E220: Bob Stanley on Saint Etienne + Connie Francis + Bob Weir R.I.P.

About this episode

Bob Stanley discusses his career and the evolution of Saint Etienne, along with tributes to Connie Francis and Bob Weir.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of rape (40:37–42:20). In this episode we ask Bob Stanley about his career as a writer and member of the beloved Saint Etienne, whose swansong year this is. We start with Caff, the '80s fanzine which set out the eclectic pop aesthetic that underpinned Saint Etienne, proceeding from there to Bob's memories of life on Melody Maker in the late '80s and early '90s. A clip of our guest's erstwhile MM colleague Simon Reynolds talking about Saint Etienne in 2021 is the cue for a general discussion of the trio's evolution over the last 35 years – and for an explanation of their (very amicable) decision to call it a day after a tour this September. Revisiting the epic "story of pop" that was Bob's 2013 tome Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! leads to clips from Hank Bordowitz's 1997 audio interview with the late Connie Francis, the Jersey girl who in the late '50s and early '60s was arguably the biggest female pop artist in America. After Mark pays a lifelong Deadhead's tribute to the late Bob Weir, he quotes from newly-added library pieces about the Nice (1967), Tom Wolfe (1969) and Paul McCartney (1979). Finally, Jasper sees us out with his thoughts on…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mark Pringle, Jasper Murison-Bowie

Guest: Bob Stanley

Topics covered

• Bob Stanley
• Saint Etienne
• music history
• Connie Francis
• Bob Weir
• interviews

Keywords

• Bob Stanley
• Saint Etienne
• Connie Francis
• Bob Weir
• music history
• interviews
• Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Saint Etienne

Books & works: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!, Caff, St. Etienne: Holier Than Thou, Saint Etienne: Cats Eyes and Legless, Nice (1967), Tom Wolfe (1969), Paul McCartney (1979), Hank Bordowitz's 1997 audio interview, interviews with Ini Kamoze (1995), D'Angelo (1998)

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