The Pipettes biography
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Julia Clarke-Lowes, Rose Elinor Dougall and Rebecca Stephens, at the time of their debut album Clarke-Lowes had been replaced by Gwenno Saunders.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, 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.
Overview
Formation-2007
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.
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, is a nod to the experimental origins of the group. The group's name is pronounced as the instrument is in British English, , not 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.
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