Sarah Cracknell in conversation with Helen Pike

A much-anticipated night at Magdalen College School and the festival!

Join The Master as she sits down with Sarah Cracknell, lead singer of legendary indie band Saint Etienne, to talk about the secret of their success over many decades.

‘It’s a telepathy thing’, Sarah reflects on the band’s creative process. ‘You don’t have to explain yourself too much because the other person will always get it.’ —BRICKS Magazine, 2024

The trio that is Saint Etienne - Sarah Cracknell, Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley - met in 1990, and in 1991 released their seminal debut album Foxbase Alpha, which included relaxed, come-down classics Only Love Can Break Your Heart and Nothing Can Stop Us Now.

In a dance world where drum machines and pounding basslines rule, Saint Etienne have always been a welcome purveyor of fresh pop, dance and ambient fusion. With Sarah Cracknell's breathy, ethereal vocal still sending shivers down the spine, this is the night to get the back stories and ask your questions. Who knows? – We might even get to be the first to learn of another gig!

Yeah, we keep saying, ‘Oh yeah, we're playing live next year,’ and people go, ‘Where?’ And we just say, ‘I don't know yet’. —Sarah Cracknell

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Host or Publisher Oxford Festival of the Arts