Presenter:

We are talking about Erasure. Hello Andy Bell, how are you?

Andy:

Good evening. I'm fine thanks

Presenter:

It's good to talk to you again and this is a bit of a departure for Erasure. Explain exactly what this album is all about.

Andy:

Erm, well. What we did was, it was recorded two years ago but we did, were promoting OPS in America. We did some radio sessions and a few short gigs, half hour gigs only using guitars. We had three guitarists with us and it went down so well and some if the songs sounded so lovely like Oh L'amour we thought it would be great to do this in a definitive version, a whole album of songs and we chose some songs from albums which we didn't think people would know so much and some of the less commercial ones which we thought would work in a really beautiful, like acoustic way.

Presenter:

And you're totally unplugged this time?

Andy:

We do plug guitars in but there's no computers.

Presenter:

We spoke to Cindi Lauper on the show a couple of weeks back and she has done a smiliar kind of thing. She was miffed she didn't get asked to do MTV Unplugged when it was on telly in the eighties.

Andy:

Oh really, yeah

Presenter:

But I don't suppose you would have been really obvious [Andy interrupts]

Andy:

Not really. We have done a few things before acoustically like mostly on VH1. MTV don't really seem to be great supporters of us but erm, I think it's really funny because people are doing that now because it is about the song writing and about your catalogue and I'm quite a Cindi Lauper fan. I met her one time, we were in Los Angeles and she was up by the pool and she was pregnant with her last little baby and she came up and said: "Oh my God, oh I love you" and I didn't know what to say and I was all really shy you know.

Presenter:

She was a little bit loopy last week, we couldn't shut her up

Andy:

Ohhhh God. We're supposed to be doing a tour with her as well because after the this tour, the acoustic tour, has finished there's a tour in America called 'True Colours Tour' which is after one of her songs and it's with Scissor Sisters, Cindi Lauper, B52s and us so it should be quite fun

Presenter:

Wow, what a line-up.

Andy:

Yeah

Presenter:

We'll talk about the old days in a minute but I'm gonna get you to pick one of your 80s tunes, one of your big hits from the 80s and we'll play it on the show in a sec.

Andy:

Erm maybe we could play Drama

Presenter:

We'll get that on for you from 1989 and we'll talk more to Andy Bell from Erasure in about 3 minutes on School Days.

[DRAMA!]

Presenter:

School Days, Friday night on Wyvern FM playing Erasure and Drama, hit in Autumn 1989 for Vince Clarke and the fellow who's, glad to say, is on the show here tonight. So Andy Bell, seventeen years ago that tune Andy, does it seem that long ago?

Andy:

Well it doesn't really seem like a long time ago but when I was a kid growing up in the seventies I listened to my parents music so I was listening to Phil Spector and Diana Ross and the Supremes so it's a bit weird where people refer back to the eighties as it were the sixties but you can't stop time so I think maybe it's just I'm getting older and and I feel a bit like a, erm, pop uncle but you don't realise time goes by so fast as well, especially when you've been working so much like at that time anyway and you don't have time to reflect and I'm not really a nostalgic person but when you look back you're like 'My God was that me? Did we do that?' You know, it just seems like another person and I met Blondie, Debbie Harry, and she refers to Blondie in the third person like it was someone else.

Presenter:

Is it true that when Erasure was getting together you were the 41st singer that Vince had auditioned? Is that true?

Andy:

Yeah. I was 41 out of 43 people....

Presenter:

He was doing the whole kind of Simon Cowell thing - 'Next!'

Andy:

Weeeell, it wasn't really like that. He was getting really bored because he had these talentless people coming along and no-one was right and I phoned up and I was told 'the auditions are full but if don't find anybody we'll ring you back' and I thought that'd be the last I would hear from them and then when they called me back saying 'We haven't found anybody. Can you come down today? It's for Vince Clarke.' I just couldn't believe it because I was such a huge fan

Presenter:

And the rest is kind of history really.

Andy:

Yeah

Presenter:

So you're going back on the road with this new album 'Union Street', all over the country basically, just like old days. How long is it since you've been on such a big tour like that?

Andy:

Well we did do a tour last year and that was 60 shows last year for Nightbird and so I had a solo record out in between which didn't do very well but we've been promoting that as well so really it's been quite non stop so I didn't have much time to myself really and this tour isn't that long long really. It's about 8 dates in the UK and then we go and do 12 in America. Then there's this True Colours thing which isn't that long so hopefully by, erm, October, we'll get some...

Presenter:

Have a bit of a rest

Andy:

A rest yeah

Presenter:

Well it's been fantastic to talk to you and good luck with everything

Andy:

Thank you very much

Presenter:

And I'm sure we'll talk again on School Days

Andy:

OK cheers

Presenter:

Thanks very much and before you go, I forgot, pick a song from someone else from the eighties and we'll play it on the show. Not Erasure's.

Andy:

Someone else. Can I have 'Atomic' by Blondie please because I love her and her is hair is beautiful?

Presenter:

OK thanks for talking to us and we'll play that one for you.