The Pipettes

The Pipettes /pɪˈpɛts/ were an English indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton[1] by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry.

[2] The female members were backed by an all-male band, the Cassettes, which included Bobby, brothers Jon and Seb Falcone, 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,[3] after noticing the reaction girl group songs got during his DJ sets.

[4] In collaboration with singer, poet, and photographer Julia Clark-Lowes, who was inspired by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty's The Manual,[5] he recruited friends from and around the local music scene.

[1] Regarding the formation of the band, Rose Elinor Dougall said in an interview: "Well, basically our guitarist, Bobby, had a contact with someone, and he kind of recruited us all individually.

In April 2005 founding member Julia left to concentrate on her own project, the Indelicates, and was replaced by Welsh-language solo artist Gwenno.

Three limited edition singles were released in 2005, leading to the group being signed to Memphis Industries shortly after touring with the label's The Go!

After a series of well-received performances at the SXSW festival, an EP led by the track "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me" was released on 5 June, peaking at No.

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and in a blog post on their MySpace that RiotBecki and Rosay had left "to pursue other musical projects", and had been replaced by Ani, who is Gwenno's younger sister, and Anna McDonald.

The new line-up made its live début on 3 May when they joined Mark Ronson on stage at the Corsa Presents Bandstand event in Old Billingsgate Market, London.

[16] "Stop the Music" was premiered on BBC Wales, in November 2009, and was song of the day on PopJustice on 23 February 2010, followed by an excellent review.

The Pipettes was released on 6 September 2010, followed by singles "Call Me" and non-album track "Boo Shuffle", a posthumous tribute to producer Martin Rushent.

Two women singing live in black and white polka dot dresses
Gwenno (left) and RiotBecki in 2006
Ani Glass, Gwenno and Beth Mburu-Bowie performing at Turning Point Roundhouse, 2009.