Erasure

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Erasure
Andy Bell and Vince Clarke of Erasure in a 2006 promotional photo for the Union Street album.
Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	Synthpop
Years active	1985–present
Label(s)	Mute Records
Website	http://erasureinfo.com
Members
Vince Clarke Andy Bell

Erasure is an English synth pop duo band consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell.

Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That (see 1985 in music). Beginning in late 1986 with the release of their single "Sometimes", Erasure established themselves on the British charts; through 1995, Erasure was the greatest pop phenomenon in Britain since ABBA.^{[citation needed]} Albums such as The Circus, Wild!, Chorus, I Say I Say I Say, Erasure, Loveboat and Nightbird demonstrated a further diversity of sound.

[edit] Formation of Erasure

Clarke formerly was a member of Depeche Mode and later had a successful career with the duo Yazoo (known as Yaz in the US). Later he split with Yazoo partner Alison Moyet and briefly formed The Assembly with producer Eric Radcliffe. After a successful Assembly single ("Never Never"), Clarke released an unsuccessful one-off single with vocalist Paul Quinn ("One Day"). He then placed a blind advertisement in Melody Maker looking for a vocalist for a new musical project. He selected Andy Bell, who was the forty-first to audition (and whose voice would often be compared to Moyet's). From the start, their success was founded upon their songwriting skills. Clarke's talent for writing melodic, catchy pop songs was evident from his years with Depeche Mode and Yazoo. Bell's gifts as a lyricist and melodist added depth and character to Clarke's style (additionally, Bell was openly gay from the beginning, and he reflected this in his lyrics at a time when society as a whole was more ignorant around queer issues than it is today - making Erasure's success all the more notable). As pop craftsmen, the pair's work bears comparison with that of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, OMD, Alphaville, a-ha, Roxette and other pop songwriters.

Though their productivity and record sales declined beginning in the second half of the 1990s, Erasure scored at least one Top 30 hit with the release of every new album. Few electronic bands have demonstrated the durability of Erasure.

In 2005 Erasure made a comeback with their number one position on the US Dance Chart, eighteen years after their first chart-topper. This success was mirrored in the UK with the debut single from Nightbird ("Breathe") reaching number four in the charts. Erasure also enabled fans to configure and buy their own remixes of the single "Don't Say You Love Me" through the band website. Each variant of the song was limited to a single download.

2006 saw the release of the album Union Street, which features a collection of previously released Erasure songs that the band reinterpreted in an acoustic/country & western style. The album is named after the recording studio in Brooklyn where it was recorded.

[edit] Future Releases

The band are currently working on an album of new material that will be a more 'dance oriented' effort than some of their more recent work. Vince Clarke has made reference to this album sounding potentially a bit more like Andy Bell's 2005 solo effort Electric Blue. This album is being produced by Gareth Jones and is slated for an early 2007 release.

Erasure are said to be nearing the finishing stages of working on their forthcoming new album with extensive work taking place on the new album during August according to Gareth Jones's official website.

[edit] Discography

For a detailed list of Erasure releases, see Erasure discography.

For a list of non-album recordings, see List of Erasure B-sides and non-album songs.

[edit] See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

[edit] External links

• Erasureinfo.com - The Official Erasure website.
• Gareth Jones' Erasure Diary
• Onge's Erasure Page - Fan site with extensive lyrics, discography and news sections.
• Erasure-Interactive - Fan site with special features, news, gallery and downloads.
• markymix.com - Website by Mark Towns: Remix Engineer for Erasure's 2003 "HITS!" megamix and "Oh L'Amour" internet single.
• Erasure Lyrics
• erasure gig-ography - fansite listing all erasure concert dates since 1985, with set lists, photos, souvenirs, etc
• Erasure pioneers customised MP3s
• erasure.tk - fansite with news, chartsinfo, rarities, pictures and other media