The Pipettes

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The Pipettes
From left to right: Rebecca Stephens, Gwenno Saunders, Rose Dougall
Background information
Origin	Brighton, England
Genre(s)	Indie pop Pop
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Memphis Industries
Website	http://www.thepipettes.co.uk
Members
Becki Gwenno (joined 2005) Rose Monster Bobby Jon Seb Joe
Former members
Julia

The Pipettes are a British indie pop girl group based in Brighton. Their sound has been compared to the classic 1960s girl groups such as The Shangri-Las and The Ronettes.

1 Overview
2 Members
3 Discography
4 Notes and references
5 External links

[edit] Overview

The promoter, performer and guitarist Monster Bobby formed the group in mid-2003 with the intention of reviving the traditional Phil Spector pop sound and giving it a modern twist, after noticing the reaction girl group songs got during his DJ sets[3]. According to interviews, it was to this end that he recruited three frontwomen to be the public face of the group.^[1] ^[2] An alternative report has it that the group was founded as an experiment in manufactured pop by Bobby and founder member Julia Clark-Lowes after the latter had read Bill Drummond (and Jimmy Cauty)'s The Manual.^[3] The male backing musicians (officially called "The Cassettes", although members have emphasised that the band is officially a seven piece) rarely appear in interviews or promo photos, adding mystique and emphasising the role of the singers. The group settled on a lineup in mid 2004 and after losing founding member Julia (now a member of The Indelicates) in early 2005 have progressed apace. The three frontwomen wear polka dot dresses and synchronised choreography is a major part of their live shows, whereas The Cassettes can be seeing wearing yellow tank tops with their initals sewn onto them.

Three extremely limited edition vinyl releases were released in 2005, leading to the group being signed to Memphis Industries shortly after touring with the same label's The Go! Team amongst others. In April 2005, Becki and former member Julia also contributed vocals to the hip-hop album, Flowers & Trees by fellow Brightonian Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi. Shortly thereafter they released their first full single and undertook several headline dates of their own in addition to some high profile support slots with the likes of The Magic Numbers and British Sea Power. Debut album "We Are the Pipettes" was released in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2006 and reached #41.

Gwenno Pipette (Gwenno Saunders) also writes and records her own material, primarily in Welsh and Cornish.

[edit] Members

Becki Pipette aka RiotBecki (Rebecca Stephens) – Vocals
Gwenno Pipette (Gwenno Saunders) – Vocals and keyboard(s)
Rose Pipette aka Rosay (Rose Dougall) – Vocals and keyboard(s)
Monster Bobby – Guitar
Jon Cassette (Jon Falcone) – Bass
Seb Cassette (Seb Falcone) – Keyboards
Robin Of Loxley aka Joe Cassette (Joe Beaumont) – Drums

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year	Title	UK Albums Chart
2006	We Are the Pipettes	41

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	UK Singles Chart	Album
2004	Pipettes Christmas Single*	-	-
2005	"I Like a Boy in Uniform (School Uniform)"	-	-
2005	"ABC"	-	-
2005	"Judy"	-	-
2005	"Dirty Mind"	63	We Are the Pipettes
2006	"Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me"	35	We Are the Pipettes
2006	"Pull Shapes"	26	We Are the Pipettes
2006	"Judy"	46	We Are the Pipettes

*Note: Limited edition CD of 200 individually numbered copies given out free at gigs in December 2004 containing the song "In the Bleak Midwinter". An a capella version of the song was available at the same time to download from Audiojunkies.