Erasure – Live

As relevant now as in the 1980s and 1990s, Erasure blasted out their everlasting synth-pop to a knowledgeable and enthusiastic sold-out Birmingham crowd on Sunday, February 11th at O2 Academy as part of their 2018 worldwide tour.

Ever-young looking Andy Bell and synth-guru Vince Clarke demonstrated their versatility by opening up with two classics, “Oh L’Amour” (1986) and “Ship of Fools” (1988), followed by their 2005 hit single, “Breathe”. All three songs hit a sweet spot, and got the audience going.

“Just a Little Love” was the first of five tracks from the latest LP, World Be Gone. Pitching in as the fifth song in the set, it was great, just great, illustrating what an incredible voice Bell has.

“Blue Savannah” provoked a mass sing-along, which was continued, mostly, through to the end of the gig. A rousing cover of Blondie’s “Atomic” was next up, with everyone up on their feet (again). Another new track, “Lousy Sum of Nothing” had ‘anthemic’ all over it – a typical Erasure pop song written for the pre-Brexit / Trump world we are in.

Near enough two hours of aural and visual pop pleasure ended with a banging rendition of “Sometimes”. For the encore, “A Little Respect” saw Clarke joining Bell and the two backing singers on the stage. A triumph!

Note:

Erasure’s World Beyond album, a classical re-working of World Be Gone with the Echo Collective, is released on 9 March 2018.