Gwenno and Ani Saunders were singers in the group with Gwenno occasionally taking to the keyboard.
The Pipettes, at that time consisting of Julia Clark-Lowes, Rose Elinor Dougall, and Becki Stephens and their backing band, The Cassette, formed at a seaside party in Brighton in 2003 and entertained audiences with their trademark polka dot dresses, doowop anthems and choreographed hand movements.
Their first major single, Dirty Mind, reached #61 in the UK singles charts with the follow-up, Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me, reaching #35 in April 2006. Their album, We Are the Pipettes, was released on 17th July including the new single, Pull Shapes which reached #26 in the UK Top 40 Singles Chart, after being released on 3rd July. We Are the Pipettes reached #41 in the album charts after its first week of release. Judy was the 4th single to be released from We Are the Pipettes; it failed to reach the UK Top 40, coming in at #46. However, it did reach #1 on the Indie Chart.
In 2005, The Pipettes completed successful headline tours in the UK and Europe, as well as high-profile support slots with The Magic Numbers, Graham Coxon, British Sea Power and The Go! Team, that has won them fans in high places including Radio One DJ Huw Stephens, and Radio 2's Mark Radcliffe.
A very small tour of America took place in early 2007; every show played was sold-out, culminating in six successful showcases at SXSW 2007. A tour of the UK and Europe in April and May 2007 was followed by a tour across north america, coinciding with the release of the EP Your Kisses are Wasted on Me in the US which reached #5. Through summer 2007 they played a number of festivals in Europe and Japan. October saw a tour of North America, although delayed by visa difficulties, along with the US launch of We Are The Pipettes, including two new songs. A Japanese launch followed with a Japanese tour in December, and 2008 was seen in by the band with a mini-tour in Australia.
In February 2008, Gwenno and Becki appeared at several events without Rose, namely a DJ set in Glasgow and three gigs with Mark Ronson in Brighton and London, leading to speculation that he would be producing their second album.
On April 18th 2008, The Pipettes announced the departure of Rose and Becki, meaning that the group now featured none of the original singers. They were replaced with Ani (Gwenno's sister) and a BRIT School graduate, Anna McDonald. They also reported they were currently demoing twenty to twenty-five new songs with a view to recording their second album in the summer of 2008.
The new lineup made its debut at Corsa Presents Bandstand with Mark Ronson on May 3rd 2008. The band performed Because It's Not Love (But It's Still A Feeling).
On November 12th 2008, the band announced another departure; this time of Anna, who had only been in the band for seven months. Anna's unexpected decision to leave and concentrate on her songwriting meant the band had to cancel their appearance at Sŵn Festival.
On February 11th 2009, the band posted a video blog on their website to introduce the newest Pipette, Beth Mburu-Bowie. With Beth, they are currently finishing work on their second album.
Previous members of the band include Julia Clark-Lowes (now of The Indelicates), Rose Elinor Dougall, Becki Stephens, Joe van Moyland (now of Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong) and Anna McDonald.
http://www.thepipettes.co.uk
I Always Planned to Stay
The Pipettes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As long as you needed me
It's nothing less
Than what you expected
And now that you've moved away
And you've had another chance
I wish you all the best
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to try on to be solo
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to be here on my own, no
I always planned to stay
As long as you needed me
It's nothing less
Than what was expected
And now that you've moved away
We have another chance
I wish you all the best
And hope you mend your heart
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to try on to be solo
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to be here on my own, no
Look at us now
It's everything we want it to be
And I don't know how
We managed to make it but we did, my baby
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to try on to be solo
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to be here on my own, no
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to try on to be solo
Everything is gone but I don't
Want to be here on my own, no
Look at us now
It's everything we want it to be
And I don't know how
We managed to make it but we did, my baby
In The Pipettes' song "I Always Planned to Stay," the lyrics speak to the idea of commitment and staying by someone's side through thick and thin. The singer expresses their dedication to their partner and promises to stay by their side as long as they are needed. However, the partner eventually moves away, leaving the singer alone. Despite this, the singer still wishes them the best and hopes for their heart to heal. The chorus repeats the phrase "Everything is gone but I don't want to try on to be solo" and "Everything is gone but I don't want to be here on my own, no," highlighting the singer's reluctance to move on and be alone.
The song then takes a turn as the singer states "Look at us now, it's everything we want it to be. And I don't know how we managed to make it but we did, my baby." This statement suggests that the partner returned, and they were able to make their relationship work despite the separation. The song ultimately highlights the power of love and dedication to one another.
Line by Line Meaning
I always planned to stay
I always intended to be with you forever
As long as you needed me
I would stay with you as long as you needed me
It's nothing less
It's exactly what you expected from me
Than what you expected
It's exactly what you expected from me
And now that you've moved away
Now that you're not with me anymore
And you've had another chance
And you've had another opportunity in life
I wish you all the best
I hope you have a great life
And hope you mend your heart
I hope you heal emotionally
Everything is gone but I don't
Everything has fallen apart, but I don't
Want to try on to be solo
Want to try being alone
Want to be here on my own, no
Don't want to be alone
We have another chance
We have the opportunity to start over
Look at us now
Look at where we are now
It's everything we want it to be
Our life is exactly what we want it to be
And I don't know how
I don't know how we made it
We managed to make it but we did, my baby
We have managed to overcome our problems and succeeded, my love
Contributed by Samuel Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Thomas Alber
I'd like to think this song would nail it for the U.K in Eurovision🤔🙃🙊😄
Thomas Alber
Love the pipettes, but I'm 41 and...I guess sweet music is a generational thing, I bet not many 'kids' like this...and that makes me sad, but glad I'm 40🙊 Plus🤗 To appreciate this, it's not high brow...not Bowie, Queen etc...but it's cute!