It’s hard to think of a better band to get the post-lockdown party started than Erasure. Tonight they took to the stage with the theme from Joe 90 blasting out in front of a crowd on their feet and ready to shake off the past 18 months of dancing deprivation.
Like many acts Erasure released an album in 2020, but were unable to tour. A few of these new songs were scattered throughout an uplifting set packed with hits from their incredible 36-year career.
That last album was ‘The Neon’ and so the stage set of three oval screens and a playground was lit up in bright neon. Keyboard king Vince Clarke was dressed very formally in a tailored grey suit, whereas Andy Bell was in trainers, blue tartan bondage trousers and a sleeveless yellow T-shirt with a laughing monkey print. They were joined by two backing singers, Emma Whittle and Valerie Chalmers, both wearing long fur coats.
They kicked off with old favourite ‘Chorus’ before delivering a catchy, clubby song ‘Hey Now (Think I Got aAFeeling)’ from the new album. The latter didn’t veer too far from the Erasure formula and featured their classic electro-pop sound. Emma and Valerie shed their coats to reveal matching green and red dresses and perfectly complemented Andy’s voice on what he described as “doing the angelic songs first”.
A carousel appeared on the screen as Clarke’s synths played an old-time fairground melody to introduce ‘Chorus’, with the singers making use of the playground swings and roundabout, while Andy shimmied across the stage. ‘Who Needs Love Like That’ got the audience moving and received the biggest cheer so far before the pace slowed for ‘Nerves Of Steel’ which saw the stage lighting turn to a moody green with storm clouds on the screen.
The tempo increased for ‘Blue Savannah’ and ‘Chains Of Love’, the latter described by Andy as “a Motown classic”. His between-song banter tonight ranged from philosophical ramblings on stardom and the Name That Tune TV show to the clammy weather being a “sweaty inner-thigh day”. That said, his singing voice was spotless considering this was the last show of the first leg of the tour.
Vince was his usual stationary self aside from thumping a tambourine and playing acoustic guitar on ‘Sometimes’ and a couple of other tunes, but it was always his technical wizardry and skilful arrangements that were driving the show. This was certainly the case with their cover of ‘Love Is A Stranger’ as he added sparkly flourishes over the grinding beats.
The audience may have been mostly 40+ but they were dressed up and definitely here for a good time. That’s exactly what they got with a string of 80s and 90s hits that ended with the crowdpleasing ‘Victim Of Love’. Andy had no problems hitting and holding the high notes alongside Emma and Valerie, both seasoned performers who’ve also sang with Donna Summer and Chaka Khan among others.
For the encore, Andy had swapped his trainers for sparkling red and silver high heels as the three vocalists gave a majestic a cappella introduction to ‘L’Amour’. The show ended triumphantly with another anthem, ‘A Little Respect’, which saw a celebratory crowd singalong rewarded with a huge shower of confetti.
Brighton Centre, Monday 18th October 2021
Photos by Kevin Pick (please note these are from the Cardiff show, not Brighton)
