Join our Club - Saint Etienne







Last week we had a look at a football player with a band named after him, now let's have a look at a football team with a band named after them.
Saint Etienne, the band are Bob Stanley, Peter Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell. Stanley and Wiggs had been friends at school in Croydon and had made music together there. However, it wasn't really until 1988 that Saint Etienne were formed as a band. They signed to Heavenly in 1988 and released their debut album, Fox Base Alpha in 1990. They had already had success in nightclubs with their debut single Only Love Can Break Your Heart, which I remember was still a favourite in the Hacienda in 1991, and this album added to their popularity.
Their concept was to be a band that fused 60's London pop with the Italo House style that was popular at the time. They did this with some success on Fox Base Alpha and their second album So Tough, to much critical acclaim. However on Tiger Bay, their 3rd album they changed their style and lost a lot of support, which is a shame as there were some half decent tunes on it and He's on the Phone made a pretty good single.
They have continued to work together and produce records, as well as several Best ofs. A new album seems to be in the making, but after 2005's quite frankly crap Tales from Turnpike House, it's probably better to stick to the old stuff.
Saint Etienne the football team are also a band who have hit some high peaks and low troughs. They were formed in 1919 by workers from the Casino Grocery Chain and even used the name of the store in their original name. The famous green shirts that they wear also come from the grocery chain. They soon dropped the name of the store from their name, however the green shirts remain up to today, and they became professional in 1923.
They first won the French League in 1957 ending the dominance of Stade de Reims, Nice and Monaco and positioning themselves for dominance in the 196o's . They subsequently went on to win the league in 1964 and for four years in a row from 1967-70.
In the 1970's Robert Herbin arrived and decided that France wasn't big enough and that he wanted European dominance (Mwaahh). They went far in the early 70's but never quite made it, losing to Bayern Munich in the semis in 1975, the final in 1976 and to Liverpool in the quarter's in 1977.
Saint Etienne therefore decided to add to a team that already included stars like Larios, the Revelli brothers, Jaques santini and Dominique Rochereau. In came, Johnny Rep, Michel Platini and Patrick Battiston and in came the title in 1981. However, victory was short lived and having such a star studded team always comes at a cost. So much so that 1 year later the president of the club Robert Rocher was sent down for making illegal payments to players, some of the players also joined him in the slammer, albeit for a brief period, and funnily enough most of them left.
Relegation and more financial woe followed, including an illegal passport scandal in 2001. However the fans at Le Chaudron (the Cauldron) or L' Enfer Vert (Green Hell), as it is commonly known, always stayed loyal. Saint Etienne finally returned to the top division in 2004 and finished 6th the following season. They are currently mid-table and a recent highlight has been a derby win away to bitter rivals Lyon.
The top picture shows Michel Platini scoring against Ipswich Town in the UEFA cup
Some early stuff from the band is available here:






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