The Pipettes
Encyclopedia
The Pipettes are a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...

 formed in 2003 in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 by "svengali" Robert "Monster Bobby
Monster Bobby
Monster Bobby is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the creator of and guitarist for the indie pop girl group The Pipettes.-Overview:...

" Barry. The group has released two albums, We Are the Pipettes
We Are the Pipettes
We Are The Pipettes is the debut album from The Pipettes and is named after the group's theme song of the same title. It was released on 17 July 2006 on Memphis Industries and is available on CD, vinyl and digital download...

, and Earth vs. The Pipettes
Earth vs. The Pipettes
Earth vs. The Pipettes is the second album from the British girl group, The Pipettes, and first album as a duo. Our Love was Saved By Spacemen was released as a viral video online, and received generally positive reviews from websites such as PopJustice and PopMatters. "Stop The Music," their...

and released numerous singles to support it; the most successful being "Pull Shapes
Pull Shapes
"Pull Shapes" is a single from The Pipettes and was released on 3 July 2006. It is available on CD, double 7" vinyl, and digital download from Memphis Industries...

" which peaked at #26 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

Originally comprising Julia Clarke-Lowes
The Indelicates
The Indelicates are a Sussex-based English indie rock band. Formed in 2005 by Julia Clark-Lowes and Simon Clayton , the band currently consists of Julia and Simon, Alastair Clayton, Ed van Beinum, Lily Rae and Laurence Owen. They have released three albums - American Demo , released on Weekender...

, Rose Elinor Dougall
Rose Elinor Dougall
Rose Elinor Dougall is an English singer, songwriter and musician best known for being a member of The Pipettes and for performing with Mark Ronson. She currently also performs and records as a solo artist.-Career:...

 and Rebecca Stephens
Rebecca Stephens
Rebecca Stephens is a singer, formerly with British band The Pipettes, where she was commonly known as RiotBecki....

, at the time of their debut album Clarke-Lowes had been replaced by Gwenno Saunders
Gwenno Saunders
Gwenno Saunders is a British dancer and solo artist. She is best known as a singer and keyboardist with The Pipettes, and is also known by the name Gwenno Pipette.-Biography:...

. In 2008, Dougall and Stephens also left the group. As of 2010, the line-up is Saunders and her sister Ani, and their next album release, Earth vs. The Pipettes was released on 6 October 2010 in the UK.

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
Alex White (musician)
Alex White is a multi-instrumentalist who, along with brother Tom, forms the nucleus of Brighton band The Electric Soft Parade. Alex also plays drums in Brakes...

.

Formation–2007

The Pipettes were formed in mid-2003 by singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...

 Monster Bobby
Monster Bobby
Monster Bobby is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the creator of and guitarist for the indie pop girl group The Pipettes.-Overview:...

 with the intention of reviving the Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....

 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
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...

 and Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...

's The Manual
The Manual
The Manual is a 1988 book by The Timelords , better known as The KLF. It is a tongue-in-cheek step by step guide to achieving a No.1 single with no money or musical skills, and a case study of the duo's UK novelty pop No...

, 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.

Regarding the formation of the band, Rose said in an interview: "Well, basically our guitarist, Bobby had a contact with someone, and he kind of recruited us all individually. We all kind of knew each other, but not as a group. He asked us if we wanted to be involved and we said yes went for a drink and that was it. I think we had a few songs, he had a few songs, and we had ideas and gradually it evolved to what it is now because we all write songs, but it was Bobby who kind of started it off."

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
Pipette
A pipette is a laboratory tool used to transport a measured volume of liquid.-Use and variations:Pipettes are commonly used in molecular biology, analytical chemistry as well as medical tests...

, is a nod to the experimental origins of the group. The group's name is pronounced as the instrument is in British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

, pɪˈpɛt, not paɪˈpɛt as in American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

. The male backing musicians, "The Cassettes" never appear in interviews or photoshoots, emphasising the role of the singers. The three frontwomen wear polka dot
Polka dot
Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of filled circles, generally equally sized and spaced relatively closely in relation to their diameters. Polka dots are most commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, and furniture, but they appear in a wide array of contexts...

 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.

The line-up consisting of Rose ("Rosay"), Julia ("The Duchess (of Darkness)" or "Julia Caesar"), RiotBecki, Jon, Seb, Joe ("Robin of Loxley") and Bobby settled in mid-2004, after earlier line-ups included members of The Electric Soft Parade
The Electric Soft Parade
The Electric Soft Parade are an English psych-pop band from Brighton, comprising brothers Alex and Thomas White, the creative core of the band, as well as a number of other musicians with whom they record and perform live, most recently including Andrew Mitchell and Damo Waters, as well as...

 and Marc Beatty of Brakes
Brakes (band)
Brakes is a four member band from Brighton, England. The group formed in 2003. It consists of Eamon Hamilton , Thomas White , Marc Beatty , and Alex White .-Biography:Brakes formed in 2003, when Thomas White and Alex White of The Electric Soft Parade saw Eamon Hamilton perform...

. In April 2005 founder member Julia left to concentrate on her own project, The Indelicates
The Indelicates
The Indelicates are a Sussex-based English indie rock band. Formed in 2005 by Julia Clark-Lowes and Simon Clayton , the band currently consists of Julia and Simon, Alastair Clayton, Ed van Beinum, Lily Rae and Laurence Owen. They have released three albums - American Demo , released on Weekender...

, and was replaced by former Welsh-language solo artist Gwenno Saunders
Gwenno Saunders
Gwenno Saunders is a British dancer and solo artist. She is best known as a singer and keyboardist with The Pipettes, and is also known by the name Gwenno Pipette.-Biography:...

. Three limited edition singles were released in 2005, leading to the group being signed to Memphis Industries
Memphis Industries
Memphis Industries is a British independent record label.Memphis Industries was established as a record label in 1998 by the brothers Ollie and Matt Jacob with the first release being Blue States' Forever EP...

 shortly after touring with the label's The Go! Team
The Go! Team
The Go! Team are a six-piece band from Brighton, England. They combine indie rock and garage rock with a mixture of blaxploitation and Bollywood soundtracks, double dutch chants, old school hip hop and distorted guitars similar to the style of Sonic Youth. Their songs are a mix of live...

. Debut album We Are the Pipettes
We Are the Pipettes
We Are The Pipettes is the debut album from The Pipettes and is named after the group's theme song of the same title. It was released on 17 July 2006 on Memphis Industries and is available on CD, vinyl and digital download...

was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 on 17 July 2006 and reached #41 in the UK Album Chart. The album was produced by Gareth Parton and Andy Dragazis (of Blue States
Blue States (band)
Blue States are an English downtempo music band, headed up by Andy Dragazis. The band has been active since 1997, and is currently working, based in London, England. There have been four albums to date, the latest 'First Steps Into...' in 2007, with a B-sides collection Sum Of The Parts in 2009...

).

In 2007, the band signed with Cherrytree Records
Cherrytree Records
Cherrytree Records is an American record label and is an imprint of Interscope Records.-History:Cherrytree Records was founded in 2005 by Martin Kierszenbaum, being German for cherry tree...

, part of Interscope
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

, to release their material in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

. After a series of well-received performances at the SXSW
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...

 festival, an EP led by the track "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" was released on 5 June, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales
Hot 100 Singles Sales
The Hot Singles Sales chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures sales of commercial singles and is one of three component charts, along with the Hot 100 Airplay and the Hot Digital Songs, that determine the chart positions of singles on the...

 chart. The album was released in North America on 2 October, where it reached #18 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

 chart, and in Asia on October 17, with both releases containing new bonus tracks. Both of these versions of the album were remixed and produced by Greg Wells
Greg Wells
Greg Wells is a multiple Grammy nominated musician, record producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Wells has produced and written hits with Adele, Weezer, Pink, Theophilus London, Deftones, Katy Perry, Rufus Wainwright, The All American Rejects, OneRepublic, Mika, Aerosmith, Burt Bacharach,...

, thus resulting in a differing sound from the original European release.

In June 2007, original drummer Joe left to concentrate on his own band Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong
Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong
Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong were an English indie rock band based in London. Although the band attracted considerable press attention following the 2007 release of their debut single "Lucio Starts Fires", they failed to capitalise on this, and disbanded in 2009.-Overview:The band formed in late...

 and was replaced by Jason Adelinia, formerly of Teasing Lulu and This City
This City
"This City" is a song by American singer and songwriter Patrick Stump from his debut solo album Soul Punk . A remix featuring rapper Lupe Fiasco was released as the album's first single...

.

Lineup changes 2008–present

On 18 April 2008, the group broke up although it was announced on the band's official website and in a blog post on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 that RiotBecki and Rosay had left "to pursue other musical projects", and had been replaced by Ani, who is Gwenno's younger sister, and Anna McDonald. This means that none of the original female members (Julia, Rose, Becki) remain. Jason Adelinia also left the band and was replaced by Alex White
Alex White (musician)
Alex White is a multi-instrumentalist who, along with brother Tom, forms the nucleus of Brighton band The Electric Soft Parade. Alex also plays drums in Brakes...

 from The Electric Soft Parade
The Electric Soft Parade
The Electric Soft Parade are an English psych-pop band from Brighton, comprising brothers Alex and Thomas White, the creative core of the band, as well as a number of other musicians with whom they record and perform live, most recently including Andrew Mitchell and Damo Waters, as well as...

 and Brakes
Brakes (band)
Brakes is a four member band from Brighton, England. The group formed in 2003. It consists of Eamon Hamilton , Thomas White , Marc Beatty , and Alex White .-Biography:Brakes formed in 2003, when Thomas White and Alex White of The Electric Soft Parade saw Eamon Hamilton perform...

. Adelinia started playing drums for The Ghost Frequency
The Ghost Frequency
The Ghost Frequency were a UK band signed to the label City Rockers.The Ghost Frequency formed in a bedroom in Spring 2005 and begun writing songs and recording demos on a 4 track recorder. Drummer Ben Chetwood joined the band in November of that year and the band began rehearsing for live shows in...

 and now plays for Los Campesinos!
Los Campesinos!
Los Campesinos! are a seven piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. Although the band formed in Wales, none of its members are Welsh. They released their debut album, Hold on Now, Youngster..., in February 2008 and followed this up by releasing a record...

.

The new line-up made its live début on 3 May when they joined Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....

 on stage at the Corsa Presents Bandstand event in Old Billingsgate Market
Old Billingsgate Market
Old Billingsgate Market is the name given to what is now a hospitality and events venue in the City of London, England, based in the Victorian building that was formerly Billingsgate Fish Market....

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. They played their first full show in support of REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...

 on 10 June at the indigO2
The Dome
The Dome commonly refers to:*Millennium Dome, a former Millennium exhibition venue in London, England, now redeveloped as The O2 entertainment venue*Louisiana Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints american football team*Hubert H...

. On 16 July they appeared at the premiere of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is a 2008 British coming of age film film co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha starring Georgia Groome. It is based on two teenage novels by Louise Rennison: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging and It's OK, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers...

, following the inclusion of "Pull Shapes" on the movie's soundtrack. On consecutive nights from 1st until 3 September they played a series of promotional gigs at The Barfly
Barfly (club)
Barfly is a chain of live music venues nightclubs in the UK operating as part of the MAMA Group. It has venues in Brighton, London & York. They regularly feature live music. Their club nights tend to feature rock, alternative and independent music...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

On 12 November, it was announced that Anna McDonald had left The Pipettes to pursue songwriting opportunities away from the band. On 11 February 2009, Beth Mburu-Bowie the only black member of the band to-date was announced as McDonald's replacement. This line-up made its live début on 5 March 2009 at the launch party of the British Music Experience
British Music Experience
The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition, taking up more than 20,000 square feet, installed into The O2 Bubble, part of The O2 in Greenwich, London...

. Beth toured and recorded the second album until late 2009 when she and The Pipettes parted ways. Her vocals were replaced on all recorded material. Earth vs. The Pipettes
Earth vs. The Pipettes
Earth vs. The Pipettes is the second album from the British girl group, The Pipettes, and first album as a duo. Our Love was Saved By Spacemen was released as a viral video online, and received generally positive reviews from websites such as PopJustice and PopMatters. "Stop The Music," their...

was produced by Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...

 and recorded at The Dutch House Studios at his home in Berkshire.

On 12 February, a new track "Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen" and an accompanying video were made available via the Pipettes official website. It generally got positive reviews from websites such as PopJustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....

 and PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

.

"Stop The Music" was premiered on BBC Wales, in November 2009, and was song of the day on PopJustice on February 23, 2010, followed by an excellent review. The music video was released on March 23, 2010, and the song is to be released on April 19, 2010.

Albums

Year Album Chart positions
UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

2006 We Are The Pipettes
We Are the Pipettes
We Are The Pipettes is the debut album from The Pipettes and is named after the group's theme song of the same title. It was released on 17 July 2006 on Memphis Industries and is available on CD, vinyl and digital download...

41
2010 Earth vs. The Pipettes
Earth vs. The Pipettes
Earth vs. The Pipettes is the second album from the British girl group, The Pipettes, and first album as a duo. Our Love was Saved By Spacemen was released as a viral video online, and received generally positive reviews from websites such as PopJustice and PopMatters. "Stop The Music," their...

-

Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

2004 "Pipettes Christmas Single" * non-album single
2005 "I Like a Boy in Uniform (School Uniform)"
"ABC"
"Judy"
"Dirty Mind" 63 We Are the Pipettes
2006 "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me
Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me
"Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me" was the second single from The Pipettes' debut album We Are the Pipettes. It was released on 27 March 2006 and available on CD, double 7" vinyl and digital download on Memphis Industries...

"
35
"Pull Shapes
Pull Shapes
"Pull Shapes" is a single from The Pipettes and was released on 3 July 2006. It is available on CD, double 7" vinyl, and digital download from Memphis Industries...

"
26
"Judy" (re-recording) 46
2010 "Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen" - Earth vs. Pipettes
"Stop the Music" -
"Call Me" -
2011 "Boo Shuffle" - TBC
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