAY
“Pull Shape” by The Pipettes (We Are The Pipettes, Memphis Industries – Europe, Cherrytree Records – Asia & America, 2006).
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– We Are The Pipettes is the debut album from The Pipettes and is named after the group’s theme song of the same title. The album did not include any liner notes.
– The Pipettes are a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by “svengali” 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 #26 in the UK Singles Chart.
– Originally comprising Julia Clarke-Lowes, Rose Elinor Dougall and Rebecca Stephens, at the time of their debut album Clarke-Lowes had been replaced by Gwenno Saunders. In 2008, Dougall and Stephens also left the group. As of 2010, the line-up is Saunders and her sister Ani.
– The female members are backed by 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 group have been called an “experiment in manufactured pop”, although the members’ take is that they “manufactured” themselves. Their name, which is a reference to a laboratory instrument, is a nod to the experimental origins of the group. The group’s name is pronounced as the instrument is in British English, /pɪˈpÉ›t/, not /paɪˈpÉ›t/ as in American English.
– The male backing musicians, “The Cassettes” never appear in interviews or photoshoots, emphasising the role of the singers.
– The three frontwomen wear polka dot dresses with synchronised choreography being a major part of their live shows, whereas The Cassettes can be seeing wearing knitted tanktops with their initials sewn onto them.
– Additionally, despite their “manufactured” origins, all songs are credited to The Pipettes as a whole. Generally one member has a concept and basic outline for a song, on which the other members subsequently have an input as to arrangement or lyric changes. As a result all members share credit on their original songs.
– As of 2008, none of the original female members (Julia, Rose, Becki) remain.