Erasure

English synth-pop duo Erasure have had 17 Top 10 hits in the UK, including "Sometimes", "A Little Respect" and "Love to Hate You". Their chart success and the flamboyance of openly gay frontman Andy Bell made Erasure an iconic group in gay culture.

Erasure were formed in 1985 by Vince Clarke, formerly of new wave groups Depeche Mode and Yazoo (Yaz in the US). Clarke was a founding member of Depeche Mode, and enjoyed two hit albums with Alison Moyet as Yazoo, before advertising in British magazine Melody Maker for a vocalist. Clarke auditioned 40 respondents before finding energetic young Andy Bell, who became the face and voice of Erasure.

Erasure's first album Wonderland (1986) was a critical and commercial failure. In the years following, the final single from the album, "Oh L'amour", would become one of Erasure's signature songs. Their breakthrough in the UK came with the release of second album The Circus, after the first single from the album "Sometimes" reached No.2 in the UK singles charts. The album also contained two more hit singles, "It Doesn't Have To Be" and "Victim of Love". Their third studio album The Innocents (1987) saw Erasure finally break the US market when the third single "A Little Respect" made the Top 10 in both the US and UK amid heavy MTV rotation. Erasure followed that up with the hit single "Chains of Love", which also reached the Top 20 in both the UK and US and helped the album achieve platinum-selling status.

They released a series of chart-topping albums after The Innocents: 1989's Wild!, which produced the hits "Blue Savannah" and "Star"; 1991's Chorus, with hit single "Love to Hate You"; and 1994's I Say I Say I Say and its big hit single "Always". They also released the hit singles "Stop", "Breathe" and a cover of the ABBA song "Take a Chance on Me". Erasure released seven more studio albums in the following years to 2007 but would never replicate their superstar success of the late 80s and early 90s. Most recently they released their thirteenth studio album, Light at the End of the World, and participated in the True Colors Tour, organised by Cyndi Lauper in support of the LGBT charity Human Rights Campaign.