| The Two-Ring Circus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album (remixes and live recordings)by | ||||
| Released | 7 December 1987 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1985–1987 | |||
| Genre | Synth-pop | |||
| Length | 73:37 | |||
| Label | Mute (UK) – LSTUMM35 Sire (US) – 25667 | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Erasure chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
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.
The vinyl version of The Two Ring Circus was released as a double 12" album playing at 45rpm, featuring six previously unreleased remixes and three re-recordings. The CD and cassette editions feature an additional seven live bonus tracks billed as "The Touring Circus".
The first six tracks are all new remixes of songs that had already appeared on their second album The Circus . The next three tracks are re-recordings of two songs from The Circus and one song from the band's debut album Wonderland featuring orchestral arrangements by Andrew Poppy. None of these nine tracks have appeared again on any subsequent Erasure releases or reissues.
The seven "Touring Circus" bonus live tracks on the CD and cassette mainly feature songs from Erasure's first two albums. The last track, a live version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was their first remake of an ABBA song, foreshadowing a concept that would later provide them with a number-one in the UK in 1992 with the Abba-esque EP.
All seven of the CD and cassette live bonus tracks were recorded in Hamburg and were previously featured on the triple 12" single release for "The Circus". There was a further live song per 12" not featured on this album. All ten of these live tracks (plus an 11th originally featured on the "Victim of Love" CD single) are featured on disc 2 of the EBX 2 box-set.
The US editions of the CD and cassette also include an additional remix in the form of an edited version of a previously released remix.
UK chart rules at the time made The Two Ring Circus ineligible to chart.[ citation needed ] It became their second release to briefly slip into the US Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 186.[ citation needed ]
"The Touring Circus" (Bonus tracks on the cassette (LC STUMM 35) and CD (CDL STUMM 35)
25667-4 / 25667-4
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 16 November 1987 |
| United States | 1 December 1987 |
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentine Albums (CAPIF) [3] | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 [4] | 186 |
Erasure 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 known as 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.
Mark Ellis, known by his professional pseudonym Flood, is a British rock and synthpop record producer and audio engineer. Flood's list of work includes projects with New Order, U2, Nine Inch Nails, Marc and the Mambas, Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, Sneaker Pimps, King, Ministry, The Charlatans, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Erasure, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, Foals, a-ha, Orbital, Sigur Rós, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers, White Lies, Pop Will Eat Itself, Warpaint, EOB, and Interpol. His co-production collaborations have included projects with Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite, and longtime collaborator Alan Moulder, with whom he co-founded the Assault & Battery Studios complex. In 2006, his work with U2 led to his sharing of the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
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.
The Circus is the second studio album by the English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 30 March 1987 by Mute Records in Germany and the United Kingdom and on 7 July 1987 by Sire Records in the United States. It was Erasure's second consecutive album to be produced by Flood.
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 Innocents is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 10 April 1988 by Sire and Reprise Records in the United States and on 18 April 1988 by Mute Records in Germany and the United Kingdom. Produced by Stephen Hague, it was the release that made Erasure superstars in their home country of the UK and gave them their breakthrough in the US.
Recoil is a musical project created by English musician and former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder. Essentially a solo venture, Recoil began whilst Wilder was still in Depeche Mode as an outlet for his experimental, less pop-oriented compositions. Once he announced his departure from the group in 1995, Recoil became Wilder's primary musical enterprise.
EBX is a series of box sets released by English synth-pop duo Erasure, collecting material originally released on 12″, cassette, CD, and DVD singles, released in the UK by Mute Records between 1999 and 2021. Seven volumes of EBX have been released. EBX1 and EBX2 were released in 1999, then EBX3 and EBX4 in 2001. EBX5 refers to the retrospective box set From Moscow to Mars, released in 2016. The standard EBX series resumed in 2018 with the release of EBX6, followed by EBX7 in 2019 and EBX8 in 2021.
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.
"Oh L'amour" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in April 1986 as their third single. Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is a lament from someone experiencing unrequited love. The song is an uptempo, synth-pop dance track and its popularity was further fueled in dance clubs by the "Funky Sisters Remix", which appeared on the UK 12-inch single and as a bonus track on the US edition of Erasure's debut album, Wonderland (1986). A different mix of the song was submitted for the single release, adding new instrumentation and extra sounds. This version appears on all of the band's compilation albums. A version of the 12" single was included with early copies of the debut LP Wonderland. One of the B-sides is a cover version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", the first time Erasure covered a song from the ABBA songbook. It was issued by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the US to herald the June release of Wonderland, but became the third consecutive commercial failure for the band in both territories. Despite its low chart placement, "Oh L'amour" has proven to be one of Erasure's signature songs, due to its popularity in dance clubs. It remains a favourite among fans, particularly when performed live.
"A Little Respect" is a song written and recorded by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1988 by Mute. It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The lyrics are a plea to a lover to show compassion and respect. The heavily synthesized instrumentation is accentuated by acoustic guitar and Bell's vocal falsetto in the chorus. It was their tenth single and was taken from their third studio album, The Innocents (1988). Known as one of their signature songs, the single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and was Erasure's second consecutive top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it made number 14, and reached number two on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
"Freedom" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. It was the first single released from Erasure's ninth studio album, Loveboat. The song was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. "Freedom", as well as the entire Loveboat album, was produced by Flood, and this is the first Flood-produced Erasure single since "The Circus" in 1987.
The Complete Studio Recordings is a box set of all of the studio material released by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on November 7, 2005 and consists of 9 CDs and 2 DVDs, plus a full color booklet with a timeline and photos. Another booklet containing complete lyrics to all of the music was also included.
The following discography is a catalogue of the albums and singles released by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.
The following is a list of items with recorded Mute Records catalogue numbers, starting with label founder Daniel Miller's single as The Normal.
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.
Innocents is the second concert video release by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in 1989 and recorded at the NEC Arena, Birmingham on 15 November 1988. It was recorded in the latter stages of the band's tour of their third studio album The Innocents. Unlike the studio album, the definite article ("the") is omitted from the video title. Originally only available on VHS, the video features 14 songs recorded at the concert, including performances of tracks from Wonderland, The Circus and the Crackers International EP. Only 4 of the included tracks are songs from The Innocents.
Lullaby is the second studio album by American synth-pop band Book of Love, released on June 21, 1988, by Sire Records.
Always: The Very Best of Erasure is a compilation album released by English synth-pop duo Erasure. It was released on 30 October 2015 to commemorate their 30th anniversary since the formation of the band. The album contains all of the band's highest charting songs, as well as their more popular recordings. The deluxe edition contains two additional CDs with corresponding remixes, including some of their singles that did not make the compilation. It is available through Lexer Music, Amazon and iTunes. The band's members, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, announced that this will kick off a campaign to celebrate their thirty years in the music industry together. The compilation followed the release of the first and only single from the album, entitled "Sometimes 2015", a re-vamped version of the original single mixed by David Wrench. The single was released on 23 October 2015, and contains a mixture of previously released remixes of Sometimes as well as a new remix by Love to Infinity.
