Erasure visited Chicago for a sold-out concert in the spring of 2003. Lead singer ANDY BELL granted this exclusive interview for ENERGYCHICAGO and CLUBJAM.

Jammin'Down JD: Ladies and Gentlemen... let's say hello to Andy Bell, lead singer of Erasure!

(Cheers)

JD: Well, you've just finished up shows in Toronto and New York. Now you're here in our backyard of Chicago. You'll also be making stops in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, and a whole lot more. This is your first North American tour in five years! Why so long of a wait?

Andy Bell of Erasure: Well, the last tour that we did was in '97, that was "Cowboy". And after we finished our own tour, we got tagged on the end supporting David Bowie with No Doubt, and going around South America and southeast Asia. And we just kind of got worn out, so we sort of promised ourselves that we'll never tour again. But then I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms after five years. I was threatening to do the musical... I was doing karaoke in my pub, my local pub.

Rob "The Rocketman" Austin: How do you like the sub-zero temperatures here in Chicago so far?

Andy: Well, we thought we were through with the snow. We got snowed out in Toronto, snowed out in New York, and I thought it was all going to be finished, and then we got here (Chicago) and it's even colder.

JD: You know, your past concerts have been filled with extravagant sets, costumes, and theatrics. My favorite was the Phantasmagorical Tour over a decade ago.

Andy: Oh yeah.

JD: Can you give us a little preview of what concertgoers and fans can expect from this latest tour?

Andy: Well, we set the stage like an Edwardian drawing room. So I got a big old Edwardian costume like a lady, with a top hat, and a veil, and a sparkling riding crop... And we've got an old gramaphone that I crank up for the concert and... that's it! Two singers, a little screen in the back, some plants... it's very cozy!

JD: (laughing) That's very, very cool!

Rob: Well, the concert tour is here to promote Erasure's latest album entitled "Other People's Songs", filled with remakes of… what else? Other People's Songs. Why did you guys decide to do "Other People's Songs?" Why not a brand new album with new compositions by Vince?

Andy: Right, well we got another album in the offing. We started writing already. Vince is now living in New York. Once the tour is finished, I'm going to go up and meet up with him in July. We got about four songs so far. But this one was kind of started off like a solo project. Like, uh... when you're a singer, there's always like a hundred songs that you'd like to do, kind of standards. And that's how it started off really. Cause I was going to do Phil Spector songs like "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Do I Love You" by the Ronettes. And then Vince came and saw me in Spain, and he thinks it's a really good idea. 'Let's make it an Erasure project. Let's all choose from our favorites.'

JD: Wow. That's cool! Well, we're talking with Erasure, here to promote their album "Other People's Songs" on Mute Records. Andy… What about the next single? You're set to release "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)", which was originally done by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. You know, I must admit, I'm not familiar with that song, and I guess that many Americans may not be familiar with it either.

Andy: No, probably not. I didn't realize it had been number one in the UK. It was one of those songs that passed me by. It was a single that Vince bought when he was a teenager. I just saw the guy on (TV), he was doing a number one show or something in the UK. But it's quite a good song. We kind of put a little lilt on the song, You know, a sunny version that's quite interesting to do live. We're performing it tonight.

Rob: Well, the album has two Buddy Holly songs, "True Love Ways", and "Everyday"… two Righteous Brothers songs, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Ebb Tide."

Andy: Yeah.

Rob: You've also got Elvis "Can't Help Falling In Love"… that's plenty of American artists on this album!

Andy: Yeah, yeah... it's funny because when I was growing up, my mum was a huge Elvis fan, and my dad was definitely a Buddy Holly fan. And also they're into country and western music. It's kind of a working-class thing in the UK. And so I was surrounded listening to Slim Whitman, Charlie Price, and Patsy Cline, and all those kind of people. You don't... I mean... I have seen Elvis on the TV and films and things, but we really do not know what America was or anything until I started coming over here with Erasure, so... It's going to be quite exciting going down to Texas where Buddy comes from.

JD: Right.

Andy:  It was just like a thank you to my parents for having such great music, growing up as a teenager, you know. I think it's very important. It gets overlooked.

JD: That's great. Well, you're becoming well-known for your remakes now.

Andy: Yeah!

JD: You know, there was Abba-Esque as well as Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!… plus some of your singles featured remakes such as "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

Andy: Oh, yeah.

JD: Well, you know, Vince is a very versatile composer and I'm sure he still has lots of songs in his arsenal. Were there other remakes that didn't quite make it to the album?

Andy: Yeah, there was a few. I wanted to do a version of "Love of My Life" from Queen from, "A Night of The Opera" album, but it's got really complicated piano work on it. We also started doing "Fade Away on Radio" by Blondie, an electro-clash version.... We did a few of their songs before, "Heart of Glass" and, uh... um...

JD: "Rapture."

Andy: Yeah, "Rapture." Also, "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" that was covered by Dr. Hook that was covered by Marian Faithful, but we got the key wrong. I was kind of overlaying over, my vocals were too low, the key was too low, so it sounded a bit muddy.

Rob: This is Club Jam, and we're speaking exclusively with Andy Bell of Erasure. You guys have been together since the early 80's. That's quite an achievement, considering many bands don't even last beyond their first album. What's the secret?

Andy: Um... I think it's because we don't believe the hype. You know, we're both pretty down to earth. We care about the music. We love writing songs. We like going out. We're amazed by the people who come and see us, the fans that follow us around and stuff. They're really devoted people. And they travel as much as we do to come out and see us. That's what really makes it all worthwhile really. Not kind of getting too carried away with the whole thing, you know?

JD: So what's on the horizon for Erasure? Any ideas for the next album already?

Andy: They're talking about releasing a "Best of" in the UK in September. I think it's called, "A Little Respect", I think. We're going to do an album that goes along with it, an acoustic album of all tracks from the past ten albums that we thought that could have been great singles. And then we're writing the new stuff, so hopefully there will be some fresh material by the end of 2004.

JD: Great!

Rob: So is there anything you want to say to your fans here in America?

Andy: I want to say thank you very, very much to all of them. And we have a great crowd when we're here. And the people here are very generous, and we always have a really great time.

JD: As a longtime fan and DJ who looked eagerly toward your singles, and behalf of all the other Erasure and dance music fans, thank you for the fun, positive, and uplifting songs that you have produced over the past decade or two actually.

Andy: Thanks, it's a pleasure.

JD: Let's give a big hand for ERASURE! Yeah!!!!!!

(Cheers)

Rob: On behalf of Club Jam, DMA Magazine, and EnergyChicago, thank you so much, Andy Bell, for taking the time to speak with us!

Andy: Thank you! Have a good evening!

Rob: You too!  See you at the concert tonight!

Andy: Bye!

Rob and JD: Bye-Bye!