Frères Sourires (22): Stuart A. Staples

Guestpost! Roger Grund on Stuart A. Staples and Tindersticks. Okay, this might be stretching the Frères Sourires-project a little - Tindersticks isn't a French band, nor do they sing in French a lot. But Roger chose a great song (in French), and every chance to introduce people to this brilliant band I take! Go right ahead, Roger:

So talented, yet so unbothered by success, fame and all that comes with it. That is, in a nutshell, Tindersticks, from Nottingham, UK. For a brief moment in 1995, around the release of their second album characteristically named Tindersticks, it appeared as if the band were going to massive, but of course, it did never happen. Their fanbase were more concerned about this than the band; Tindersticks simply continued on their journey of progressively more subtle and seducing songs, a journey that has led to solo recordings by Tindersticks singer Stuart A. Staples, most recently.
France always occupied a special position in Tindersticks-land. Like Roxy Music before them, aestetically and atmospherically Tindersticks are regarded as ‘European’ - then again, almost any band that does not sing about beer and football is deemed continental in Britain. In France they played sell out shows in prestigious venues, had modest airplay and an active following in artistic circles. Maybe with this in mind, Tindersticks recorded Plus de Liaisons, a French-language version of No More Affairs from their second album, the closest Tindersticks ever approached a Hit Single. Plus de Liaisons finds Tindersticks in a reflective mood, where the singer ponders the emotional cost of his ‘fooling around’ and concludes that from now on there will be Plus de Liaisons.

Tindersticks - Plus de Liaisons