Erasure is 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 their 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 their 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.
Yazoo were an English synth-pop duo from Basildon, Essex, consisting of former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet (vocals). The duo formed in late 1981 after Clarke responded to an advertisement Moyet placed in a British music magazine.
Vincent John Martin, known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously the main songwriter for several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and the Assembly. In Erasure, he is known for his deadpan and low-key onstage demeanour, often remaining motionless over his keyboard, in sharp contrast to lead vocalist Andy Bell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics.
Wonderland is the debut studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 1 May 1986 by Sire Records in the United States and on 2 June 1986 by Mute Records in the United Kingdom and Germany. Not an immediate success, the three singles released from it failed to crack the top 40 in the UK. "Who Needs Love Like That" would eventually make the UK top 10 in 1992, and "Oh L'amour" reached the UK top 20 in 2003, both in remixed form promoting their Pop! The First 20 Hits and Hits! compilations respectively. However, the album fared better in both Germany and Sweden, where it charted within the top 20.
Chorus is the fifth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 14 October 1991 by Mute Records in Germany and the UK and on 15 October 1991 by Sire/Reprise Records in the United States. In 1999, Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 45 in his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties".
The Two Ring Circus is a remix album by English synth-pop duo Erasure that served as a companion piece to their second album The Circus. It was released in 1987 on Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the US.
Abba-esque is an extended play (EP) by English synth-pop duo Erasure. Released on 1 June 1992, the EP was Erasure's first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart and also became a number-one hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden.
Hits! The Very Best of Erasure is the second greatest hits album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 20 October 2003 by Mute Records. Capitalising on a resurgence of Erasure's music after their successful covers album Other People's Songs, Mute released Hits! in order to reintroduce people to the duo's music and to give an update to their 1992 singles compilation Pop! The First 20 Hits.
Jan Kounen is a Netherlands-born French film director and producer.
"Solsbury Hill" is the debut solo single by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. He wrote the song about a spiritual experience atop Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England, after his departure from the progressive rock band Genesis, of which he had been the lead vocalist since its inception. The single was a Top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 13, and reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977.
Union Street is the twelfth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released by Mute Records on 3 April 2006 in the United Kingdom and on 18 April 2006 in the United States.
"Heavenly Action" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in November 1985 as their second single. It is a mid-tempo pop song, written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell as a straightforward ode to love. Issued by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the US, the single proved to be the second commercial failure for the duo. The music video for the song was directed by John Scarlett Davies and produced by Nick Verden for Aldabra. It features Clarke and Bell in an outer space/celestial setting, with several young children appearing as angels. To this day, "Heavenly Action" remains Erasure's lowest-charting single on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 100. In the United States, "Heavenly Action" was paired with "Who Needs Love Like That" on the 12-inch single and, as a double-sided hit, climbed to number eight on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It was later included on the duo's debut album Wonderland, released in June 1986.
"Always" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. The ballad was released on 11 April 1994 as the first single from their sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994). Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it was produced by Martyn Ware. Mute Records issued the single in the United Kingdom, and Elektra Records released it in the United States.
"Rock Me Gently" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. It was written by group members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, and appears on their seventh studio album, Erasure (1995). Mute Records released it in February 1996 as a single in selected European countries, including Germany and Czech Republic. It was not released in the UK or the US. In its album form, the song is an extended, ten-plus minutes mid-tempo synth ballad with ambient elements and a free-form vocal performance by American singer Diamanda Galás, during the song's breakdown. Bell's lead vocals were accentuated by the London Community Gospel Choir, who sang background. "Rock Me Gently" was significantly altered for its single release, adding a radio-friendly drum track to the mix and editing out most of the Galás interlude. An extended version of this mix was included on the CD single, retaining the Galás section while keeping the new instrumentation.
"Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released as the second single from their eighth studio album, Cowboy (1997). It is an uptempo dance music song written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. Mute Records issued the single in the UK. For the song's release in the United States, Maverick Records requested a remix for radio. The US single version of "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me" is different from what is on the Cowboy album; the song's intro was changed, as well as the middle eight section. An entire verse, edited out of the album version, is restored on the American single release.
Aubrey "Po" Powell is a British graphic designer. He co-founded the album cover design company Hipgnosis with Storm Thorgerson in 1967. The company ran for 15 years until 1982, and created some of the most acclaimed record cover art of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for many of the most famous rock bands of the era including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Yes, Genesis, 10cc, Wishbone Ash, Peter Gabriel, UFO, Bad Company, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Scorpions, Styx, Syd Barrett, and Black Sabbath. The company was nominated five times for Grammy Awards.
The Erasure Show – Live in Cologne is a DVD released by English synth-pop duo Erasure recorded during their sellout 2005 world tour, the Erasure Show. The DVD was released by Mute Records in 2005 and contained not only the Cologne performance but also several live performances from the 2003 Other tour, music videos from Nightbird, a behind-the-scenes featurette and interviews with band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell.
In Your Room is a box set by English synth-pop duo Yazoo, also known in North America as Yaz. It is the first Yazoo release since Only Yazoo, a 1999 greatest hits compilation album.
Total Pop! The First 40 Hits is a greatest hits collection from Erasure, released on 23 February 2009 by Mute Records. The album utilizes a straightforward format: all of Erasure's singles up to that point, sequenced in chronological order. This is a continuation of the format used in Erasure's 1992 hits collection Pop! The First 20 Hits.
Live at the Seaside is the first concert video release by English synth-pop duo Erasure, recorded at the Brighton Dome on 17 April 1987 by the BBC as part of the duo's tour of their second studio album The Circus. The video, originally only available on VHS, features 13 tracks from the concert and, amongst tracks from The Circus, includes performances of songs from Erasure's first album Wonderland plus "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", the band's first foray into ABBA cover versions.
