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    Andy Bell & Vince Clarke

    (Hmm, I'm trying not to read too much into the fact there isn't already a thread here since 2013...is talk of fellow-Mute artists Erasure verboten?)

    Well, I have been a fan of Vince & Andy since '87, and Vince in all endeavors (Yazoo, Assembly, Depeche Mode, etc) having remembered hearing Just Can't Get Enough and then Situation when I could barely reach the cookie jar on tip toes (yet I do remember!). Vince is the Will of Erasure...Gregory, that is.

    I became fully caught up in the Erasure cult in the early 90s. Recruiting others; arranging ritual sacrifices, receiving praise from the Mute overlords (promos, mainly). Then word came of Goldfrapp, and I opened a little shrine alongside (but it's gotten bigger as the years go on).

    These days, I feel a tad heretical. Having listened to Black Cherry on headphones during a few Erasure conclaves. Well, I must be true to myself.

    Now that I've returned to this flock, does anyone have any Erasure confessions? I shall absolve you! ;^)
  • 25 Comments sorted by
  • Think Catherine has got Chorus in her collection. Both of us have got mounds of CDs ( as you do / did) which are stuffed nowadays into boxes, wardrobes.. It was a mammoth task for me to upload all of mine onto ITunes but I can't bring myself to take the discs to the car boot - so I ended up saving nothing and making more work! Technology grrr!
  • All this talk on here of Blue Oyster Cult, Pink Floyd, Erasure, what I want to know is, how many ABBA fans are there on here? I suspect quite a few...
    Like John Lennon and Pete Townsend, I think SOS is possibly the greatest 4 minute pop song ever written.
    The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ.
    Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit.
    Shall lure it back to cancal half a line,
    Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
  • Abba rule the Pop Pantheon.
  • I was never that much into Erasure, more so Depeche Mode. My other half Catherine likes a bit of Erasure tho. I haven't forgiven them for covering an Abba track.
  •  That was the deciding factor??? You turn your back on the man, well along with Fletch, who founded Depeche Mode? Well, you missed a lot.

    And they did four ABBA tracks...five if you count an 80s B-side. ;)

    What era of DM did you like best? Tell me, and, like a fine wine, I'll pick some Erasure that might suit your palate. :D
  • Ah, how sweet. DM around the mid 80s then again around the time of the Violator album, but like all great bands they did great stuff continuously.
    Don't take the Abba thing to your Erasure heart! I can't abide the film Mamma Mia for the same reasons!
  • Well, I was hoping you'd say Violator, as Chorus from Erasure is surprisingly on par for the same period. I've always felt those two albums to be counterparts; even if just in their analogue sound.
  • Sounds like I really shouldn't ask if you collect vinyl. :)
  • They were on my periphery as a kid, but I really didn't embrace them full until the Erasure cover EP Abba-Esque. Still, as well-crafted as ABBA pop is, my tastes have shifted to a more synth-driven sound (more, as ABBA is fairly reliant on synths already).

    I think they remain more a product pf their time than able to transcend it. The Beatles, Doors, or many other 60s artists seem to remain more accessible today than ABBA is, though I hate to say it.
  • I'm getting rather fed up of agreeing with you UT....I'd sooner get into a tiff lol! But yes, I agree- Abba def wrote the quintessential 4 min pop song(s) and SOS is a great example. Trying to analyse what makes some pieces of music have " it" is as futile and tantalising as trying to work out what makes you fall in love with someone- it's not always obvious what that " it" is.
    Fascinating that you think Abba aren't as " accessible" these days as The a Doors / Beatles TS- explain!!
  • KatRobin said:

    I'm getting rather fed up of agreeing with you UT....


    Best just go with the flow Kat, it will be easier in the end.
    I'm not a 'blonde's' type of guy. Brunettes and Redheads are my favourite but Agnetha was one of the few that did actually float my boat.
    The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ.
    Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit.
    Shall lure it back to cancal half a line,
    Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
  • Do I really need to? Simply, I see a lot more young people rocking the tees and buying the old vinyl from those bands while there's scant mention of ABBA. I suppose you can say the same of other 60s artists too.

    Over here, in the states, I think more folks equate ABBA to the Bay City Rollers or maybe Bee Gees. Camp at worst, but at least rooted in the 70s, and not always in a positive way. More 60s artists seem to be given a break in comparison.

    Again, I am giving the American state of things. I know ABBA were a bit more omnipresent in Europe.
  • A comparison with the BG's I can see but the Bay City Rollers? WTF?
    Anyone who seriously thinks that have you listened to the Shang a Lang tartan wearing toss pots? I was there first time round and they were talentless muppets who could not play their instruments at the start and would struggle to write a shopping list, let alone a decent song.
    They were manufactured as a little girls band !
    The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ.
    Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit.
    Shall lure it back to cancal half a line,
    Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
  • Yes, but over here, pretty lumped in. I know it's heretical from a talent standpoint. :)
  • Well, Erasure might agree, though Andy is a Blondie fan too.

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