Pale Movie

"Pale Movie"
Single by Saint Etienne
from the album Tiger Bay
Released	February 1994 (1994-02)
Format	7", 12" vinyl, MC, CD
Genre	Folk, Eurodance
Length	3:51
Label	Heavenly - HVN 37
Writer(s)	Stanley/Wiggs
Producer	Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne singles chronology
"Xmas 93" (1993) "Pale Movie" (1994) "Like a Motorway" (1994)

"Pale Movie" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne from the album Tiger Bay. It was released as a single in February 1994, and reached #28 in the UK Singles Charts. It also became a hit in other countries, reaching number 1 in Lebanon.^{[citation needed]}

In common with the folk music theme of the Tiger Bay album, "Pale Movie" combines a Eurodance beat with Spanish folk-style guitars. The lyrics use surreal imagery to describe a man's love for a mysterious woman. Although the title is not sung, some of the words refer to cinema: "In the bed where they make love / She's in a film on the sheets. / He shows dreams like a movie, / She's the softness of cinema seats." Other lines are stranger: "her skin as white as the milk, / Just like a Sherpa Tenzing / under a Manila silk."

In an interview with Melody Maker magazine, keyboard player Pete Wiggs said that he considers the song "potentially brilliant" but "a bit of a failure"; he feels that the band "stuck too rigidly to our folk idea". He also adds that they only chose Spanish guitar so that they could go to Spain for the video [1] (the video for the song features the band riding around the countryside of Nerja,^{[citation needed]} Spain on scooters).

The cover art for the single features photographs of swimming tigers, presumably in reference to the album title.

Track listing

7": Heavenly / HVN 37 (UK)

1. "Pale Movie" - 3:51
2. "Highgate Road Incident" - 2:06

• also available on MC (HVN 37 C)

12": Heavenly / HVN 37 12 (UK)

1. "Pale Movie" - 3:51
2. "Pale Movie" (stentorian dub)- 6:46
3. "Pale Movie" (secret knowledge trouser assassin mix)- 10:16
4. "Pale Movie" (lemonentry mix) - 4:05

• also available on CD (HVN 37 CD)