Concert Review Saint Etienne The Roundhouse London

Saint Etienne are a band that never quite broke the mainstream, instead quietly carved out a career since 1990 with far more albums than perhaps even they can remember. At times they were almost too prolific with extra songs filling fan only CDs and deluxe editions that even their music boffin Bob Stanley might struggle to recall. 'Tonight', their opening song from 2012, is a shimmering example of their knack at a catchy radio staple, as they capture the joyful rush of the night before the hangover. It’s a perfect example of their many pop hits that were chart misses. 

They have announced their split following a solid return to form with last years International album, which followed two experimental sound montage LPs that despite critical acclaim tested one’s patience for the melodic possibilities of dripping taps, creaking radiators and slowed down samples of better songs; the covers were nice though. 

Tonight they focus on what makes them great, wistful springtime pop about unrequited love kicked about by 60's girl bands, Italo disco, rave comedown rooms and suburban dreams of when bedroom wall posters mattered, top 40 chart positions measured our own success and Our Price was our mecca. 

What makes these songs more poignant is their audience, having once listened to via cassettes on collapsed bedsit sofas and in 1-litre hatchbacks, are now in their 50s. All those future lives and loves no longer a mystery. Hearing Sarah Cracknell croon 'Spring' and its strident ‘With The Love I've Got You'll Forget About Her/ And Find It Easy To Live Without Her,’ it’s hard not to wonder where all those hopes went. Did he forget about her, or did he have to recover from a second heartbreak. The tracksuits might be more expensive, with Audi car keys and Waitrose loyalty cards, but the stories filling the Roundhouse tonight didn’t exist in the 90s and all likely to be far from what anyone expected; much like Saint Etienne’s longevity. 

Sant Etienne were one of those early 90s bands that only featured guest singers, and tonight its long-stand backing vocalist Debs who Sarah Cracknell is now depending upon. Cracknell’s voice isn’t what it once was and she was never Mariah Carey in the first place. They always walked the tightrope of slight, and straddled the genres of rare groove and comedown funk with house and pop that probably confused as many people as it coalesced. 

Few bands found such lasting success via so many lower top 30 hits. There were a few break throughs like 'He’s On The Phone' and 'Who Do You Think You Are?', both glistening perfect pop meteorites of hi-nrg and vocals purring like a cat sanctuary’s feeding time that broke into the mainstream like postcards from an alternate future. These biggest hits all hit the Roundhouse joyously, but otherwise they might have played an alternate 20 songs without any complaints. The pulsating 'Heart Failed (In The Back of a Taxi)' from 2000 and last year’s 'Take Me To The Pilot' kept spirits high, as did the stomping curveball of a Gary Numan cover 'Stormtrooper In Drag'.

Despite the victory lap, it is hard not to conclude that it might be time to drop the final curtain. Bob Stanley was grinning throughout as he pressed buttons alongside schoolfriend Pete Wiggs, but there was barely any celebratory recognition you might expect; it felt more mid-tour than end of the last tour. 

They might’ve closed with the sumptuous 'Goodnight' from 2017’s Tales from Turnpike House, but instead signed off with a tearjerking 'The Last Time', and left the stage until next time. As is customary, they have announced a few festival shows for next year and maybe another final show might be too tempting to refuse, but they are no longer the well-oiled machine of yore. The drummer might give a live feel, but the lack of a lead guitar was missed. Sarah can still shimmy like she always did, but her vocals were too frequently a stroke rather than punch. Wiggs once describe his band as an iron fist in a velvet glove, but tonight it felt more velvet glove than perhaps these songs deserved. Still, we were lucky to have them and it was good while it lasted, which somewhat diminishes their tenuous 36 years of kooky samples, pop songs about pop songs and an encyclopaedic knowledge of London’s side streets (a song which sadly didn’t appear tonight). 

Reviewer:  Tom Hocknell

On: 18th September 2026