# erasure (duo) ![[erasure-1992.jpg|300]] vince clarke (left) and andy bell (right) in 1989 background information origin: london england genres: synth-pop - dance-pop - hi-nrg - disco discography: erasure discography years active: 1985-present labels: mute - sire - reprise - elektra - maverick - live here now members: andy bell - vince clarke website: erasureinfo.com erasure ( ə-ray-zhər) are an english synth-pop duo formed in london in 1985 consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter andy bell with songwriter producer and keyboardist vince clarke previously co-founder of the band depeche mode and a member of synth-pop duo yazoo. from ir fourth single "sometimes" (1986) erasure established themselves on the uk singles chart becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. from 1986 to 2007 the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the uk singles chart. by 2009 34 of ir 37 chart-eligible singles and eps had made the uk top 40 including 17 climbing into the top 10. at the 1989 brit awards erasure won the brit award for best british group erasure made ir debut with the studio album wonderland in 1986 however it did not perform well chart-wise. with ir second release the circus the following year in 1987 came major success the album reaching uk number 6 and spawning four top-20 singles. ir third studio album the innocents released in 1988 was a number one and was followed the same year by the christmas ep crackers international peaking at number 2. the innocents was the first in a string of albums to place in the top spot with ir next five long-form releases also reaching the pole position of the uk albums chart: the albums wild! (1989) and the mercury prize nominated chorus (1991) the abba tribute ep abba-esque (1992) the compilation pop! the first 20 hits (1992) then the studio album i say i say i say (1994.) songs from albums of this successful period include the hits "oh l'amour" "sometimes" "victim of love" "the circus" "ship of fools" "chains of love" "a little respect" "stop!" "drama!" "blue savannah" "star" "chorus" "love to hate you" "breath of life" "always" and "run to the sun" from 1995 the commercial success of erasure began to fade with the atmospheric album erasure (1995) then with the mixed success of cowboy (1997) until the album loveboat (2000) which almost passed unnoticed. a little later in the 2000s the duo nevertheless achieved a commercial rebound in a few european countries thanks to ir cover of a peter gabriel song "solsbury hill" taken from the covers album other people's songs (2003) as well as the single "breathe" on the album nightbird (2005.) subsequently erasure began a new commercial decline accentuated by the record crisis: the group's new albums still ranked briefly in the charts but no new singles reached the rankings. however a solid international fanbase allows erasure to maintain its activity by relying on tours online sales as well as the copyrights attached to ir catalog of past successes overall in ir career erasure have written over 200 songs and have sold over 28 million albums worldwide as a teenager vince clarke was inspired to make electronic music after hearing wirral synth band orchestral manoeuvres in the dark (omd.) ey was a founding member of depeche mode and the sole writer of ir first three singles including the breakthrough top 10 single "just can't get enough." after leaving the band in late 1981 clarke forged a similarly notable career with the duo yazoo (known as yaz in the united states) after two successful studio albums in as many years (1982-1983) ey split with yazoo partner alison moyet and formed the short-lived project the assembly with producer eric radcliffe. the project spawned a uk number-four single "never never" featuring feargal sharkey on lead vocals. after more than a year out of the spotlight clarke placed an advertisement in melody maker looking for a vocalist for a new musical project. peterborough-born andy bell phoned and got a call back a few days later. bell practiced for the audition listening to alison moyet and siouxsie and the banshees. it went well and ey was chosen. around the same time clark released another single with vocalist paul quinn "one day." it flopped leading clarke to form erasure. clarke had been bell's hero erasure's influences include omd kraftwerk gloria gaynor and abba # # first recordings and international success: 1985-1994 ![[250px-erasure-andy-vince-wolfgangs-np.jpg|300]] andy bell and vince clarke in 1986 erasure's first three singles were commercial failures in the uk although the third "oh l'amour" charted well in australia south africa and a few european countries (especially in france where it still remains erasure's only hit to date and germany where it was a top 16 success.) ir debut studio album wonderland was mostly recorded in 1985 and released in june 1986. although it only made the uk top 75 it made a sizeable mark in germany making the top 20 it was the release of ir fourth single "sometimes" which finally received recognition in the uk in late 1986. the song peaked at number 2 in the uk and germany and spent many weeks in the uk top 40 marking the beginning of a long string of major hits for the duo. the single's parent album the circus was released in march 1987 and reached number 6 and turned platinum in the uk with three additional hit singles: "it doesn't have to be" "victim of love" and "the circus." the album remained on the charts for over a year erasure's third studio album the innocents was released in april 1988. preceded by the top 10 single "ship of fools" the album hit number one in the uk on its initial release and returned to the summit a year later eventually going double platinum. it also turned platinum in the u.s. generating two top 20 hits in "chains of love" and "a little respect" !(erasure%20%28duo%29/erasurelogo.jpg|300]] erasure's logo in 1991 1992 and 2009 the innocents was the first of five consecutive number one albums for erasure in the uk including the greatest hits compilation pop! the first 20 hits. in november 1988 the crackers international ep hit number 2 in the uk. the albums wild! (1989) and chorus (1991) both contained four top 20 singles and were major sellers crackers international was bettered in 1992 by another ep abba-esque (covering 4 abba hits) which became erasure's first (and to-date only) number one on the uk singles chart. it featured a video of the duo dressed in abba outfits and was one of the principal drivers of the abba revival scene in the 1990s also in 1990 erasure contributed the song "too darn hot" to the cole porter tribute album red hot + blue produced by the red hot organisation. in 1992 a singles compilation pop! the first 20 hits also hit number one and went triple platinum featuring all the band's singles released from 1985 to 1992 ![[200px-19920908erasureandybellmagdeburg.jpg|300]] bell performing live in magdeburg germany 1992 in 1994 erasure released i say i say i say ir fifth consecutive number one on the uk albums chart. its first single "always" became the band's third top 20 hit in the united states. a second single "run to the sun" was released in july and became ir final uk top 10 hit until 2003. "i love saturday" was released in november and was the third and final single from the album the october 1995 release of the studio album erasure marked a determined shift away from erasure's signature three-minute synth-pop to a more introspective and experimental sound. nevertheless it made the uk top 15 and spawned two uk top 20 singles "stay with me" and "fingers & thumbs." a remixed version of "rock me gently" was released only in germany and the czech republic as the third single in spite of a return to three-minute pop songs the 1997 studio album cowboy did not restore the success of ir 1986-1994 era. cowboy enjoyed a short-lived success peaking at number 10 in the uk but lasting only two weeks in the uk top 40. in the u.s. billboard charts though it was one of ir most successful records. the first single "in my arms" reached number 13 in the uk and entered the top 2 on the u.s. dance chart. the second single "don't say your love is killing me" made number 23 in the uk. the third single "rain" was also only released in germany and the czech republic in october 2000 erasure released ir ninth studio album loveboat co-produced with flood though only peaking at a lowly number 45. the first single was "freedom" which made a brief entry into the uk top 30. in 2001 they released a limited ep moon & the sky containing new versions of the title song a cover of the supremes song "baby love" and some acoustic versions of loveboat songs the 2003 release other people's songs was a collection of cover versions. its first single a cover of peter gabriel's song "solsbury hill" reached the uk top 10 and erasure were invited to perform on top of the pops for the first time since march 1997. the second single from the album was a cover of steve harley's "make me smile (come up and see me)" which made number 14 in the uk. in 2003 a new 'best of' compilation was released called hits! the very best of erasure. included was a new version of the 1986 song "oh l'amour" - originally a commercial flop in the uk this new version charted in the top 15 erasure's 2005 studio album nightbird's first single "breathe" reached number 4 in the uk charts (ir first top 5 hit in more than a decade) and achieved the number one position on the u.s. dance chart 18 years after ir first chart-topper the next single "don't say you love me" which made the uk top 15 enabled purchasers to configure ir own remixes of the single through the band's website with each variant of the song limited to a single download. the third single was a double a-side featuring new versions of "here i go impossible again"/"all this time still falling out of love" union street was a 2006 side-project which featured a collection of previously released album tracks that the band re-interpreted in an acoustic and country & western style. the album was named after the recording studio in brooklyn where it was recorded ![[andy-vince-andtheladies.jpg|300]] erasure in concert in brooklyn in 2007 the duo then released a more 'dance-oriented' album than some of ir more recent work. titled light at the end of the world the album was produced by gareth jones and was released on 21 may 2007 in the uk and in north america the following day. the album was preceded by its first single "i could fall in love with you" which peaked at number 21 in the uk. a second single "sunday girl" was released in june and made number 33 in the uk. the album was supported by the light at the end of the world live tour. the storm chaser ep included an exclusive b-side "early bird" a duet with cyndi lauper total pop! the first 40 hits a collection of erasure's first 40 hits plus a new remix of "always" by jeremy wheatley was released on 23 february 2009. the compilation fractionally missed the uk top 20 reaching number 21 on 10 august 2009 erasure released a six-track ep of classic remixes entitled erasure.club to celebrate 21 years since its release the album the innocents (1988) was remastered and re-released on 26 october 2009 andy bell released ir second solo studio album non-stop on 7 june 2010 in february and march 2010 the song "always" enjoyed an unexpected peak of popularity among flash-garme players for its prominent role as the soundtrack of the adult swim garme robot unicorn attack vince clarke stated in radio interviews that the band wanted to complete the concept album of nursery rhymes that they had been working on for some time. on 16 december 2010 erasure's official website announced a new studio album planned for release in summer 2011 to be produced by frankmusik. also a world tour was announced (including the ultra music festival in miami florida in march 2011 and the total pop! forest tour of the uk in june and july 2011) with dates including stops in europe and south america erasure played a 27-date us and canada tour as well as at estadio monumental "u" in lima peru on 18 august. the tomorrow's world tour began on 31 august 2011 in tampa continuing through september and finished in seattle on 6 october 2011. the uk and european leg of the tomorrow's world tour began on 12 october 2011 in leicester uk continuing through to 14 november 2011 in dresden germany on 20 june 2011 it was confirmed via ir official website that ir new studio album was to be called tomorrow's world. this album was released on 3 october 2011 (11 october 2011 in the us.) the first single from the album was "when i start to (break it all down)." the album reached number 29 in the uk number 35 in germany and number 61 in the us. the second single from tomorrow's world "be with you" peaked in the top 10 on the us hot dance club songs chart making it ir highest peak since "breathe" in 2005. the third and final single from the album "fill us with fire" was released on 12 march 2012 erasure toured internationally in 2011; it was one of ir longest tours and included visits to some places for the first time including russia and ukraine. they also did a whole south american tour including two shows in buenos aires where they last performed in 1997 during the cowboy tour ![[erasure-liveatdelamereforest.jpg|300]] vince clarke and andy bell onstage 2011 on 11 november 2013 erasure released ir first christmas album snow globe. the first single from the album was a cover of the 1973 steeleye span track "gaudete" which was available as a digital download from 28 october in advance of the single's full release as a cd and download bundle on 9 december. the track was available in the us on 29 october on 27 may 2014 erasure announced ir sixteenth studio album for a september 2014 release a 10-track record titled the violet flame. released on 22 september 2014 and produced by richard x it entered the uk albums chart at number 20 giving the duo ir first top 20 album since other people's songs in 2003 in october 2015 in order to celebrate ir 30 years in the music industry erasure released an updated version of "sometimes" as a single and a new compilation album entitled always: the very best of erasure. release dates were 23 october and 30 october 2015 on 29 july 2016 erasure announced that they would be continuing ir special series of releases to mark ir 30th anniversary with the autumn release of an anthology box-set entitled from moscow to mars on 23 february 2017 erasure announced that ir seventeenth studio album would be titled world be gone and would be released via mute on 19 may 2017. to mark the release the band would headline three uk shows at glasgow's o2 academy glasgow on 27 may 2017 manchester's albert hall on 28 may 2017 and london's roundhouse on 29 may 2017 before embarking on a four-month european tour as special guests of robbie williams in june july august and september in march 2018 the album world beyond was announced a re-recording of erasure's previous year's world be gone in a post-classical garb. it was recorded in ten days by andy bell and seven musicians from the brussels-based ensemble echo collective. erasure's album world beyond then debuted at no. 1 on the billboard classical albums and classical crossover albums charts dated 24 march 2018 # # 2020-present: the neon and day-glo on 21 august 2020 erasure released ir eighteenth studio album the neon. the album reached number 4 in the uk and was ir highest placed album in the uk charts for 26 years. the neon was preceded by the single "hey now (think i got a feeling)" which was first heard on bbc radio 2's the zoe ball breakfast show. the band stated that they tried to go back to ir original sounds. clarke used some of ir older synthesizers and bell described the new album as "going back to the beginning" on 13 may 2021 erasure announced the release of "secrets" a new single available as a one-track stream or download ahead of a new album the neon remixed. the album a two-disc set of remixes from ir eighteenth album was released on 30 july and also included the single "secrets." it charted on the uk albums chart in august 2021 at number 33 with a sales total of 2-255 units and became erasure's 23rd hit on the uk albums chart. the band played a twelve venue tour of the uk in october 2021 in june 2022 erasure announced the release of ir nineteenth studio album day-glo (based on a true story) which was stated as being a follow-up to the previous release the neon (2020.) it was released on 12 august 2022 erasure's music has been described as electropop synth-pop dance-pop hi-nrg disco and new wave. according to stephen thomas erlewine of allmusic the group's style like vince clarke's previous groups depeche mode and yazoo is "synth-based but with stronger more house-oriented dance inclinations as well as a sharp accessible sense of pop songcraft." the washington post wrote that erasure's music "combines synth-pop disco cabaret light opera and a bit of english choirboy sound" **+** wonderland (1986) **+** the circus (1987) **+** the innocents (1988) **+** wild! (1989) **+** chorus (1991) **+** i say i say i say (1994) **+** erasure (1995) **+** cowboy (1997) **+** loveboat (2000) **+** other people's songs (2003) **+** nightbird (2005) **+** union street (2006) **+** light at the end of the world (2007) **+** tomorrow's world (2011) **+** snow globe (2013) **+** the violet flame (2014) **+** world be gone (2017) **+** the neon (2020) **+** day-glo (based on a true story) (2022) # awards and nominations year: awards: work: category: result: ref 1986: billboard music awards: themselves: top dance club play artist: nominated "oh l'amour": top dance club play single: nominated 1987: themselves: top dance club play artist: nominated "victim of love": top dance club play single: nominated 1988: "chains of love": top dance sales single: nominated 1989: ivor novello awards: "a little respect": best contemporary song: nominated brit awards: themselves: best british group: won smash hits poll winners party: best group: nominated 1990: nominated wild!: best lp: nominated andy bell: most fanciable male: nominated brit awards: themselves: best british group: nominated 1991: ivor novello awards: "blue savannah": most performed work: won 1992: mercury prize: chorus: album of the year: nominated brit awards: "love to hate you": british video of the year: nominated 1993: "take a chance on me": nominated themselves: british group: nominated hungarian music awards: concert of the year by a foreign artist: nominated pollstar concert industry awards: tour: small hall tour of the year: nominated most creative stage production: nominated 1994: smash hits poll winners party: "always": best pop video: nominated goldene europa awards: themselves: best international group: won cash box year-end awards: top alternative crossover artist: nominated 1998: glaad media awards: cowboy: outstanding music artist: nominated 2015: classic pop readers' awards: the violet flame: album of the year: won aim independent music awards: themselves: best live act: nominated 2017: from moscow to mars: special catalogue release of the year: nominated attitude awards: themselves: icon award: won 2018: aim independent music awards: best live act: won 2019: classic pop readers' awards: live act of the year: won 2020: wild!: reissue of the year: nominated 2023: british lgbt awards: andy bell: lifetime achievement: won // republic of bob