Three brand new Erasure wallpapers have been added to the new section of the site - "Media". All wallpapers available in three various formats depending from the resolution. Hope you'll like them.

Added Promotional Interview

"Other People's Songs" promotional interview have been added. You will find it also in "Media" section. You can listen and download all the answers from Andy & Vince!

Hello!

Some more web updates this week as well as a brand new section...

NEW - Erasure's Studio Diary

Andy and Vince are currently busy working on the new Erasure album - so how about a brief glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes?

Well exclusive to the EIS website is Andy and Vince's Studio Diary!

Written by Vince, the diary will basically feature... well I'm not sure to be honest! Whatever they wish to write and take photos of will be put up on the site - now there's a scary thought!

The first day's entry has been put up here. And the plan is to update it every few days - so keep checking the site for updates!

Other EIS Website Updates

A selection of photos from the 'Fingers And Thumbs' video shoot (back in 1995) have been added to the fan gallery. Plus a selection of web links have been added to the links section.

 

Prize Draw Winners

Congratulations to the following people whose names were randomly pulled out of the virtual hat:

- Autographed photo of Andy and Vince.
Simon Barney (UK)
Jerry McCready (USA)

- Erasure Live '97 bubble blower.
Sarah Hullah (UK)
Stephan Menge (Germany)

- Rain Plus 12" promo.
Joao Batista Fontenele Neto (Brazil)
Tania Palmer (UK)

- 12" vinyl Circus four track promo.
Chad Fabruada (USA)
Iñaki Cortabarria (Spain)

Until next week!

Greg
Erasure Information Service

Added details of: "Other People's Songs" spain cd, "A Little Respect" philippinean vinyl, "Rock Me Gently" czech promo vinyl (thanks to Christian Ondrak), "Rain" uk promo cd, "I Say I Say I Say" japanese cd (thanks to Mike DePaz).

Hello!

A bit of a quiet update this week as I've been busy organising something for later in the year... Announcement in a few weeks time!

To make up for it - how about a prize draw?

Prize Draw

All you have to do is to email: competition@eisinfo.demon.co.uk with your name and postal address. After the closing date of Thursday 29th Jan (12.00 GMT) eight names will be drawn out of the virtual hat.

The 1st pair of names drawn will win:
- an autographed photo of Andy and Vince. (see photo here)

The 2nd pair of names drawn will win:
- an Erasure Live '97 bubble blower.

The 3rd pair of names drawn will win:
- a Rain Plus 12" promo

The final two names drawn will win:
- a 12" vinyl Circus four track promo

Multiple entries will be deleted, and please do not put any other queries / comments in competition / draw e-mails as the only ones that tend to be read are those that have won.

Winners will be notified via email on the 29th Jan and the names will
be published in the subsequent EIS Email Update.

[EIS] Website Update - Fan Experiences

Some additional Erasure related experiences that have been sent in by EIS members have been added to the site.

[EIS] Website Update - Private Ear: Revisited

An interesting article by Ian Masterson who visited Vince's studio back in 1995 has been added (titled 'Dome Sweet Dome') complete with additional photos.

EIS Forum Poll: What Is The Best Erasure Song - Ever?

Well the EIS forum is continuing its rather remarkable growth - over 1,700 members at the last count. Thank you for its success - its certainly proving to be an interesting experience reading some of the topics...

Don't forget that the EIS Forum is running a poll to see what you think the best Erasure song is - see the main 'Erasure Discussion' area for details.

It is also proving to be an useful area to dicuss what features you would like to see added to the EIS site - there have been a few requests for EIS articles to be published in multiple languages - what do you think?

Until next week!

Greg
Erasure Information Service

Download New Mixes!

There are four new Erasure mixes made by russian dj Eu-Jinn. Remixed tracks are: "Push Me Shove Me", "A Little Respect", "Breath Of Life" and "Gimme! Gimme Gimme!". You can listen and download them here (available only for residents of Russia or CIS). Currently Eu-Jinn is working under the album of Erasure mixes.

On-line Petition To Mute Records

Sign on-line petition to Mute Records! Created by Michael Hallen (Tin Soldier) it is asking Mute Records to release Erasure's "Tiny Tour" video on DVD format. You can sign this petition here.

"Blood" Released On DVD

Horror moovie "Blood" for which Vince Clarke wrote music several years ago was released on DVD recently.

Hello! Some [EIS] website updates this week...

Ask Erasure

This month's answers from Vince have been added to the 'Ask Erasure' section, where he reveals what would have been the set list for the New Year's Eve Hogmanay performance and what sound technology will be used on the new album...

Discography - Album Section

The start of the massive overhaul of the discography section has began. Track listings for Erasure's UK albums have finally been added, as well as brief sound clips of each track (in Real Audio and Windows Media formats).

Singles, promos, non UK releases will follow, as well as the addition of lyrics and cover artwork.

Gallery - Fan Photos

A further 25 images have been added to the fan section of the gallery. I'll add a further 25 photos each week (well that's the plan anyway!) as I have received many excellent photos over the months that deserve to go up as soon as possible.

EIS Forum - What's Your Favourite Erasure Song?

The forum is currently running an interesting poll to determine what is
the EIS members favourite Erasure song.

Register your vote now!

(If you haven't registered for the forum click on the 'register' on the
toolbar)

Competitions will return next week - until then!

Have a great weekend!

Added details of: "Hits! - The Very Best Of Erasure" uk cd, "Chorus" album japanese limited cd, "Chorus" album japanese reissue cd, "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" us promo vinyl (thanks to Christian), "The Innocents" japanese cd, "Abba-esque" japanese cd (BIG thanks to Mike DePaz for all japanese scans).

New compilation "RetroActive - Rare And Remixed" will be released on cd in Canada on January, 27th by Hi-Bias Records. This compilation features Erasure's "Blue Savannah (Out Of The Blue Mix)" previously available only on promo formats. Here is the full tracklist:

 1. A-ha - Take On Me (Extended Version)
 2. Camouflage - The Great Commandment (Ext. Dance Remix)
 3. Erasure - Blue Savannah (Out Of The Blue Mix)
 4. Vis-A-Vis - Shadowplay (Shadow Mix)
 5. The Screaming Blue Messiahs - I Wanna Be A Flintstone (Ext. Mix)
 6. The Spoons - Symmetry (Extended Mix)
 7. INXS - Burn For You (12" Extended Mix)
 8. The Dream Academy - Life In A Northern Town (Extended Version)
 9. The Other Two - Tasty Fish (Pascal Mix 12")
10. Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses (Ext. Version)
11. The Cure - Boy's Dont Cry (Resung And Club Mix 86)
12. The Beloved - Your Love Takes Me Higher (The Pod Went Pop Mix)
13. Book Of Love - I Touch Roses (Full Bloom Version)

More details here.

Greg EIS:
Edinburgh Hogmanay - Concert In The Gardens

Well what can say? I share everyone's disappointment regarding the cancellation of Erasure's Hogmanay live performance (as well as the fireworks etc) due to safety reasons.

However having seen the light riggings and speakers on stage swaying rather alarmingly due to the high winds, and narrowly avoiding being hit by park benches being blown towards me on the nearby path, I do appreciate why it was called off.

Regarding refunds, if you purchased tickets for the Concert in the Gardens event, refunds will be available from your point of sale from Monday 5 January.

If you purchased your tickets from Hub Tickets you will receive an automatic refund. If you have not received your refund by the end of January please contact your point of sale.

For further details please see the official Edinburgh Hogmanay website.

Some admittedly not too exciting pictures from the event can be seen here. I'll see if I can get some 'behind the scenes' photos for a future update.

On A Brighter Note...

As mentioned by Andy in the recent New Year's eve interview, Erasure are progressing well with their new album.

Andy and Vince are currently finishing writing the songs for the new album (having already completed eight) and will be hitting the studio soon. There are also provisional plans for a tour this year - but it way to early to speculate where and when as of yet.

Is there anything yet I can tell you about the album? Well no as I don't know anything more about it than you guys at the moment.

I did subtly ask for some juicy info (e.g. "So what's the style of the new album?"), but everyone has their lips sealed at the moment! I'll try a different approach next time...

But what I can say is that there is an extremely enthusiastic vibe going around regarding this new album - and should certainly prove to be a truly exciting release!

Website Updates

The next couple of weeks will be fairly quiet of Erasure news whilst Andy and Vince are busy writing and recording, however during this time the EIS website will have extensive updates as I work through the website "to-do" list.

This process has began this week with the following additions to the website:

 - Fan Experiences -

This section is dedicated to sharing EIS members favourite Erasure related experiences. The first ten have been published and can be viewed here.

If you would like to contribute to this section then please send your name, age, country, a photo (the last three are all optional) and your experience to the following address: experience@eisinfo.demon.co.uk (there is no limit to the length of what you wish to write btw).

If this section proves popular then the plan is to make the section database driven and allow people to update their own page themselves - but we'll see how it goes at the moment!

 - Interview Section -

Several of the existing interviews with Andy and Vince have had audio streams added.

In addition EIS member Austin Kaister has kindly allowed the publication of an email interview that was conduction with Vince Clarke that was used for his musicology paper. All interviews can be found here.

 - Private Ear: Revisited -

There have been many requests for older articles from the old EIS publication 'Private Ear' to be made available on the website. Well this will begin shortly, and will allow the original b&w photos to be reproduced in colour where possible.

In addition older articles from the EIS website will be republished and it is one of these that kicks off this new section.

 - EIS Forum Success -

And just a quick thank you to all the members of the EIS forum who have made it such a success - over 10,000 posts and approaching 1,500 members since the board went live in early November - my word!

Blue Savannah (Out Of The Blue Mix)

Erasure's Blue Savannah (Out Of The Blue Mix) is to get a commercial
release on the upcoming "RetroActive - Rare and Remixed" CD. Full details here.

This CD also features Book Of Love 'I Touch Roses' (Full Bloom Version) mixed by Mute's very own Daniel Miller.

Huge update for today. Added details of: "Cowboy" japanese cd, "Love To Hate You" german cassette, "Star" japanese cd, "Pop! - The First 20 Hits Plus" japanese cd, "Am I Right?" japanese cd, "Drama!" japanese cd, "Supernature" french vinyl, "Breath Of Life" japanese cd, "Stay With Me" french cd (thanks to Patrick Aldag), "Erasure" japanese promo cd, "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me" taiwanese cd (BIG thanks to Mike DePaz for all japanese and taiwanese scans).

Added New Reviews

Added reviews of "Loveboat" album and "In My Arms" single from various russian magazines. You can find them in the "Press" section.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay "Royal Bank Street Party" was cancelled for health and safety reasons as a result of bad weather. Among other cancelled events was the "Concert in the Gardens" (with headliners Erasure). However, Andy & Vince performed inside the studio with acoustic version of "Ship Of Fools" (thanks to S.Moss for the info).

Erasure - New Album And Tour In September 2004!

In a brief interview after performance Andy revealed that he and Vince had already done 8 new songs for the next album which Andy confirmed will be all new Erasure material. Andy also mentioned that he was going to New York shortly with Vince to put the finishing touches to the new album and confirmed the new album should be released in September. And finally, Andy told that there will be tour for the new album on "September time" (thanks to S.Moss for the info). You can download a little snippet of the interview here (thanks to sandabella).