Saint Etienne @ Heaven

Several years ago I learnt that Saint Etienne had done a gig in London where they played their debut album Foxbase Alpha in full. Unfortunately the gig had already happened when I found out about it.

This year marks 25 years since its release so I had been hoping they would do another gig in London where they play the album in full. Upon returning from holiday earlier this year I found they had announced a date at Heaven, but this had already sold out. Fortunately they added another date which I bought tickets for.

Being a Tuesday, it was too early in the week to drink vast amounts of alcohol, so I decided to arrive early instead of preloading on beer at home (those who buy beer at these venues will know why this is necessary). It seemed the music being played before and in between sets was part of the experience, with all tunes except for one being from 1990-1992 therefore taking us back to the Foxbase Alpha era. Going off memory, from when I arrived to when the support act began, the tunes played where "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - TLC, "Toms Diner" - DNA, "My Lovin" - En Vogue, "Anthem" - N-Joi, "What Can You Do For Me" - Utah Saints, "What Do I Have To Do" - Kylie Minogue, "Chime" - Orbital and "LFO" - LFO.

The support act where a female trio called Stealing Sheep. Its true to say they are rather different to anything I've heard before. All dressed in identical outfits and stood in line at the front consisting of a synth player, electronic drummer and the other member rotating between the guitar and bass, they all shared vocal duties.

After the support act, the tunes I remember being played where "I Love Your Smile" - Shanice, "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" - PM Dawn, "Confide In Me" - Kylie Minogue, "House of Love" - East 17, "Winter in July" - Bomb The Bass, "So Hard" - Pet Shop Boys and "Devotion" - Nomad.

Then onto the main piece, the band arrived on stage to the album intro along with one time collaborator Debsy Wykes doing backing vocals and playing various instruments throughout the night including the recorder.

During "Wilson" (the "would you like some sweets willy?" one), Sarah picked up a tub of Haribo and offered sweets to the audience, I was one of the lucky ones to get a sweet! Then during "Stoned To Say The Least" which is an instrumental track, Sarah and Debsy sat at a table and had a drink and game of cards.

Next up was "Nothing Can Stop Us Now", the first track Sarah sang for the band and she missed her cue to start singing, taking until the chorus to find her place, the beauty of live music I guess.

Once the album finished they took a 10 minute break, the music during this was in the background now and someone behind me kept shouting "Come On!" every 10 seconds during the break which was rather annoying.

Back on the stage they did "Join Our Club" followed by "Who Do You Think You Are", the song Debsy originally contributed vocals to. Then Q-Tee came on stage to perform "Filthy" which was the double A side to "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" that she did the vocals for. Then they did "Your In A Bad Way" before saying goodnight.

Of course there was an encore, and they appeared back on stage minus Pete and Bob to do an acoustic version of "Hobart Paving" which was very good. They rounded off the night with "Kiss and Make Up" which was a non album track from the Foxbase Alpha era. The ironic thing to me was that Sarah began and ended the gig singing songs she wasn't the original vocalist on.

All in all a top night and definitely worth the wait. On the way out they were giving out what looked to be goody bags, on closer inspection they were simply carrier bags with the bands logos on it. Still its a souvenir from a memorable night.