Erasure are a synthpop duo from the United Kingdom consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. After founding Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly, Clarke formed Erasure with Bell when he found the singer after placing an ad in Melody Maker. According to Songfacts, Clarke is much more reserved than the openly gay Bell, and their differences lead to a fruitful songwriting collaboration, with Bell providing lyrics for Clarke's tracks. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single Who Needs Love (Like That). ...show more

Erasure are a synthpop duo from the United Kingdom consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. After founding Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly, Clarke formed Erasure with Bell when he found the singer after placing an ad in Melody Maker. According to Songfacts, Clarke is much more reserved than the openly gay Bell, and their differences lead to a fruitful songwriting collaboration, with Bell providing lyrics for Clarke's tracks. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single Who Needs Love (Like That).

Beginning in late 1986 with the release of their single Sometimes, Erasure established themselves on the British charts; albums such as The Circus, Wild!, Chorus, I Say I Say I Say, Loveboat and Nightbird demonstrated a further diversity of sound. The album that boosted their career tremendously was The Innocents, which was released in 1988. A Little Respect and Chains Of Love both hit the Billboard Top 100. Most people will probably remember Erasure for A Little Respect, which became one of their signature songs.

Clarke formerly was a member of Depeche Mode and later had a successful career with the duo Yazoo (known as Yaz in the US). Later he split with Yazoo partner Alison Moyet and briefly formed The Assembly with producer Eric Radcliffe. After a successful Assembly single ("Never Never"), Clarke released an unsuccessful one-off single with vocalist Paul Quinn ("One Day"). He then placed a blind advertisement in Melody Maker looking for a vocalist for a new musical project. ...show less