Line #35 Music/Erasure


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/erasure.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Left - Andy Bell, Right - [[Music/DepecheMode Vince ]] [[Music/{{Yazoo}} Clarke]]]]
3	->''Come to me, cover me, hold me,\
4	Together we'll break these chains of love.\
5	Don't give up, don't give up,\
6	Together with me and my baby break the chains of love.''
7	-->"Chains of Love"
8
9	In 1985 keyboardist Vince Clarke, having firstly parted ways with Music/DepecheMode and then with his subsequent Music/{{Yazoo}} partner Alison Moyet, took an ad out in ''Melody Maker'' magazine looking for a new singer to work with. Some 40 respondents showed up at the recording session, each performing two songs Clarke had written for the session. The second-to-last audition of the session was a shy young butcher named Andy Bell. As soon as Andy famously burst into falsetto on the chorus of "Who Needs Love Like That?", Vince knew he had found what he was looking for. They released the track almost immediately, and Erasure was born.
10
11	A SynthPop duo, Erasure's style is characterized by rich synthesizer backdrops, upbeat dance-oriented beats, Bell's soaring four-octave range, and one-man multi-part harmonies.
12
13	Bell was one of the first openly gay performers in the pop music industry, and his voice is regarded as one of the greatest in British soul. They are one of Britain's most successful pop acts, with five Number One albums and 40 Top 40 hits.
14
15	Although they are most commonly known today in certain circles as "The band that wrote the song to ''VideoGame/RobotUnicornAttack''".
16
17	[[AC:Discography]]
18	* ''Wonderland'' (1986)
19	* ''The Circus'' (1987)
20	* ''The Innocents'' (1988)
21	* ''Wild!'' (1989)
22	* ''Chorus'' (1991)
23	* ''Abba-esque'' (1992)
24	* ''I Say I Say I Say'' (1994)
25	* ''Erasure'' (1995)
26	* ''Cowboy'' (1997)
27	* ''Loveboat'' (2000)
28	* ''Other People's Songs'' (2003)
29	* ''Nightbird'' (2005)
30	* ''Union Street'' (2006)
31	* ''Light at the End of the World'' (2007)
32	* ''Tomorrow's World'' (2011)
33	* ''Snow Globe'' (2013)
34	* ''The Violet Flame'' (2014)
35	* ''World Be Gone'' (2017)
36	* ''The Neon'' (2020)
37
38	----
39	!!This band provides examples of:
40
41	* AlwaysSecondBest: Although completely overshadowed by Andy Bell and Alison Moyet, Vince is a pretty good singer himself. He initially handled lead vocals for Music/DepecheMode, before he recruited Dave Gahan. He also sang one song, "Happy People", while with Yazoo.
42	** The band itself was generally loathed by the British music press, who characterised them as the poor man's Music/PetShopBoys.
43	* AntiChristmasSong: "She Won't Be Home".
44	* BreakupSong: Most of their songs are either this or SillyLoveSongs. Examples that hit the charts: "Oh L'Amour", "Victim of Love", and "Love to Hate You".
45	* {{Camp}}: They absolutely ''revel'' in it. Just the tip of the iceberg: One concert involved Andy wearing a giant feather boa and being wheeled onstage in a giant swan.
46	* CampGay: Andy, on stage.
47	* CoverVersion: ''Other People's Songs'' is a whole album full of, um, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin other people's songs]]. 1992's ''Abba-esque [=EP=]'', their only UK Number One single, was a four-track collection of all Music/{{ABBA}} covers in Erasure's distinctive hi-NRG synthpop style.
48	** The latter received an immediate response in kind from top ABBA tribute band Björn Again, who promptly put out a single with ABBA-style covers of "A Little Respect" and "Stop!" entitled... ''Erasure-ish''.
49	* EndlessWinter: The music video for "Always" features a KabukiTheatre-style demon who was intent on creating an eternal winter. Andy Bell portrays the nature god who defeats him.
50	* EpicRocking: The SelfTitledAlbum brings us two examples, "Sono Luminus" (7:52), and "Rock Me Gently" (10:01). The single mix for the latter, however, shaves six minutes off.
51	* GaiasVengeance: Arguably, "Chorus". They also covered Cerrone's "Supernature" as a B-side.
52	* {{Gayngst}}: "Hideaway".
53	-->Oh my father, why don't you talk to me now?
54	-->Oh my mother, do you still cry yourself to sleep?
55	-->Are you still proud of your little boy?
56	** Possibly "Run to the Sun" as well.
57	* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Yes, straight male fans do exist. Vince used to state this in the band's early days, but gave up by the time ''Abba-esque'' came out and [[RuleOfFun just ran with the]] {{Camp}}.
58	* IntercourseWithYou: "Sexuality", "Sometimes". The latter had to be performed with alternate lyrics in one TV appearance.
59	* LighterAndSofter: ''Cowboy'' attempted to be this to ''Erasure'', showing a return to fluffy three-minute pop songs.
60	* LiteralMinded: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x34icYC8zA0&ob=av2n video for ''A Little Respect'']] is this, along with a generous helping of {{Visual Pun}}s.
61	* LyricalDissonance: "Fingers & Thumbs". The verses and tune are fairly happy, but then you get to the chorus and realize it's about AIDS.
62	** Erasure take this trope and milk it for all it's worth. ''Oh L'Amour'' must be one of the most cheerful songs about... how much [[UnrequitedLove Unrequited]] LoveHurts.
63	* MistakenForGay: Happens to Vince all the time.
64	* NewSoundAlbum: Basically every other one. ''Wild!'' was their first use of MIDI, ''Erasure'' was heavily influenced by prog-rock, ''Loveboat'' was their "indie" album and ''Union Street'' was entirely acoustic.
65	* OneWomanWail: Music/DiamandaGalas's appearances on the ''Erasure'' album.
66	* PerformanceVideo: "Love to Hate You", combined with BehindTheScenesVideo.
67	* RhymingWithItself: "Always" -- "Open your eyes, I see/Your eyes are open/Wear no disguise for me/Come into the open". Usually forgiven for its early [[UsefulNotes/TheNewTens 2010s]] status as SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic du jour.
68	* {{Sampling}}: Only once -- "Love to Hate You" is driven by an interpolation of the riff from "I Will Survive".
69	* SelfEmpowermentAnthem: "Chains of Love". It's worded generically enough that it doesn't ''have'' to be about gay couples specifically, but it's hard to read it as anything but a call-to-arms for lovers in proscribed romances.
70	* SelfTitledAlbum: Their seventh album. Ironically, its style is quite different from their usual material.
71	* SillyLoveSongs: Quite a lot of them are either this or Breakup Songs.
72	* StudioChatter: The intro to "Star".
73	* SynthPop
74	* SyntheticVoiceActor: "Video Killed The Radio Star" on ''Other People's Songs'' is sung by Vince's laptop. Depending on whom you ask, Andy either thought it was a stupid song and wouldn't cover it or didn't think his voice could do the song justice.
75	** The lead vocal on 1989's "Drama!" b-side "Sweet, Sweet Baby" is a Speak & Spell machine.
76	* TheCoverChangesTheGender: Averted. All of their covers leave the pronouns intact, which works with songs sung by women but gives an odd effect in "Everyday".
77	* TheQuietOne: Vince, the archetypal "miserable keyboardist", in marked contrast to Andy's onstage flamboyance.
78	* UncommonTime: "Always" inserts an extra beat at the end of every chorus.
79	* VocalDissonance: Andy is a slender and kinda frail-looking blond man... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX0VJhrw01w who sings like this.]]
80	* VisualPun: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiKVjS3gR88 video]] for "A Little Respect" is a visual HurricaneOfPuns. Right down to the TitleDrop ("give a little respect to me") being represented by someone off-camera handing Andy a small sign that reads "respect".
81	* WholesomeCrossdresser: The music videos for "Who Needs Love Like That?" and "Take A Chance On Me" feature Vince and Andy dancing around in drag. That's not even touching on the live performances. Fortunately, Vince at least looks pretty nice in makeup.
82	* AWildRapperAppears: When they covered Music/{{ABBA}}'s "Take a Chance on Me", they apparently concluded that one thing missing from the original was raggamuffin toasting. Cue MC Kinky for the bridge.
83	* WordSaladLyrics: Mild examples show up here and there, due to the nature of the songwriting process. Andy makes up gibberish to sing while developing the vocals, and sometimes they just keep it.

Context Music / Erasure