Erasure

Erasure
Erasure - a synth pop group was formed in 1985 by ex-Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke in 1985 with singer Andy Bell. The group had stronger dance music, with a sharper, more accessible sense of pop songcraft, than either of Clarke's previous bands.

Additionally, Erasure had the ostentatiously unconventional Andy Bell -- one of the first overtly gay performers in pop music -- as the phenomenal aspect in the group. Bell's keening voice, embellished with a theatrical sense became the band's significant representation. After a few years, the duo achieved commercial success in America with 1988's Chains of Love, but they remained idolized worldwide, generating a devoted fan-base throughout their career.

Before forming Erasure, Clarke was one of the founding members of the radical Depeche Mode also a synth pop group. He left after recording only one album with the group, choosing to form Yaz with Alison Moyet instead. After releasing tow albums, Moyet left to pursue a solo career. Clarke participated in an ephemeral association with vocalist Feargal Sharkey and producer Eric Radcliffe called the Assembly in 1984. Following a single with vocalist Paul Quinn, he decided to form Erasure. Clarke put up an ad for vocalists within a British music newspaper and received over 40 demo tapes, from which Bell was selected as his partner.

In 1986, Erasure's first album, Wonderland, was released which received poor reviews and weak sales. The duo quickly followed the album with Sometimes, a preview from their forthcoming second album. Sometimes reached no#2 on the U.K. charts, beginning a string of successful singles that would run into the '90s. The Circus, the group's second album, was released in the spring of 1987 and peaked at no#6 on the U.K. charts. The Innocents, Erasure's third album released in 1988, became their first no#1 album in Britain, featuring the group's first American hit, Chains of Love, which reached no#12 in the U.S.; its follow-up, A Little Respect, peaked at no#14 in America. By the end of 1988, Erasure released the Crackers International EP, which reached no#2 in Britain.

Wild! -- Erasure's fourth album, launched in 1989, reached no#1 in the U.K., as did its successor, 1991's Chorus. Erasure released the Abba-esque EP, an accolade to the Swedish pop group ABBA, in 1992 became their first no#1 single in the U.K. Later, Erasure released an anthology of their British singles, Pop! The First 20 Hits. In 1994, the duo released its fifth album, I Say I Say I Say, which featured the hit single Always, their first American hit since 1988. Erasure's eponymous sixth album was released in the fall of 1995. Cowboy was released in the spring of 1997. Loveboat surfaced three years later. The all covers Other People's Songs appeared in 2003, the same year as the oddly chosen compilation Hits! Before the release of 2005's return to form album Nightbird, it was revealed that Bell was HIV positive and a sufferer since June of 1998. The 2006 album Union Street found the duo unplugging and re-recording old album tracks and B-sides with acoustic instruments. A tour with a full band supported the album and was documented on the 2007 live release On the Road to Nashville.

Recently, the duo has completed an album of new material that is a more 'dance oriented' effort than some of their more recent work. Titled Light at the End of the World, the album was produced by Gareth Jones and is slated for release on May 21, 2007 in the UK and in North America the following day. On January 26, 2007 Clarke and Bell confirmed the release date of the new album, as well as its first single I Could Fall in Love with You in a video message on the offical Erasure website.

Additionally, Erasure will be a part of the multi-artist True Colors Tour, which will voyage through 15 cities in the US and Canada. Sponsored by the Logo channel, it is hosted by comic Margaret Cho and headlined by Cyndi Lauper, the tour will also include Debbie Harry, The Gossip, Rufus Wainwright, The Dresden Dolls, The MisShapes, and others. Profits from the tour will help to benefit the Human Rights Campaign.