EIS Newsletter:

Aluu!

A mini-newsletter for you this week. Usually I would wait a bit until more news came in before sending a newsletter out, but as the main content this week revolves around Andy Bell's upcoming US activities, which kick-off on Saturday, this one had to go out now!

Andy Bell In The USA - Club Appearances, San Francisco Pride,
    A NYC Signing And More...

Andy Bell is now in the US for San Francisco Pride and then a week of appearances and promotional activity for his 'Non-Stop' album. The schedule has now been confirmed and is online at Andy's website, but in brief the highlights are a 30-minute appearance at SF Pride where Andy is also a Grand Marshall; club appearances (PAs and DJ sets) in San Francisco, New York and Tampa; and a CD signing session at the Union Square branch of Barnes & Noble in New York next Wednesday. Following this activity Andy will be travelling to Maine to join Vince Clarke so the duo can continue work on the next Erasure album…

Erasure On Big Brother 2010!

Erasure's 'A Little Respect' was piped into the Big Brother house this week as a musical treat for one of the housemates and it seems that the housemates put their differences aside for long enough to have a good old dance to the track. As a result sales of the track shot up over 300%, enough to put 'A Little Respect' back into the lower reaches of the UK charts this week! I tried to find a clip of the housemates dancing to the the song and failed, but my wanderings around the web did turn up the fact that Erasure, and 'A Little Respect', are both mentioned in the welcome pack that is available to the housemates when they enter the Big Brother house… now that's what I call Erasure trivia!

Thanks to Gilly in Newcastle, this week's greeting and farewell are in Greenlandic!

Baaj!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

EIS Newsletter:

Hei!

I love it when I learn new things through doing this job, but I hadn't bargained for some of the things I learned from Andy Bell's postings as Guest Editor at Magnet Magazine last week! My favourite of them all is about the ancient Egyptian art of cat painting, here's what Andy says… "Apparently, you lull the cat into a trance-like state and then carefully stroke it with the brush with lots of lovely rainbow colours to dazzling effect! The illusion only lasts for as long as the cat stays motionless; once the cat moves, the paint dust blows away and the illusion is lost"… how cool is that!?! More about that piece below...

What a good way to start this week's newsletter!

Message From Andy Bell

Andy posted a little message for you all on his Twitter account at the start of the week, just to thank everyone for their support for 'Non-Stop', and if you don't follow Andy on Twitter or Facebook the message was 'Thank you to all the people who bought Non-Stop & to all the people who've helped me on the way xXx'… bless him!

Robot Unicorn Attack Brings Erasure's 'Always' To The iPhone

Yep, it's those Robot Unicorns again! The online game Robot Unicorn Attack - which, as I'm sure you all know by now, features Erasure's track 'Always' as its soundtrack - is now available for the iPhone and has not only catapulted itself into iTunes' best-selling apps lists but is also being picked up by all sorts of mainstream and underground media, including a prestigious mention in the 'Must List' in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly! You can see the Entertainment Weekly mention on their website, you can buy the Robot Unicorn Attack iPhone game at your local iTunes store (including iTunes UK and iTunes US), and you can still play the game online for free…

New Vince Clarke Interview Online

A short (very short!) interview with Vince has appeared on the Swedish website ElectroSkull this week. The interview, conducted by email, is basically an update on where Erasure are with the new album, alongside a few choice bits and pieces…

Andy Bell At San Francisco Pride

Lots of you have emailed me about Andy's upcoming appearance at Pride in San Francisco at the end of the month, and I'm afraid I don't have many more details for you just yet, sorry. I can however confirm that Andy will be playing a 30-minute PA set - which will consist mostly of Erasure material alongside one or two solo numbers - and that he has been selected as one of the Grand Marshalls for the Pride Parade. Andy will also be making a number of PA and DJ appearances in the US while he's over there. More details when I have them but keep an eye on Andy's website for updates.

Andy Bell Media Round-Up...

There have been loads of bits and pieces about Andy in the media this week and the main ones are listed in the news section of his website, but I do want to make specific mention of some of my favourites; first off is Andy's Guest Editor spot at Magnet Magazine which I mentioned in my introduction, it's not just painting cats, there's also pieces by Andy on nudist beaches, the Virgin Mary, lenticular printing, fish and chips and more; I also liked the video interviews that Entertainment Focus did with Andy (Part 1 and Part 2), the quality isn't great but it makes a nice change to see Andy answering the questions rather than just reading them and he does drop a lot of hints about his plans for the rest of the year among other things; and finally there is last week's TV appearance on ITV's chat show 'Loose Women' which also sees Andy in fine form. See the news section on Andy's website for all the details!

Erasure's 'A Little Respect' Covered In A Jazz Style

Some of you may have already heard this as it looks like it was originally released a few years ago, but it was new to me when Julio in Brazil emailed me about it so I thought I should include it here as a little Erasure novelty, it's by a Brazilian band called Trash Pour 4… enjoy!

I thought I'd used all the Scandanavian languages for the newsletter greetings and farewells, but it turns out I haven't used Norwegian, until today. Thanks to Anna in Oslo for pointing that out and for providing me with the Norwegian greeting and farewell I've used this week.

Ha det bra!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

Andy Bell On Loose Women - Video

On 10th June Andy Bell was a guest on British show Loose Women on ITV. Watch his segment on Erasure.ru Youtube channel here.

Thanks to ASH-II for the video.

New Andy Bell Interviews

There are tons of Andy Bell interviews published recently on various websites. Here are all the links:

1. Andy's recent interview for Digital Spy has gone online and it's a good one, touching on 'Non-Stop' but also covering Erasure, reality TV, Andy's relationship with Vince Clarke, La Roux and Lady GaGa...
www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/interviews/a223868/andy-bell.html

2. Andy has contributed to Female First's 'The 15 Questions We Ask Everyone' series of features and talks about foiling wands, his trademark dance, his celebrity crush and sunday roast...
www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/interviews/Andy+Bell...

3. The brilliantly named 'Slicing Up Eyeballs' website has put its interview with Andy online, and it's another good one, covering the usual questions about the album as well as touching on the track with B-52s' singer Kate Pierson that didn't make it onto 'Non-Stop', what might happen to the tracks Andy recorded with Stephen Hague for the album but didn't use and the possibility of more remastered and expanded Erasure albums after the success of 'The Innocents' last year...
www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/06/07/andy-bell-interview...

4. The Windy City Times website has put an excellent interview with Andy online. It covers the usual topics with a few more interesting questions thrown in too, including Andy's thoughts on working with Perry Farrell, what's on his iPod, the 'homemade' video for 'Call On Me', the new Erasure record and ageism!
www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news...

5. Another new US interview with Andy is featured on the About magazine website and which covers the new album, Cyndi Lauper and Erasure's 25th anniversary among other topics.
aboutmag.com/front/?p=2787

6. AOL's Spinner website is continuing its series of Andy Bell interview items with a new extract online today. This time the subject is politics and it's much more interesting than it sounds!
www.spinnermusic.co.uk/2010/06/03/erasure-andy-bell...

7. Edge Boston have put their interview with Andy online today, and it's not to be confused with Andy's recent interview with Edge Los Angeles as this is a totally new interview...
www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainmen...

8. Andy has been interviewed by Rage Magazine as part of the promotional campaign for 'Non-Stop' and you can read the full interview on the website. The new album is, of course, the focus of the piece but there's lots more besides, including Andy talking about being pigeonholed as an '80s' artist, his dream duets and his renewed focus on the next Erasure album.
www.ragemonthly.com/mag/2010/06/07/andy-bell-there...

9. Interview with Andy in Bay Area Reporter.
www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=music&article=734

10. Interview with Andy in PrideSource.
www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=41653

Andy Bell - "Non-Stop" Reviews

There are loads of reviews of Andy's new album "Non-Stop" across the Internet. Here are the links to some of them:

Blogcritics Music
PopMatters
MusicOMH
In The News
Express Night Out
The Quietus
Phoenix New Times
Towleroad
Queer Sighted

Lady Gaga Mentioned Erasure

In an interview with the USA radio station QMS Radio, American recording artist Lady Gaga has said she wants to record a cover of Depeche Mode's 1984 hit song "People Are People" adding: "I could really give it the melody it never had".

However, we advise miss Gaga to do some fact checking before she takes a shot at a Depeche Mode classic. In the same interview she namely appears to believe that Vince Clarke is still part of the band: "I'm a huge fan of Erasure and it was so funny when I heard that Vince is also a part of Depeche Mode! It's so unlike his Erasure sound!"

Funny, isn't it?

Source: Side-Line

Andy Bell On Mojo Awards

On 10th June Andy Bell appeared on Mojo Honours Awards in London. Together with Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher he presented the Mojo Medal award to Mute Records founder Daniel Miller. Here is a couple of pictures from that night:

"Cosmic Climb" - iTunes Exclusive

There is a special version of the new Andy Bell album "Non-Stop" in iTunes store. It features not only the digital booklet but additional bonus track "Cosmic Climb" which isn't available anywhere else. Check your local iTunes store.

"Non-Stop" In UK Charts

Andy's solo album "Non-Stop" reached #134 in the UK Album Chart and reached #12 in UK Dance Album Chart.

"Honey If You Love Him" Animated Video

The animated version of Andy's "Honey If You Love Him (That's All That Matters)" video has been put up to Youtube. You may watch it here.

New Andy Bell Video Interview

EF's Brandon caught up with pop icon Andy Bell as he takes a break from Erasure to release his second solo album "Non-Stop". You may watch the two part interview at Youtube:

Part 1
Part 2

Andy Bell's "Will You Be There?" In Billboard Dance Chart

"Will You Be There?" has moved up to #29 from #45 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Thanks to XTZ1969 for the info.

EIS Newsletter:

Apa Khabar!

It's been in the pipeline for months, but finally Andy Bell's 'Non-Stop' album is released this week as you will know from yesterday's bonus 'Non-Stop' newsletter. But it's not just Andy that's busy at the moment, this newsletter also includes an update on the new Erasure album and tour plus news of a live album from Yazoo (Yaz for those of you in the US!).

Here you go with all those bits and pieces and more!

Andy Bell 'Non-Stop' Album Released This Week

As if you didn't already know, Andy's second solo album 'Non-Stop' is released this week on CD and via download around the world. The album features the new single 'Call On Me' plus the previous singles 'Running Out' and 'Will You Be There?' alongside a further seven tracks, including 'Honey If You Love Him' a duet with Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell.

Album 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)

iTunes UK | iTunes US | Amazon UK | Amazon US

Erasure Update

I'm getting lots of emails from people asking about the next Erasure album and tour, so to give myself a rest from typing all those emails here's a quick overview of where Vince and Andy are at… work is going well on the new album and I believe there are around twenty tracks under consideration for inclusion. Andy will be joining Vince in the USA later this month to continue working on the album but there's no release date in place just yet, and therefore no news on any Erasure tour plans. As soon as I have more to tell you then you can be sure that I will be sharing that news immediately!

Yazoo To Release 'Reconnected Live' Album

If you are on the Yazoo newsletter list then you will have already received an email from me about this, but for those of you aren't, Yazoo will release a much anticipated live album, entitled 'Reconnected Live', on September 27th. The release will be available as a 2CD set, a deluxe special edition and via download. More details, and the cover artwork, on the official Yazoo website.

Meet Andy Bell… Competition Running Now!

The MumStop website is currently running an online competition with a meet and greet with Andy as the prize. Apparently you don't have to be a Mum to qualify for entry so good luck to everyone! See the news page on Andy's website for details.

'Say What You Want' Remix Competition

The six remixes that made it onto the final shortlist have now been selected, based on your votes, and are streaming on Andy's website if you fancy a listen. All six have now been sent over to Andy, and to Mute Records, so they can make the final decision as to which remix will be the overall winner. Congratulations to all the finalists - each of whom will receive a set of framed lyrics to 'Say What You Want' handwritten by Andy Bell with a personal message from him - and thank you so much to everyone who submitted their remix to the competition or who voted for their favourites.

Andy Bell Media Round-Up...

There's been loads of bits and pieces about 'Non-Stop' appearing all over the place since the last newsletter, including two more interview extracts on AOL's Spinner website, plus interesting interviews in Edge Boston and The Windy City Times. See the news section on Andy's website for all the details.

Andy Bell's 'The Two Ring Circus' Disc Auction

The charity auction for Andy's BPI silver disc for Erasure's 'Two Ring Circus' album to benefit the Rett Syndrome Research Trust charity ended this week. Thanks to your generosity and support the auction raised a impressive $1,725.00 for RSRT.

Thanks to Christopher in Malaysia the greeting and farewell used in this newsletter are in Malay...

Selamat Tinggal!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

Andy Bell On Loose Women

Andy Bell will be a guest on Loose Women on Thursday 10th June, 12.30 - 1.30 pm on ITV.

Andy Bell Competition

Joe.My.God blog is holding an Andy Bell competition and have 5 copies of "Non-Stop" album to give away. More details available here.

New Andy Bell Promo Photo

Here is the new, gorgeous Andy Bell press photo (click on image to enlarge):

Andy Bell Is Guest Editor For Magnet Magazine

Andy Bell is moonlighting as Guest Editor for Magnet Magazine this week! He post his editorials every day since 7th June discussing Prince Charles, Egyptian art, the books of his youth, Tarot cards, Reiki and other things. So far, this is rather interesting reading, click here to read Andy's posts.

EIS Newsletter:

Hi!

The time has finally come and Andy Bell's new solo album 'Non-Stop' is out this week (released yesterday in the UK and today in the USA) which is excuse enough for another bonus newsletter this week!

If you pre-ordered the album then the chances are that you've already had it for a few days now and it has been brilliant to get so many messages from people telling me how much they are enjoying it, and Andy would like to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support.

Here's what Q Magazine said about the album...

"Ditching the falsetto squeal of Erasure for a deeper croon, Andy Bell's follow-up to 2005's Electric Blue revisits his earlier album's booty-shaking disco stomp. Bell claims the album is very tongue in cheek and, coming from a man who used to wear a rhinoceros horn codpiece onstage, you have to believe him. There is, however, a real depth to these robotic, nocturnal Madonna-meets-New Order songs, exploring the exhilarating joys and insecure lows of clubland's transient lust and infatuation ('Running Out', 'Call On Me', 'Will You Be There?'). But if all that thinking gets too much you can always just don the silver hot pants, take a hit of amyl and get dirty."

'Non-Stop' is available now on CD or via download from all good online and offline retailers (there are a few links below if you need them!) and features ten tracks, including 'Running Out' and 'Will You Be There?' (both low-key download releases under the name Mimó) and the current single 'Call On Me', as well as the much talked about duet with Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, 'Honey If You Love Him'.

Tracklisting:
• Running Out
• Call On Me
• Subject / Object
• Say What You Want
• Will You Be There?
• Slow Release
• Touch
• Non-Stop
• DHDQ
• Honey If You Love Him (Featuring Perry Farrell)

Buy the album: iTunes UK / Amazon UK / iTunes US / Amazon US

You can watch Andy talking about the project, including his thoughts on the inspiration behind some of the tracks, in a two-part video interview (actually it's all the same video but YouTube doesn't let you put any clips online that are over ten minutes so it had to be broken in two!) which is online now at the Erasure YouTube channel. There are also links to loads of 'Non-Stop' interviews that Andy has done in the news section at his official website.

Once again I don't have room here to include all the links to the single for every part of the world, but do check with your local online and offline retailers for details wherever you are.

I'll be back tomorrow with the regular newsletter!

Enjoy...

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

EIS Newsletter:

Anjali!

I know, it's me, twice in one week! But after the bonus 'Call On Me' newsletter yesterday this is the regular newsletter for this week although it is still very much an Andy Bell edition...

I don't want to outstay my welcome though, so I'm going straight into the news without too much malarky from me… ready?

Andy Bell 'Non-Stop' Album Released Next Week... But Listen
    To It Now!

I'll be sending out a special 'Non-Stop' newsletter next week with as many details about the release of Andy's second album that I can cobble together, but you might be interested to know that you can listen to the entire album right now as AOL's Spinner Music website is previewing 'Non-Stop' in the run-up to the release date. I should also remind you that if you want the FREE Vince Clarke remix of 'Non-Stop', the album's title track, then you only have a couple of days left to pre-order the album from Mute Bank and qualify for the bonus download!

Andy Bell 'Pure Groove' DJ Set And Signing Session Cancelled

Sadly Pure Groove have been having problems with their local Council over noise levels from their instore performances and DJ sets. The shop have been forced to cancel all their planned events, including Andy's DJ set and signing session which was scheduled for June 11th. Sorry for any inconvenience but I'm afraid this decision was out of our hands.

Andy Bell's Personal 'The Two Ring Circus' Disc Up For Auction

Andy is auctioning the BPI silver disc he received in 1988 to mark 200,000 UK sales of Erasure's 'Two Ring Circus' album, to benefit the Rett Syndrome Research Trust charity. The award has also been signed on the reverse by Andy and is available for bids - via eBay - until June 3rd. The auction is open to bids from anywhere in the world, and shipping to the winner is free wherever they are.

'Say What You Want' Remix Competition

We're into the last few days of voting for the final six 'Say What You Want' remixes that will be sent to Andy and Mute Records to decide the overall winner, and the voting so far has been fantastic, thank you to everyone for their support. I should remind you that you can only vote for each remix once and multiple votes will be removed before the final calculations to decide the winners are made. I can also tell you that Andy has personally listened to every single remix!

Andy Bell Media Round-Up...

With 'Call On Me' out this week and 'Non-Stop' out next week all sorts of bits and pieces are popping in the media at the moment, including interesting pieces on the Gaydar Nation website (a full and frank Q&A session); interviews with Edge Magazine and About Magazine in the USA; and a rather tongue-in-cheek review of 'Non-Stop' entitled 'Andy Bell's Solo Album - Six Reasons Not To Hate It' from the Queer Sighted blog! See the news section on Andy's website for all the details and links.

Erasure Vs. ABBA

I came across this blog today and thought I'd include it for a bit of light relief. Basically ABBA's version of 'Lay All Your Love On Me' is up against Erasure's version of the same song. It's all open to discussion on the Fun To Be Had page if you fancy taking part!

Andy Bell 'Call On Me' Out This Week...

You know this of course as I sent out a whole newsletter about the release on Tuesday, but in case you need a reminder 'Call On Me' is released this week as a download and on CD in the UK, and as a download in the US. It's also released around the world but I'm afraid I don't have the space for all those links too!

CD tracklisting:
1. Call On Me (Wyda Productions Remix)
2. Had It All
3. Call On Me (Original Version)
4. Call On Me (Vince Clarke Remix)
5. Call On Me (Hey Champ Remix)
6. Call On Me (Deadboy Remix)

Download tracklisting:
1. Call On Me (Wyda Productions Remix Edit)
2. Had It All
3. Call On Me (Original Version)
4. Call On Me (Vince Clarke Remix)
5. Call On Me (Hey Champ Remix)
6. Call On Me (Deadboy Remix)

Download available from iTunes UK and iTunes US. CD from Amazon UK (it's only available as a download in the US but the Official Erasure Shop at Lexer Music ships worldwide!).

The greeting and farewell used in this newsletter are probably my favourite so far (although I did particularly like Klingon a couple of weeks ago!), they use the ancient Pali language that was spoken by the Buddha around 2500 years ago and were sent over by Paul, who translates 'Anjali' as 'the act putting of the hands together and a slight tipping of the head by way of welcoming respect' (how cool is that!) and 'Metta' as 'loving kindness'…

Metta!

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

EIS Newsletter:

Hi!

This week sees the release of Andy Bell's new single 'Call On Me' (out yesterday in the UK and today in the USA...) which seemed like a good enough reason to send you a bonus newsletter this week!

I know that loads of you have pre-ordered the single, and are probably already listening to it and enjoying it, so here are a couple of things from the Erasure YouTube Channel to enhance the whole 'Call On Me' experience; first of all the video, which Andy made at home in London with video-makers Caz Gorham and Frances Dickenson; then I've just added a really interesting two-part promotional interview with Andy, which includes him talking about the inspiration behind 'Call On Me' as well as a lot of the other tracks on the 'Non-Stop' album.

If you haven't yet bought the single then here's what you need to know...

'Call On Me' is available on CD and via download, each with a slightly different tracklisting, and both formats include the track 'Had It All' which is exclusive to this release and won't appear on the album or anywhere else.

CD tracklisting:
Amazon UK | US - 'Call On Me' is only available as a download in the US but the Official Erasure Shop at Lexer Music ships worldwide…

• Call On Me (Wyda Productions Full Length Radio Mix)
• Had It All
• Call On Me (Original Version)
• Call On Me (Vince Clarke Remix)
• Call On Me (Hey Champ Remix)
• Call On Me (Deadboy Remix)

Download tracklisting:
For the entire single iTunes UK and iTunes USA, or use the links below to download individual tracks...

• Call On Me (Wyda Productions Remix Edit) UK | US
• Had It All UK | US
• Call On Me (Original Version) UK | US
• Call On Me (Vince Clarke Remix) UK | US
• Call On Me (Hey Champ Remix) UK | US
• Call On Me (Deadboy Remix) UK | US

Not that I'm in any way biased (!), and all the remixes are very cool, but as an Erasure fan the Vince Clarke remix (UK, US) might be of particular interest and it's just 99p in the UK and 99 cents in the US!

Obviously I don't have room here to include all the links to the single for every part of the world, so do check with your local online and offline retailers for details of how to buy it wherever you are.

I'll be back later in the week with the regular newsletter!

Happy listening...

Richard

Erasure Information Service
www.erasureinfo.com

Andy Bell US Release Parties

There is a couple of Andy Bell "Non-Stop" release parties being organized in USA.

The first one is in Atlanta, at Mary's (which Logo describes as the "Best Gay Bar in America") on Friday, 11th June. All details and directions available here.

The second party will take place in Boston, at Club Cafe also on Friday, 11th June. All details available here. The organizer of the party, Edge is also holding an Andy Bell competition and is giving away copies of "Non-Stop" on CD! Winners must be available to claim their prizes at the Edge "Pridel" Party being held at Club Cafe on Friday, June 11th (see above). Click here to enter the competition.

New Andy Bell Interviews

There are few more new interviews with Andy Bell published this week. First is the ohe he gave to Edge Los Angeles. Click here to read it.

The second is a new part of Andy's Spinner interview. You may find it here.

"News Of The World" Reviews "Call On Me"

British "News Of The World" has given the "Call On Me" single 4/5 stars and a great review:

"As the eighties revival goes on, Erasure's singer deserves a piece of the action with a highlight of his second solo album "Non-Stop". He shows the young upstarts a trick or two with his ecstatic vocals and the infectious synths will be familiar to a generation of fans."

Thanks to Pughie for the info.

"Non-Stop" On Canadian iTunes

It seems that "Non-Stop" is already available for purchase on Canadian iTunes. Check your local iTunes store, it can be available in your country as well.

Thanks to Franticforever for the info.

Andy Bell's "Will You Be There?" Enters Billboard Dance Chart

Andy Bell's "Will You Be There?" debuts at #48 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Thanks to XTZ1969 for the info.