It is staggering to think that ‘Who Needs Love (Like That)’, by synth pop duo Erasure, is thirty years old. The song was released in the UK on Mute Records in 1985 as a prelude to their debut album Wonderland.
Whilst initially the track wasn’t a massive hit on the UK singles chart (it reached No.55 in October of that year), it was re-issued in 1992 to promote the Pop! compilation, and it deservedly cracked the Top 10.
Andy Bell and Vince Clarke are still working together in 2015 and are perhaps as solid as they ever were. They have recently completed a four-month international tour in support of their critically acclaimed album, The Violet Flame. They still have a loyal following of fans, who venture out in their droves to see them play sold out shows. Most importantly, after all this time, they still enjoy working together and don’t have any plans on throwing in the towel any time soon.
Back in the mid 80s when Erasure started, the power of Andy’s voice drew many comparisons to his bandmate’s previous work colleague, Alison Moyet.
‘Alison’s voice is still amazing to this day!” says Andy.
“When we started out, if there was any time when I felt completely out of my depth, I always used to think about how Alison would sing that song. A lot of people used to think I was copying her. We were going to call ourself YazTwo, which I think would have been awful!”
To celebrate Erasure’s 30th anniversary of their first single, Mute/BMG have announced a series of releases that kicks off with ‘Sometimes (2015)’, a brand new version of their classic single, and Always – The Very Best Of Erasure.
philmarriott.net caught up with Andy Bell recently to chat about Erasure’s 30th anniversary celebrations, being an out gay artist in 2015, ageism, and future plans to release a second part of the Erasure album.
This interview was originally broadcast on Gaydio – the world’s biggest LGBT dance and pop radio station – on Sunday 11th October 2015.
‘Sometimes’ is released as a single on 23rd October
Always – The Very Best Of Erasure is out on 30th October