The Pipettes

Shunning their former incarnation as a polka dot-clad Sixties inspired girl group, whose single Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me provided the soundtrack for indie lovers and university students everywhere in 2006, the resurrected Pipettes have gone and done a Dylan and turned electric. Or at least electro. 

Under the watchful eye of Brit Award-winning producer Martin Rushent, sisters Gwenno and Ani Saunders have reinvented The Pipettes as a ’70s and ’80s disco-inspired twosome, if you don’t count their all-male backup band.

Like the bedazzled disco starlets of times gone by, The Pipettes’ second album Earth vs The Pipettes hopes to bring unadulterated choreographed fun back into the charts. But not content with mere world domination, the band are setting their sights high and have issued the warning that they are ready to blast even the grumpiest into another dimension with their outer space disco sounds.

Oxygen deprivation considered, I couldn’t resist an insight into the giddy highs of the minds of The Pipettes. Original Pipette Gwen talks about Svengali rumours, gives her advice how to stretch those pounds, and offers some pretty creative ways to sort out all those pesky Parliamentary problems we’ve been having…

Where do you live in London and why?

‘Charlton, because it’s cheap.’

How would you describe a typical Pipettes gig?

‘Ridiculous, gets a smile and at least a toe tap out of the grumpiest, booming blooming fun, a workout and amazeballs.’

What has it been like working with Martin Rushent of Buzzcocks, Human League and Stranglers fame?

‘Well, it was rather slow. But this is very important. Far too much is done far too quickly these days. People think only of results that be easily measured, and not of the process of doing something, the thought that goes into it. Martin is a very special man because he knows exactly what he is doing, and he knows that he knows exactly what he is doing. This makes him fearless, but never at the expense of precision.’

Describe your new album, Earth vs The Pipettes in five words.

‘Outer. Space. Disco. Pop. Fantasia.’

You were obviously very inspired by Sixties girl groups in style and sound, but what do you think sets you apart from other ‘girl groups’?

‘Bobby [former Pipettes guitarist Robert ‘Monster Bobby’ Barry] doesn’t beat us, or point guns at us. Actually, style and sound is pretty well where it all ends. A lot of those ’60s groups were very dubious politically and ethically, whereas The Pipettes have always been essentially a kind of Scandinavian social democracy. All that business about Bobby being some sort of Svengali/puppet master was just a gag. Of course, the British public has a tendency to take jokes a little too seriously – just look at Nick Clegg.’

Who inspires you musically?

‘Everyone, next door’s house party, the coffee machine, yesterday, tomorrow, now, Robert’s iPod, Joe’s Spotify account, traffic and silence.’

Which is your favourite music venue in London?

‘The Lexington. And Oliver’s Music Bar, Greenwich.’

What does your ideal night out in London involve?

‘Canary Wharf engulfed in a ball of flame, thousands of dead bankers, David Cameron’s head on a spike, parliament stormed and occupied, Boris Johnson roasted on a spit to feed the poor.’

What is one thing you would recommend everyone do in London at least once?

‘Fall asleep on a night bus.’

Fashion is clearly a big part of The Pipettes – where’s your favourite place for shopping in London?

‘North-east London charity shops, high street clearance sales, east London markets. Full price anything sucks, bargains, discounts and free stuff rock. Gotta stretch that pound!’

What do you love and loathe about London?

‘We love the tawdry cabaret of Soho streets, angels dancing in the streets of Peckham Rye, Lahmacuns on Kingsland Road, and the unearthly sounds of the Thames barrier. We loathe the incompetence of PFI schemes for housing and transport, Islington arrivistes, the queasy deference in the face of brutality, and everything west of Regent Street.’

Can we expect a tour any time soon for the new album?

‘We will be touring in Germany in September. They like us there.’

What is next for The Pipettes?

‘The third Pipettes album will be called The Pipettes in 3D. The next logical step from where we are now would seem to involve 2 Step, Timbaland and lots of breakbeats; post-Thriller Michael Jackson, ’90s Euro house. That sort of thing. It’ll be like a disaster movie. We’ll have to get Irwin Allen in to do the videos. Or Roland Emmerich.’

Earth vs The Pipettes was released on 6 September.

www.myspace.com/thepipettes