Erasure – in session for Janice Long – BBC Radio 1 – Nov. 15, 1985 – BBC Radio 1 –
Legends of Synthpop Erasure for a Thursday night. Erasure formed in London in 1985 as part of the club scene. Their debut was single “Who Needs Love Like That“. With their fourth single, “Sometimes”, the duo established itself on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the most successful artists of the late 1980s to mid-1990s.
Some Background via Wikipedia:
Erasure’s first three singles were commercial failures in the UK, although the third, “Oh L’amour”, charted well in Australia and a few European countries (especially in France, where it still remains Erasure’s only hit to-date, and Germany where it was a Top 16 success). Their debut album, Wonderland, was mostly recorded in 1985 and released in June 1986. Although it only made the UK Top 75, it made a sizeable mark in Germany, making the Top 20.
It was with the release of their fourth single, “Sometimes”, that Erasure finally received recognition in the UK in late 1986. The song peaked at number 2 in the UK and Germany and spent many weeks in the UK Top 40, marking the beginning of a long string of major hits for the duo.
The single’s parent album, The Circus, was released in March 1987 and reached number 6 and turned platinum in the UK with three additional hit singles: “It Doesn’t Have To Be”, “Victim of Love” and “The Circus”. The album remained on the charts for over a year.
Erasure’s third album, The Innocents, was released in April 1988. Preceded by the Top 10 single “Ship of Fools”, the album hit number 1 in the UK on its initial release and returned to the summit a year later, eventually going double platinum. It also turned platinum in the U.S., generating two Top 20 hits in “Chains of Love” and “A Little Respect”. The Innocents was the first of five consecutive number 1 albums for Erasure in the UK, including the greatest hits compilation Pop! The First 20 Hits. In November 1988, the Crackers International EP, led by the song “Stop!”, hit number 2 in the UK singles chart. The albums Wild! (1989) and Chorus (1991) both contained four Top 20 singles and were major sellers.
Crackers International was bettered in 1992 by another EP, Abba-esque, covering four ABBA hits, which became Erasure’s first (and to-date only) number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. It featured a video of the duo dressed in ABBA outfits, and was one of the principal drivers of the ABBA revival scene in the 1990s.
For a taste of what Erasure were all about in the beginning, here is one of, if not their first BBC session from November of 1985. Just ahead of their debut album and just after the release of Who Needs Love Like That, their first single, released in September of that year.
Crank it up and get your dancin’ shoes on.
