genre-eng

                                           Bell of the Ball

    Andy Bell�s voice seems borrowed from an angel fallen from heaven, or, perhaps, a very large black woman from Detroit. For the past ten years as the front man for Erasure, he has set dance floors ablaze while wrenching every last emotion from the gay experience-his, yours, mine.

    A glutton of marabou and a flamboyant fighter whose onstage mincing is a potent form of militancy. Bell offers a besequined plea for nothing less than A little respect. Whether coming out to his mother and asking "Are you still proud of your little boy?" in Hideaway (from 1987�s Circus) or breaking down the Chains of love on 1988�s The Innocents, or begging the nearest stud to Lay all your on me, as he did on Abba-esque in 1992, Bell is not only out, he�s out there!

    Penning songs with partner Vince Clarke-the openly straight synthesizer whiz who was a founding member of DM, Yaz and The Assembly-he infuses techno-pop with more soul than critics of the genre ever thought possible.       As Jon Pareles, chief pop music critic for The New York Times says "most pop bands either laugh at themselves or take themselves completely seriously, but Erasure manages to do both. They�re entirely romantic and totally campy and completely endearing".

     With their new CD, their second full album for the Elektra label, they�ve eschewed self-contained pop songs. Instead, the new record, called simply Erasure, is like a movie score with 11 songs popping up amid instrumental and ambient passages. Billboard called "Stay with me", the first single, "a gorgeous synth-saturated rhythm ballad that will sweeten chilled ambient programs in its original incarnation and entice hi-NRG spinners in its jaunty uptempo-remix form".

    That means you�ll like it, whether you�ve got your dancing shoes on or not. "People say �disco is dead�, but Erasure doesn�t buy that" says Times critic Pareles. "The mirror ball still manages to glitter over their heads wherever they go".

FDC- This album is quite a departure for you guys
A -It�s like a Carlos Castaneda book, but with music. It sounds like it should be a film soundtrack. Vince has the idea that he wanted to do a Pink Floyd-type album and go off the three minute vibe.

FDC- Remixes are still important, no?
A-I think less and less. We used to be known much more as a club band. But the club play seems to have dropped off a bit. The Erasure sound was a bit unrecognisable with a lot of them. I think Vince gets offended when they take the synth sounds off and use their own stuff. His synth stuff is so original you�d think they�d use it.

FDC-So what�s the dirt on Vince Clarke? He�s always been so cool about having a gay following that none of us want to believe he�s a big old hetero.
AB-Vince is the most out straight man that I know. He�s even more out than I am. There�s nothing that can shock him and he has no malice whatsoever. Vince�s only phobia is dogs. He does much more confidence. I�m too much of a wallflower.

FDC-You a wallflower?! The last time I saw you in concert you came out in a swan coach wearing a feathered chubby and a merry widow! Next you�ll be telling me you�re shy...
AB-I am quite shy really. It�s like I keep myself in a cardboard box and come out when we go onstage. When you�re a performer it�s like you�re a little toy. People are allowed to get you out of your box and play with you for a while. But most of the time, I really am happy in my little cardboard box.
FDC-The Phantasmagorical Entertainment Tour was amazing. You played 14 nights in New York. It was so glitzy and gay-positive I saw it twice. It was like Axl Rose�s worst nightmare come to life. When are you coming back?
AB-We�re not going to tour with this one. We thought we might do another album before we go out again. Because we did the multiple shows last time, wer got very brain dead while we were doing them. It was pretty grueling. With so many nights in one place, it got to be like a 9 to 5 job. I was running out of spiel. I think we have to strip it all down next time. I don�t really need to have all the trappings to enjoy the show. I don�t want to turn into Liberace

FDC-What�s the writing and recording process like for you guys?
AB-We usually pick a venue and go off for a little holiday and write. This time, we went to Dublin. Vince had the Elizabeth Taylor suite in the hotel where we were staying. We did the writing there in October of last year. Then we had a bit of a break. Then we did some more writing in London. We did six months of recording. I was still finishing the vocals while it was being mixed. We were really pushing it this time. I wanted my voice to be quite raw and to dig for the emotion. I think I�m a bit of a closet punk rocker actually.

FDC-Me too. I loved the Sex Pistols in high school.
AB-I didn�t take much notice of punk the first time. It was too violent for me.I only got as punky as Siouxie and the Banshees and Blondie. They were punky enough for me.

FDC-What musical trends or performers excite you now?
AB-Hard-core techno is getting a bit boring. I like rough edges. I like Traci Lords. Anything to do with porno stars being stars, actually.

FDC-You must have loved Jeff Stryker�s record.
AB-They just had him on the BBC. They showed a clip from his cable TV show.

FDC-The one where he�s always asking you to call him on his 900 line?
AB-Right. He kept saying "Just come up to the side of the hill and we�ll watch the city". But he didn�t say he was gay. None of them are, are they?

FDC-They say they�re not.
AB-When they had the first gay porno awards in L.A., I gave away the award for best actor or something. It was quite funny. It was all very cardboard. I went up and nobody understood a word I said because of my accent. I think I fell asleep on Lon Flexxe�s shoulder in a cab. I don�t know if it was him because I only saw his face.

FDC-Didn�t you think about living in New York at one time?
AB-We were hanging out there for a while. I remember going down to the piers. I couldn�t cope. I followed one boy home and he ignored me completely. I�m too discreet, that�s my trouble.
FDC-Is being gay in Britain much different from America?
AB- It�s quite funny because Britain�s like 5 years behind. The gay movement has only just started to market itself here and realise that the money thing is really useful in promoting the cause. But there�s a lot of good energy here. Because of the oppressive nature of the past, performers like Boy George and Marc Almond have come out of here. It seems to be an energy they tap into.London is a good view point. You can look west and see America and look east and see the rest of Europe. But when you�ve toured the States and come back, it all seems so local.

FDC-Where do you have the best time when you�re in America?
AB-My favourite places are San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. I like some of the smaller places like Akron, Ohio and Dallas as well. The last time we did a radio tour we went into a radio station in Dallas, and when we came out, it was all boys outside-all pretty, handsome boys. I said "God, I feel like Morrisey". Frankly, the men are much more straightforward in America-and easier to pick up.

FDC-What about Miss Morrissey?
AB-I�ve never met him. I think he�s very cute and all his hangers-on look very cute. But I don�t know if it�s real or if it�s video. His songs say more than he does himself. We�re sort of the opposite way around. Our songs don�t say very much in terms of male-male love stories. It�s more when I do interviews and stuff.

FDC-You have your army of admirers too. Do guys ever get a pull a "Tom Jones" and throw their underwear at you on stage?
AB-No, but I do get bras sometimes. And I also get dildos sometimes. I�d much rather a boy just throw himself up. I do get lots of telephone numbers, which is quite sweet.

FDC-Erasure really was instrumental in bringing back Abba in America.
AB-I apologise for that. But we really just caught the crest of the wave and went with it. There�s still room for it. If we do another show I want to do The winner takes it all. That�s Vince�s favourite track.

FDC-This is a sort of Tiger Beat question, but what CDs are you listening to these days?
AB-They�re all two or three years old-Julee Cruise, Sinead O�Connor. She�s brilliant. Bj�rk. I like some of Boy George�s stuff that he did on his record label, More Protein.

FDC-What disco record had the biggest impact on you?
AB-I hate to say it, but it�s Donna Summer�s I feel love. I also really loved Queen for a day.

FDC-I thought if you were going to pick a Donna Summer song you�d pick Enough is Enough because you did that cover version of it with KD Lang a couple of years ago and you got to be Barbra! What was K.D. like?
AB-It was really brilliant to see how she works. Just to see her warming up was really good. The original idea was to include it on a gay pride EP; then it was included on one of KD�s singles and the Coneheads soundtrack.

FDC-Donna and Barbra. You two had some pretty big shoes to fill singing that song.
AB-I always seem to be trading in big girls�s shoes!

FDC-Mainstream American audiences have really embraced KD and Melissa Etheridge. But except for Elton John, they haven�t been as open to openly gay male performers. Why do you think that is?
AB-I think people find lesbian sex less offensive. They don�t care whose tits they are. They don�t. I don�t think straight men like the idea of men being penetrated. But I think you have to be a real man to take it up the ass.

FDC-But the music business has become more accepting.
AB-It was much more homophobic ten years ago. The past five years have been miraculous in terms of acceptance, generally. The radio wouldn�t have touched Erasure before that. Whether that�s to do with the women having a higher profile I don�t know, but it seems to have helped. I wouldn�t mind some of KD�s luck rubbing off on us.

FDC-You really were one of the first out gay pop stars.
AB-I don�t like saying I was out first, na-na na-na and having to argue with other gay people about how long they�ve been out. I came out when I was 19, wrote a letter to my parents. Excuse me! But the more the merrier.

FDC-Do you think you helped open the floodgates for other gay performers to come out?
AB-It�s more like the hole in the dike that the little Dutch boy put his finger in. As more and more people come out, I think some gay people are going to have a problem because they�re not stars in their own right-they�re not unusual enough just because they�re gay. But I always have hope for the future. I think coming out will become a pass� thing some day.

FDC-When you were growing up did you always want to be rich and famous?
AB-Craving the fame thing is really pathetic but you just can�t stop. It�s a Western disease, isn�t it? I keep questioning myself now. Would I really be doing this if I didn�t make lots of money? I�d like to think I�d still be singing and performing. But I�d also love to do some film stuff and things.

FDC-I hope you�re enjoying your fame. So many people don�t.
AB-It�s pretty cool. I think I�m in a daydream all the time. I think the dreams I had as a child have manifested themselves. My parents really encouraged me to be an entertainer. They put up a lot for me.

FDC-Are you in touch with them?
AB-Not as much as I should be. Peterborough where I�m from, is very homophobic. It�s very flat there. I think the ancestors have all slept with each other. It�s like the Deep South in America. I always get hassled if I go there. I used to get beaten up. I couldn�t wait to leave, really.

FDC-How do your folks handle you being so openly gay, not to mention famous?
AB-I think my mum and dad are always a bit concerned. But they know I�m just going to do my thing. For them, it�s like winning the lottery. I send them on holidays and things and they say "why are you doing this?" And I say "you�re my parents. You brought me up". My mum was 17 when she had me. I�m the oldest of six.

FDC-Were you popular, so to speak, when you were growing up?
AB-I tried my best to seduce some of the teachers and the men in the park but it didn�t really work. I was a bit freaky in Peterborough. I would go to the second-hand stores and dress up and bleach my hair. I just wanted to be Debbie Harry....like any boy, really.
FDC-All right, let�s gossip...Tell me about Jimmy Sommerville.
AB-Jimmy�s like a little puppy dog. He can lose his temper at the drop of the hat. But his heart is very sincere. We�ve had some really good times together. We actually bumped into each other on the Hampstead Heath, a cruising area in North London. He didn�t know it was me. After he walked away, I just burst out laughing and chased after him.

FDC-Pet shop boys?
AB-I�ve only bumped into Neil and Chris once and we had a bit of a run in. I�d just slammed one of their singles in the press. Neil�s quite intelligent. After drinking with him for the evening, we made up. Vince and Chris are identical in their mannerisms.

FDC-Boy George?
AB-He�s a giant. He�s huge.

FDC-Melissa Etheridge?
AB- She�s a real sweetheart. There�s no ego there at all.

FDC-The American press loves her. How have they treated you?
AB-I go in and out of favour. People get bored with me. They say the only thing I talk about in terms of being gay is sex. It�s like if you�re not leading a totally gay lifestyle you don�t measure up. But in whose eyes really? What are you supposed to do? Have "GAY BOY" in neon lights on top of your house?

FDC-The gay press can be tough.
AB-I had the most vitriolic article written about me in Gay Times. I found the straight press a lot more homo-friendly last time. A friend in San Francisco told me I was voted to go back in the closet by one of the gay papers. But I won�t do it. If I�d been at Stonewall, I�d have been doing the high-kick line with the drag queens.

FDC-I love the drag queens..
AB-To me, a drag queen is your greatest ally. Whenever I go out, we both make a beeline for each other. I do take power from them. They always know the shit-and yet they�re always the first that people put down.

FDC-You had a song on the Wigstock:The Movie soundtrack. Did you like the movie? The I I people in America who saw it, loved it.
AB-I�ve only seen it once. I expected it to be more tacky really.

FDC-I�ve heard you have a boyfriend.
AB-Yes, my Paul. He�s American, from Carmel, California. We�ve been ten years living with each other. He�s 44 and a wise person. He�s played all the games already. He was a dental technician, but I persuaded him to leave that. His full-time occupation since then has been keeping me in order.

FDC-How rough a job is that?
AB-I�m quite well-behaved really. But I do need a good thrashing sometimes.

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