Erasure

Erasure are a London-based English synth-pop duo formed in 1985. The group consists of singer and songwriter Andy Bell and keyboardist, producer and songwriter Vince Clarke. Clarke was previously a co-founder of Depeche Mode and the synth-pop duo Yazoo. Erasure are active from 1985 to the present and are associated with synthpop, electronic, new wave, pop, alternative dance, dance and dance-pop.

Career and chart success

Erasure build a major UK chart presence from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Their fourth single, “Sometimes” (1986), brings them significant commercial success. Between 1986 and 2007, they achieve 24 consecutive top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs reach the UK top 40, with 17 entering the top 10. Over their career, they write more than 200 songs and sell more than 28 million albums worldwide.

Albums and key releases

Their debut album, Wonderland (1986), has limited chart success, although “Oh l’amour” later becomes one of their best-known songs when reissued in 2003 to help promote the compilation Hits! The Very Best of Erasure. Their second album, The Circus (1987), reaches number 6 in the UK and produces four top 20 singles: “Sometimes”, “It Doesn’t Have to Be”, “Victim of Love” and “The Circus”.

The Innocents (1988) becomes their first UK number 1 album and includes “Ship of Fools”, “Chains of Love” and “A Little Respect”. In the same year they release the Christmas EP Crackers International, which reaches number 2 in the UK and includes “Stop!”. The Innocents begins a run of five consecutive UK number 1 albums, followed by Wild! (1989), the Mercury Prize-nominated Chorus (1991), the compilation Pop! The First 20 Hits (1992) and I Say I Say I Say (1994).

Their ABBA tribute EP Abba-esque also reaches number 1 in the UK in 1992. Notable singles from this period include “Drama!”, “Blue Savannah” and “Star” from Wild!; “Chorus”, “Love to Hate You” and “Breath of Life” from Chorus; and “Always” and “Run to the Sun” from I Say I Say I Say.

Later years and recognition

From 1995 onward, Erasure’s commercial performance declines with the albums Erasure (1995), Cowboy (1997) and Loveboat (2000). They see a partial revival in the 2000s in some European countries with their cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” on Other People’s Songs (2003) and the UK top 5 single “Breathe” from Nightbird (2005). Later releases have more modest chart performance.

The duo win the Brit Award for Best British Group in 1989. Their studio albums also include 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) and Day-Glo (Based on a True Story) (2022).