Avenue

Written By:
Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs, Sarah Cracknell, Ian Catt

Publisher
Warner Chappell/Warner Chappell/Unpublished/Unpublished (1993)
Warner Chappell/Warner Chappell/Universal/Copyright Control (2010)

Production
Engineer: Ian Catt
Producer: Saint Etienne

Companies
None Identified

Timing
Recorded: Summer - Autumn 1992
Released: Oct 5, 1992

Credits
Vocals, Sri Lanka, Macca Keyring: Sarah Cracknell
Prophet 5, Roland Jupiter, Handclaps, Spriguns of Tolgus: Bob Stanley
Rogue Moog, Emax Sampler, Basso Profundo, Polk Salad: Pete Wiggs
Guitars, Keyboard Programming, Whistling Jack: Ian Catt

Mixes
Avenue (Radio Edit)
Avenue (Variety Club Mix, also known as the Gordon King Mix)*
Avenue (Butlins Mix)*
Avenue (Martial Mix, also known as the A.R. Kane Mix)**
Avenue (Venusian Mix)**

*Remixes by Gordon King and the "natural" Pete Smith
*Engineered by Baz Barrett and Remixed at The Blue Baboon Studio, Manchester
**Remixes by Rudy Tambala (A.R. Kane), Engineered by Ian Catt
**Remixed at RMS Studios London

Note: Sample (Outro) on the Variety Club/Gordon King Mix
"And, a, now as a special treat for you all the Dorsen Whitaker's (TBC) formation team we will all be interested to know will be going forward to the preliminary round of the northern area formation dancing championship so we might see them on the tele yet"
Sampled from ???

Other Preliminary Names for the Track
Young Heart
Lovely Heart
Everlasting Heart

Notes
First single released from So Tough; In 2023, Bob, Pete, and Sarah identified Avenue as their favourite track on So Tough.

"The similarity to The Beach Boys track Wonderful is intentional. The song was originally called 'Young Heart' and was a mash-up of two songs, one written by Bob & Pete and the other by Sarah & Ian." (Adchelle)

Bob: "It's everyone's favourite. But I can't believe we put it out as a single - as if they were going to play it on the radio! We were so bloody cocky! We were so full of ourselves! We'd got to number 21 and thought 'Right! Top 10 here we come', and then put that out! Blimey. Those muffled voices in the background are actually me and Pete discussing Manic Street Preachers, left on the track really quietly".

Pete: "But you can't make out the proper words either." Bob: "That line at the end? It's 'Oh, the clown's no good'" Pete: "It was our advice to McDonald's, regarding their then-current advertising campaign". (Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs 1995 in a Melody Maker Interview on Avenue)

"It's pretty obscured, but we're quoting Nicky Wire from an interview talking about Traci Lords: 'People say she's unintelligent and a dirty slut but she's the most intelligent American I've ever met'". (Bob Stanley 2009)

"at seven minutes nobody was going to play it on radio. We were definitely going for a Jimmy Webb Style multi-part song structure and ornate production. We sampled the mellotron off the Bee Gees 'Horizontal'" (Saint Etienne 2009)

Where can you find it?

Avenue 7:37

Avenue UK 12 Inch (1992)

Avenue UK CD (1992)

Avenue UK Cassette (1992)

Avenue UK 12 Inch Promo (1992)

Avenue UK Cassette Promo (1992)

Avenue UK CD Promo (1992)

So Tough (1992)

Fairy Tales From Saint Etienne Japan CD (1995/1997)

Too Young To Die UK (1995)

Smash The System UK 2CD (2001)

Smash The System UK 2CD Limited (2001)

Smash The System UK 2CD Promo (2001)

Single

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Album

Compilation

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

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7:32 (V)

7:37

7:07

7:32 (V)

?:??

7:36

7:40

7:34

7:33

7:33

7:33

7:34 (I)

Avenue (Radio Edit)

Avenue UK CDEP Promo (1992)

Travel Edition US 1990-2005

Smash The System UK (2005)

London Conversations UK (2008/2009)

Saint Etienne on 45 Part One UK (2011)

Single

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

Single

Link

Link

Link

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3:51

3:50

3:49

3:50

3:48 (V)

Avenue (Variety Club Mix) 6:24
Also known as the Gordon King Mix

Avenue UK CD Remix (1992)

Avenue UK 12 Inch Promo (1992)

Too Young To Die UK 2XCD Limited (1995)

Too Young To Die The Remix Album UK Cassette Promo (1995)

Casino Classics UK 2XCD 1996

Casino Classics UK 2XCD Limited 1996

Casino Classics UK 2XCassettes 1996

Casino Classics UK 2XCD Promo 1996

Casino Classics UK 2XCD 2002

Casino Classics UK 3XLP 2002

Smash The System DVD Photo Gallery 2002

Casino Classics UK Deluxe Edition CD1 (2012)

Casino Classics UK Deluxe Edition Promo CDR1 (2012)

Casino Classics UK Box Set CD1 (2012)

Casino Classics UK Box Set Promo CDR1 (2012)

Single

Single

Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits

Compilation

Compilation

Compilation

Compilation

Compilation

Compilation

DVD

Compilation

Compilation

Compilation

Compilation