Erasure Album Video Updates - Video #6

Vince Clarke and Andy Bell filmed in the studio London during the March 2010 writing sessions for their fourteenth studio album.

This is the sixth of seven videos and asks for Vince and Andy's thoughts on the Erasure's 25th anniversary later this year.

To watch this video at full size see the Erasure YouTube channel.

Video 6: Any thoughts on Erasure's 25th anniversary?

Vince: "Well I'm amazed."
Andy: "I'm quite amazed as well and I'm very glad we're still together and even when you look in a mirror it's exactly like looking at him 25 years ago, isn't it Vince?"
Vince: "Yep."
Andy: "For both of us... Yeah."
Vince: "Exactly. It's still very, very exciting to be doing what we're doing. So we're very happy."
Andy: "Yeah, yeah... And we're looking forward to going on tour."
Vince: "We are, yeah."
Andy: "Yeah."

(Many thanks to ASH-II for transcription)

Heavygrinder Covers Erasure

American DJ Heavygrinder released her own interpretaion of Erasure's classics "Chains Of Love" in August 2009. The 7-track single is available for purchase in iTunes UK and iTunes USA with the following tracklist:

1. Chains Of Love (Heavygrinder Don't Give Up Mix - LA)
2. Chains Of Love (Alan Prosser Mix - UK)
3. Chains Of Love (Oz & Quash Mix - UK)
4. Chains Of Love (Redalice Happy Hardcore Mix - Japan)
5. Chains Of Love (DJ Miss Torn & Davy Mix - France)
6. Chains Of Love (LTP Mix - Japan)
7. Heavygrinder & Rhythm Club - Chains Of Love (Single Mix - New York, Los Angeles)

Andy Bell At The Dragon

Back in February Andy Bell DJed at The Dragon club in Dublin. Here are some photos and video links from that night.

Andy Bell at The Dragon		Andy Bell at The Dragon		Andy Bell at The Dragon
Andy Bell at The Dragon		Andy Bell at The Dragon		Andy Bell at The Dragon
Andy Bell at The Dragon		Andy Bell at The Dragon		Andy Bell at The Dragon

Photos by appledelic.

Video link 1 (Yazoo - Situation)
Video link 2 (Andy Bell - Electric Blue)
Video link 3 (Andy Bell - Will You Be There?)

Erasure Vs Madonna Vs Metropolis

Here is the link to rather interesting and well done mash up of Erasure's "Sweet, Sweet Baby" and Madonna's "Everybody" with cult movie "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang. Click here to watch it.

Erasure Album Video Updates - Transcriptions

As you all know, Vince and Andy are currently in London working on a brand new Erasure album. They very kindly recorded their answers from fans about forthcoming album and Richard from EIS has put them online. So far there are five videos up to date and here are the transcriptions of what they say fo those who don't know English well (many thanks to EIS member ASH-II).

Video 1: What direction is the new album taking?

Andy: "Don't really have any idea what the direction is, do we Vince?"
Vince: "Not realy, no."
Andy: "But Vince knows a little bit about the sound I think?"
Vince: "The sound is gonna be... I'm gonna hopefully record the whole album just using my analogue synthesisers. Which are now all up and running in Maine, and it kind of just depends on, the... I mean the style of the album we haven't really decided. We're just writing the songs at the moment, sorting out the melody's and the chords."
Andy: "We just.. We tried something a bit different from what were used too, cause... I tend to kind of like 'traa la laaa' and put lots of melody in, so were trying to kind of break it down a little bit and not do the same old thing."

Video 2: What shape have the recent sessions taken?

Andy: "This... Pretty very good shape really, in New York kinda half the material probably."
Vince: "Yeah."
Andy: "We will end up using."
Vince: "Yeah... We spent four weeks in New York writing. Andy was staying in a hotel and I was staying in an apartment which I rented, we had a piano there and a guitar and a tape recorder and we thought it sounded pretty good but the record company said 'You know what? You could make it better', so we tried..."
Andy: "We could try harder, he says."
Vince: "We could try harder?"
Andy: "Yeah, yeah."
Vince: "Which is far enough, so we are here now in the Mute/EMI recording truck."
Andy: "In the car park."
Vince: "See in the old days it used to be glamorous sixty four track studio but now its... We're all in a truck."
Andy: "Yeah."
Vince: "So most of the songs now are going to be about greasy spoons."
Andy: "Yeah, yeah."
Vince: "But it's a very nice comfortable environment to be working in and we're right in the middle... The heart of London so it's very cool and the writing sessions in London are going very well, I think."
Andy: "Yeah, really nicely."

Video 3: What has been inspiring you for this album?

Andy: "Well, as far as chords go I think, Vince has been thinking about it a long time since you been in Maine, haven't you? In the studio and stuff?"
Vince: "Hmmm."
Andy: "And looking at good combinations and things and more unusual ones that we wouldn't necessarily use and really... I'm always shopping for tune's on itunes anyway. It's not an advert, when I go DJing and stuff, you know. So, that's what inspires me really."
Vince: "What you worried about lyrics?"
Andy: "About lyrics... You don't really know until you come down to it. There's no major upheavals going on or anything."

Video 4: Do you know who will produce the album?

Vince: "We, I mean Mute, the record company, the management company are kind of going through lists basically. But what we're looking for, if anybody is out there... Is someone young, enthusiastic, trendy, hip, doesn't drink as much as I do, and costs no money."
Andy: "So, Linstróm would be quite good or Lady Gaga's writer."
Vince: "Or Lady Gaga. She'd be good as well. She'd be quite good."
Andy: "Lady Gaga would be quite good."

Video 5: Will the album sound like any previous Erasure work?

Vince: "I would say the denominator would be the fact that's it's still an Erasure album."
Andy: "Your in it, Vince is in it , I'm in it. In Erasure. Don't think there's not any new members, is there, Vince? Well, so far."
Vince: "No. And he's the common."
Andy: "Yeah, I'm the common and Vince is the denominator."
Vince: "I'm the deno... the dominator."
Andy: "Yeah, the dominator."
Vince: "Ok."
Andy: "He bosses me around all the time in the studio."

Christina Aguilera Inspired By Erasure?

Someone very wise once said that there's no such thing as a new idea, and if we put the sleeve of the new Christina Aguilera record, 'Bionic', next to the sleeve of Erasure's 'Chorus' it would seem that they might have been right...

But it's not just us who think that, even the legendary Perez Hilton has picked up on the similarities on his website and it's spreading across the internet as we write!

Source: EIS

Erasure Featured In ABBA Expo

EIS got this message from Paula and thought that you might like to see it. Erasure's part in the ABBA story is included in the ABBAworld exhibition that is currently on show in the UK...

"I went to the Abbaworld exhibition at Earl's Court on Tuesday and was desperate to see if Erasure had a mention and, lo and behold, there it was, up in black and white on the wall for all the world to see! I was very proud! Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get back far enough with my iPhone to get all the blurb in but you can see the important mention anyway!"

ABBAworld.

Source: EIS

Discography Updates

Discography has been updated with all Erasure's, Vince Clarke and Andy Bell projects up to date. More updates will follow soon.

Added "Phantom Bride" EP Page

The page about "Phantom Bride" EP has been added to Discography.

Added New Pics

Added details of: "Chains Of Love" us vinyl, "I Could Fall In Love With You" danish promo cdr, "Pop! - Remixed" uk promo cdrs, Alison Moyet's "Whispering Your Name" us promo cd, k.d. lang's "Lifted By Love" us vinyl.

EIS Newsletter:

Gidday!

Pretty much as soon as I sent last week's newsletter I heard about the brilliant Vince Clarke video interview mentioned below, and over the last few days I've watched it spread across the internet and appear in blogs and on music and technology websites all over the place so apologies if you've already seen it as it might feel like old news to you, however if you haven't seen it yet I thoroughly recommend it!

Lots for you this week too so let's just jump straight in...

The London Sessions - Erasure Album Video Updates!

I've added two more short video updates to the news section and the Erasure YouTube channel this week - clips four and five of seven - which show Andy and Vince talking about possible producers for the new Erasure album and musing on whether the new record will have anything in common with any previous Erasure releases respectively. Both are worth a look I think, mostly because they're both quite light-hearted and irreverent!

Andy Bell 'Non-Stop' Album Tracklisting + Acoustic Set At
    Mencap Charity Concert

Andy has announced the tracklisting for his new album, 'Non-Stop', which will be released on May 24th and I have also put online a new photo of Andy plus the text from Mute Records' press release announcing the release of 'Call On Me' and 'Non-Stop' which went out this week. Andy will also be part of the bill for an upcoming acoustic concert at London's IndigO2 in aid of the charity Mencap. 'Our Friends Acoustic' will feature a number of artists reworking their biggest hits acoustically. Other artists on the bill include Jimmy Somerville, Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones, Carol Decker (T'Pau), Steve Strange (Visage), The Christians, China Crisis and Cutting Crew.

Vince Clarke Video Interview At Motherboard.tv

The technology website Motherboard published a fantastic video interview with Vince Clarke last week. The twelve-minute piece includes a tour of his studio, The Cabin, an overview of Vince's career and a look at some of the stories and the technology behind his music for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure.

How Well Do You Know Erasure's Single Releases?

This is something I spotted on the Erasure Forum this week, a deceptively simple quiz put online by Dave, which asks you to name all Erasure's singles to date within ten minutes. I know it sounds easy, but for a bit of fun give it a go and see for yourself!

Not a language as such, but this week's newsletter greeting and farewell use popular Australian slang, courtesy of Peter who sent them over!

Hooroo!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

Extra! Extra! Andy Bell's "Non-Stop" Tracklisting!

Connoisseurs of deluxe dance-pop, seductive electro anthems and gold-plated disco grooves - lend me your ears, Andy Bell releases a brand new album, "Non-Stop", on May 25th 2010.

"Non-Stop", co-produced and co-written by Andy Bell and Pascal Gabriel (S’Express, Ladyhawke, Debbie Harry, Kylie, Little Boots) is a lavish 10 track collection of exquisite dancefloor confessionals from one of the most acclaimed and beloved singers in British pop.

"Non-Stop" features forthcoming single "Call On Me", out May 10th and "Honey If You Love Him", a duet with and written by Perry Farrell (of Jane’s Addiction fame), a huge fan of Andy’s voice who suggested the alliance.

Although Andy’s long-running partnership with Vince Clarke in Erasure (recipients of Best British Group at The Brit Awards) remains very much a going concern - since the release of 1986’s debut, Wonderland the duo have gone on to sell over 20 million albums, 5 of them hitting #1 and had 17 Top 10 UK singles - the singer’s second solo album provides a liberating platform for his more clubby, nocturnal, disco-glam side. He has even purposely changed his vocal register and style for much of "Non-Stop", putting clear blue water between his soulfully electronic solo voice and his gleaming, poppy Erasure work.

"Non-Stop" tracklisting:
1. Running Out
2. Call On Me
3. Subject / Object
4. Say What You Want
5. Will You Be There?
6. Slow Release
7. Touch
8. Non-Stop
9. DHDQ
10. Honey If You Love Him (Featuring Perry Farrell)

Andy Bell Reissues Out This Week

This week Mute reissues two Andy Bell solo singles, "Running Out" and "Will You Be There?", released under the Mimó pseudonym. Singles available as a digital download only and have the same tracklist with previous Mimó releases. They have the different artwork though. See below.

"Running Out" tracklisting:
1. Running Out
2. Running Out (Fenech-Soler Remix)
3. Running Out (VEGA Italo Dub Mix)
4. Running Out (VEGA Italo Dub Mix Extended)

"Will You Be There?" tracklisting:
1. Will You Be There? (Original Mix)
2. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Radio Edit)
3. Will You Be There? (French Horn Rebellion Mix)
4. Will You Be There? (Sonic C Vocal Mix)
5. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix Edit)

The Story Of Mimó

There are a lot of mystery behind Mimó project during the last few months. We have try to look into the story and this is how it was.

Back in autumn 2009 Mute Records sent out promo CDR with 4 tracks of new unknown artist called Mimó.

After moderate to great responses in various blogs, Mute (without any additional promotion) have released the above 4 tracks as a digital only single "Running Out" on 2nd November. The tracklist was as follows:

1. Running Out
2. Running Out (Fenech-Soler Remix)
3. Running Out (VEGA Italo Dub Mix)
4. Running Out (VEGA Italo Dub Mix Extended)

Immediately after this, the voice of Andy Bell, who sung the vocals on this track, was recognized. Mute and EIS, however, was keeping silence.

Later in 2009 Mute Records sent out two new promos of another Mimó single "Will You Be There?" (the club one and the radio one) with the following tracklists:

"Will You Be There?" club promo:
1. Will You Be There? (Original Mix) 3:30
2. Will You Be There? (French Horn Rebellion Remix) 3:48
3. Will You Be There? (SonicC Vocal Mix) 6:20
4. Will You Be There? (SonicC Dub Remix) 6:20
5. Will You Be There? (SonicC Instrumental Mix) 6:20
6. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Radio Edit) 3:27
7. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix) 7:35
8. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Dub) 7:36

"Will You Be There?" radio promo:
1. Will You Be There? (Original Version) 3:30
2. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Radio Edit) 3:29
3. Will You Be There? (French Horn Rebellion Mix) 3:48
4. Will You Be There? (SonicC Vocal Mix) 6:20
5. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix) 7:36

This time that was proper, factory pressed CDs. The promos featured press release in which Mimó has been proclaimed as a "new Mute dance-pop sensation". Mimó also got his website and MySpace page. According to press release "Will You Be There?" should have been released on 25th January 2010 and debut album from Mimó was promised also in 2010. "Will You Be There?" got quite a few airplays at BBC Radio 1 Friday's dance show and got mostly positive reviews from the listeners.

Richard of the EIS confirmed that there were plans to release "Will You Be There?" on CD and as a digital download. However, CD release has been cancelled and digital only single "Will You Be There?" was released on 8th February. On the same day it was officially announced that Mimó is the new solo project of Andy Bell. Moreover, due to legal reasons, any further releases from Mimó will be out under Andy's own name.

"Will You Be There?" full tracklist of all remixes:
1. Will You Be There? (Original Mix) 3:30
2. Will You Be There? (French Horn Rebellion Remix) 3:48
3. Will You Be There? (SonicC Vocal Mix) 6:20
4. Will You Be There? (SonicC Dub Remix) 6:20 *
5. Will You Be There? (SonicC Instrumental Mix) 6:20 *
6. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Radio Edit) 3:27
7. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix) 7:35 *
8. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Dub) 7:36 *
9. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix Edit) 6:58 **

* - not released commercially
** - available only as a digital download

Vince Clarke Mini-Documentary Online At Motherboard

The technology website Motherboard has just published a fantastic video interview with Vince Clarke. The twelve-minute piece includes a tour of his studio, The Cabin, an overview of Vince's career and a look at some of the technology and stories behind his music for Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure.

You can see the interview online at the Motherboard website.

Source: EIS

Andy Bell To Play Mencap's "Our Friends Acoustic" Concert

Andy Bell will be part of the bill for an upcoming acoustic evening at London's IndigO2 in aid of the charity Mencap. "Our Friends Acoustic" will feature a number of artists reworking their biggest hits acoustically. Other artists on the bill include Jimmy Somerville, Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones, Carol Decker (T'Pau), Steve Strange (Visage), The Christians, China Crisis and Cutting Crew.

Ticket information and more details are available from the IndigO2 website.

Source: EIS

EIS Newsletter:

Hallo!

I'm delighted that so many of you have been enjoying the videos of Vince and Andy in the studio that I started putting online last week. Your enthusiastic clicking was enough to make the Erasure Channel at YouTube the thirty-fourth most viewed music page on YouTube last week which is pretty good going I think! There's now two more videos online for you - more about those below - and I think there's going to be seven in all (eight if I include Vince's enthusiastic recommendation for Marks & Spencer's Belgian lager, apparently his drink of choice during the recent sessions!)...

The London Sessions - Erasure Album Video Updates!

If you've not checked out the two videos I've added to the Erasure website and to YouTube since last week's newsletter they feature Vince and Andy answering questions about the recent London and New York writing sessions, as well as what has been inspiring them on the new record, and I reckon both are well worth a look!

Andy Bell Solo Single And Album Release Dates

Andy will release 'Call On Me', his new solo single, on May 10th and his second solo album - entitled 'Non-Stop' - on May 24th. Both releases will also come out in the USA, with 'Call On Me' scheduled for May 11th and 'Non-Stop' following on May 24th as a digital download and June 8th on CD. More details about tracklistings and formats as soon as I have them!

Vince Clarke Interview In Maine Magazine

Vince is profiled - with pictures - in the new edition of Maine Magazine in a feature which touches on his collection of synthesisers, his studio, the new Erasure album, his rural lifestyle and life in general. More at Vince's official website.

Erasure On 'Celebrity Apprentice'

To mark broadcast of the first show in the new US series of 'Celebrity Apprentice' (NBC) at the weekend I've updated the Erasure website with a couple of behind the scenes shots - both taken in New York City last year during a break in the first writing session for the new album - of Andy and Vince popping into Burger Heaven to wish Sharon Osbourne and Cyndi Lauper and the rest of Team Tenacity. Being in the UK I haven't been able to watch the show but I did get this message from Cal, who also attached a screenshot to prove her point.

'I watched the first episode of Celebrity Apprentice last night and Andy & Vince actually WERE in one of the scenes - sitting at the counter in Burger Heaven. Unfortunately though it was only a split second but we were treated to a shot of the back of Vince's head, which was partially blocking the side of Andy's face!'.

I've seen the screenshot, it's all true. Thanks Cal!

You may also be interested to know that Cyndi Lauper has nominated the True Colors Fund of Stonewall Community Foundation as her charity to benefit is she wins, the same charity that organise the True Colors tours in the US which both Erasure and Andy Bell have played. More about their work at their website.

Interior Design - Erasure Style!

I got an email from Michael this week telling me what a fan he is of Erasure's artwork and providing a link that shows exactly how far his dedication goes, and in case you feel similarly inspired here it is... thank you Michael!

This week's newsletter greeting and farewell are in Afrikaans, with thanks to Gary for sending them over!

Totsiens!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

EIS Newsletter:

Dobry Den!

Well, sadly I didn't get to visit Andy and Vince in the studio during their London writing sessions last week as I had hoped, but the good news is that I sent a selection of the questions you sent me over to the studio and they have recorded video answers for you, more about that below...

Thank you so much by the way, to everyone who took the time to send over questions, there were literally hundreds of them, and thank you for the messages to me that so many of you included, I really appreciate your kindness and support. Thank you.

About half of the questions were variations on the same theme; whether Erasure will tour the forthcoming album, and if so where they intend to play. The answer to that question is that yes, Andy and Vince will be touring to support the album but, at this stage, it's just too early to say which countries they will visit let alone which cities they will play, but rest assured that I will let you know all the details later in the year as soon as they are available!

The London Sessions - Album Update Videos!

I've already mentioned that around half the questions you sent over for Erasure were about touring, well the majority of the others were about the new material generally and I pulled out the ones that appeared most often for Vince and Andy to answer. They very kindly recorded their answers to those questions onto video in the studio last week and the answer to the first question, 'What direction is the new album taking?', is online for you right now over in the news section on the Erasure website and on the official Erasure YouTube channel... I know the answer is going to make a lot of you very happy! More video clips will be online soon...

Andy Bell Single 'Will You Be There?' Available For Download
    In The USA

Andy's solo single 'Will You Be There?' is officially released in the USA next week but it looks like it's already available over there on iTunes and Amazon. That means that if you're in the US then the wait is finally over and you can download all five mixes right now...

Tracklisting:
1. Will You Be There? (Original Mix)
2. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Radio Edit)
3. Will You Be There? (French Horn Rebellion Mix)
4. Will You Be There? (Sonic C Vocal Mix)
5. Will You Be There? (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix)

Download:
iTunes USA | Amazon USA | iTunes UK | Amazon UK | Play.com

Erasure And Yazoo Featured On Xbox Karaoke Game

Erasure's 'A Little Respect' and Yazoo's 'Don't Go' will among the forty 80s hits to be featured in a new edition of the popular karaoke game 'Lips'. 'Lips: I Love The 80s' will also feature tracks from The Communards, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Human League, Kim Wilde, New Order and Soft Cell among many others. The game will be released, exclusively for the Xbox 360, on April 2nd and will retail for around £34.99. See the news section on the website for more details.

Robot Unicorn Attack

Back in February I mentioned that Erasure's 'Always' is featured in an online computer game called 'Robot Unicorn Attack' and since then I've had loads of emails from people who have, perhaps, been playing the game a little bit too much. It is very addictive! Well it seems that they're not the only ones as, according to this New York University website, 'Robot Unicorn Attack' has become something of a cult success and 'Always' is reaching a whole new audience as a result...

This week's newsletter greeting and farewell are in Slovakian, with thanks to Daniela for sending them over!

Dovidenia!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

EIS Newsletter:

Sveiki!

I'm getting this newsletter out early because I'm hoping that later this week I will be spending some time in the studio with Vince and Andy, to talk to them about what they're up to and to take some pictures and perhaps some video footage of them at work on the new album. That's what I'm hoping for anyway (everything is dependent on how much progress they are making!), and the reason for getting this newsletter to you now is to see if there are any questions you'd like me to ask them? If you have any questions about the new album, Andy's solo project or about any of Vince and Andy's current activities (just current activities this time please!) that you would like me to consider asking them then please email them over to me as soon as possible and I will do my best to get as many of them answered as possible. Thank you in advance!

Erasure Album Updates!

As you know from last week's newsletter, Vince and Andy are working on the new Erasure album in London at the moment and they have been Twittering about the experience over the last few days. If you haven't been keeping an eye on their bulletins this is just a reminder that you can follow their progress on Erasure's Twitter page, and all the Tweets also appear on the Erasure Facebook page. So far they have touched on leaky shoes, Paul Humphrey's birthday party, chord inversions and the studio walls... it's all well worth a look!

Important Pierre Cope Warning

I'm sure that many of you will know of Pierre Cope from his work with Andy before Erasure, and as a result lots of you are probably friends with him via MySpace and so on. Unfortunately Pierre's email account was hacked last week and as a result someone has been sending out phishing messages (emails asking for money or financial details) from his account, so this is a warning that if you receive any emails that appear to come from Pierre then you should ignore them and delete them immediately.

Yazoo's "Only You" Tops Music List!

Yazoo's 'Only You' this week topped one of The Daily Record's 'Best 80s Music' lists, with journalist Mickey McMonagle describing the track as a 'synth-pop classic which paved the way for dance music to follow and showed just what a genius Vince Clarke was and is', and quite right too! There are more details on the Yazoo website.

This week's newsletter greeting and farewell are in Latvian, with thanks to Alec for sending them over and apologies if I've not managed to get the accents quite right!

Atá-atá!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com