TAKE TWO: ERASURE

The electronic-dance music craze dominating the scene right now would probably not be happening without Erasure, one of the pioneering bands responsible for successfully merging electronic beats with pop sensibilities, The duo, made of up Vince Clarke and the out-and-fabulous vocalist, Andy Bell, first came together in 1985 and are still making music. Their sixteenth studio album, "The Violet Flame" was released last month and is moving it's way up the charts.

When Erasure first appeared, however, nobody really expected too much from the band. Their debut, "Wonderland" failed to generate much interest initially and Bell was dismissed as simply imitating Clarke's former musical partner, Alison Moyet from Yazoo ("Yaz" in America). Today, this innovative album is considered a classic with the singles "Who Needs Love Like That", "Heavenly Action" and "Oh L'amour" now quite popular.

With the release of their third album, "The Innocents",  the world had taken noticed of Erasure. This record began a long string of hit singles in their native England with twenty-four consecutively reaching the top forty. Erasure also made their first appearance on the U.S. pop chart with "Chains of Love" and "A Little Respect".

Erasure is a major fan of ABBA and paid tribute with an EP entitled, "Abba-esque" in 1992 which covered several of their songs. This collection was a major success, particularly in Europe and is said to have helped spark the renewed interest in this super-pop outfit.

There are so many songs that I love from this band but I've narrowed down my two favorites from Erasure:

"Oh L'amour" - Erasure (1986)

"A Little Respect" - Erasure (1988)

Here are the boys camping it up as the ladies from ABBA in the video for their version of "Take A Chance on Me":