[2][3] Their debut album, Foxbase Alpha, was released to critical acclaim in 1991, featuring their most enduring hits "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Nothing Can Stop Us".
It was followed by So Tough (1993), with the number twelve single "You're in a Bad Way", and the techno folk experiment of Tiger Bay (1994); both albums reached the top-ten.
By the new millennium, Saint Etienne had pivoted towards ambient music on Sound of Water (2000), while Finisterre (2002) and Tales from Turnpike House (2005) distilled these stylistic diversions and a return to their early influences.
[4] Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists, who once had a fanzine called Caff which had developed into a record label by 1989.
[5][6] They originally planned that Saint Etienne would use a variety of different lead singers, and their 1991 debut album, Foxbase Alpha – influenced by sources such as club culture, 1960s pop,[7] and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's Dazzle Ships[8] – features several vocalists, including Moira Lambert and Donna Savage.
[4] Their typical approach was to combine sonic elements (such as samples and digitally synthesized sounds) of the dance-pop that emerged in the wake of the so-called Second Summer of Love with an emphasis on songwriting involving romantic and introspective themes more commonly associated with traditional British pop and rock music.
Early work demonstrated the influence of 1960s soul, 1970s dub and rock as well as 1980s dance music, giving them a broad palette of sounds and a reputation for eclecticism.
[13] During the early 1990s the group enjoyed extensive coverage in UK music weekly papers NME and Melody Maker and gained a reputation as purveyors of "pure pop" in the period immediately prior to the Brit-Pop explosion.
[14] Tiger Bay (1994) represented a change of direction: the entire album was inspired by folk music, combined with modern electronica.
In a 2009 interview, Bob Stanley said that in retrospect the band "got ahead of ourselves a bit" by releasing such an uncommercial album, which "definitely could have done with a couple more obvious songs".
In 1993, the band collaborated with Kylie Minogue for two songs: a cover of "Nothing Can Stop Us" (intended at the time to be her first single release for her new label) and "When Are You Coming Home" (unreleased).
In 1995, the band co-recorded the Reserection EP with French pop singer Étienne Daho; later, they also worked on his album Eden and single "Le Premier Jour".
In 2000, the band crossed genres by working with trance producer and DJ Paul van Dyk, resulting in the single "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)", with vocals by Cracknell.
Sarah Cracknell has collaborated with Marc Almond on his single "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" for his album Stardom Road.
The band also recorded a duet by Cracknell and Posey titled "Secret Love" for the soundtrack, but due to legal entanglements it has never been released.
[citation needed] The band recorded the theme song and incidental music for Maryoku Yummy, a 2010 children's television show that aired on Tiny Pop and The Hub.
Most recently, in 2014, Saint Etienne and Kelly collaborated on How We Used To Live, a view of London from 1945 to 1980, making extensive use of archive film.
[26] "A Good Thing", co-written by Cracknell, Mark Waterfield and Lawrence Oakley, is featured in Pedro Almodóvar's 2006 film Volver and in the Grey's Anatomy season 2 episode "Tell Me Sweet Little Lies".