| Music: The Other Erasure Interview by A G�mez Cascales. Their career is quite like a rollercoaster, with loads of up and downs, and it changes almost as much as singer Andy Bell�s heel�s (which he wears every now and then) height. Over the last few years Vince Clarke and himself havent done precisely well. But still there they are, doing their stuff. And now that the eighties electronic pop is cool again, they return with a covers album featuring songs from Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly amongst others. OPS shows Erasure are a world themselves. AGC-With such a bad reputation covers recently have acquired, mainly due to Popstars type tv shows, how come you dare making a full album out of songs from other people? AB-Two years ago when we started working in this project, there werent any of those type of tv shows, and we were not to quit when it came to record it just because they are the new fashion. AGC-At first this was going to be your first solo album. How did Vince Clarke end up joining your covers album? AB-He kind of convinced me, he wouldnt let me go at all. He wouldnt sign the divorce papers (laughs). Its cause we get on really well, we share the same sense of humour, we both are very cynical (in the best sense of the word) and we enjoy doing as we please music wise. In the end, it seems we always get away with it. AGC-Well Vince swore he wouldnt do a single cover anymore after you released the Abbaesque EP. AB-With Erasure we have always swam against the tide. We love to feel the more out of fashion, the better. Thats why I planned to make this a solo album in the beginning. I started working with producer Gareth Jones but we werent getting anywhere fast, we found it so hard to come up with new ideas for the arrangements and stuff. Vince was busy with his other projects (film soundtracks, music for art exhibitions and ballet) until he showed up in New York and told me he would love to join us. I felt relieved. AGC-I expected to find a more frivolous selection of tracks. Did you particularly tried avoiding the obvious ones? AB-My selection was based in my parents record collection, cause thats what I listened to when I was a teen. My mum was an Elvis fan and my dad was a Buddy Holly�s fan. At that time I thought they were quite terrible, but later with time I learned to appreciate all that music, most of all the Phill Spector albums. So I started to dream about being a singer someday and making an album with such great songs. And here it is. AGC-Why havent you included a single song from the past two decades? AB-We couldnt find too many that would equal the quality that those classics we were covering. Pop music market today isnt quite good. And that in part is due to the new formats. Vinyls have a special charm, but since using them means scratching them, they have become such valuable items and people really take care of them. But theres not many bands that still release them nowadays. Cds are more like wear-and-tear, almost everybody can record one. People dont appreciate them too much, and so they are released without much criteria, like a machine gun fire. So its kind of hard to find a real gem among so much dirt. AGC- Was it easy to make other peoples songs your own? AB-Some easier than others. Some of the easier ones to adapt was You�ve lost.... I just wanted to do it to show off my voice. I thought, assuming the Righteous Bros were two, that I was going to show I can do it all by myself and I dont need anybody else. But then others like Make me Smile were harder to me because I�m not a rock�n�roll expert. But giving it a second thought I should have included a very camp cover of a classic punk song such as Anarchy in the UK! AGC-So how camp is the cover of Schubert�s Ave Maria thats on the new singles� b-side? AB-Very camp. I�ve already sung it at a friend�s wedding. I was wearing a Scottish kilt then and I must say I looked great. I sometimes play that Barbara Streisand Xmas album in my dinner parties in Majorca. I sing along and my friends go crazy. Thats how I decided to do all this. Why can only her and Andrea Bocelli do that and not me? I love my voice and I�m quite proud of it and so I want the whole world to know it. DRAG ADDICTION AGC-Now that you have been your band mate Vince Clarke�s inspiration for the short film Dr Jeckyll..., included as an extra in your limited edition dvd single, tell me, have you ever dressed in drag before for another film? Ab-Well, we thought about doing a remake of the Blair Witch project, but that needed too much production. So I remembered the porno remake of Dr Jeckyll and I thought it was the perfect excuse to play a drag murderer. Fans cant complain since theres loads of takes of my bottom as well as my stocking (laughs). AGC-Dont you ever get tired of doing drag? AB-No, I�m helpless. But the worse thing is that I dont look fine at all! Most of all when I compare myself with some of my friends who also do drag and theyre wonderful. So theres no problem when we go out because I look so awful. But I never get tired of it. AGC-And what about being camp to the max? AB-I love to do that. I�d rather laugh at me myself than others. Thats cause my childhood was such a hard experience for me. I lived in a small town and I realised that I was gay only after I had been kicked a lot without knowing why. Blondie to me was like a revelation. I must have been about 14 then. I bleached up my hair, started buying second hand clothes and trying to find out what other gay people used to do and where they used to go. There werent any gay pubs at that time so I started going around to the public baths and the parks. And I told my classmates I was gay, so I ended up all alone. AGC-When did you get away from all that? AB- I did when I was 19 and I moved to London. I started being quite open about being gay too. And when Erasure started I noticed there was also a bit of homophobia in the music industry, even in our own record company. But that was only until the bosses realised we could sell more records if I was wearing a lady�s dress.. But I will never forget they used to throw cans of beers towards us onstage. And my reaction to all of that was like �Kiss my arse, I dont give a damn what you think�. But more in a clown sense, not the aggressive type. AGC-Do you still have that villa in Majorca? AB-Yes, I wouldnt sell it! Its the ideal place when you dont like to be in the UK. I have been there this Xmas season, by the way. The Epiphany Parade rides right past my front door!. I feel quite at home when it comes to the way people leave there, I love the public celebrations. And when Im there all I do is being with Paul at home (Paul Hickey, with whom he has been 17 years ago-�just as long as with Vince in the band�-he explains). I dont miss London much. Clubs there are ok, gay pubs are fantastic, but all that snob stuff and the VIP parties make me sick. I wouldnt need more than just meeting famous people such as Boy George in a gay club. Now I remember there�s been quite a while since I last saw Jimmy Sommerville. I heard he�s hooked with the chat thing. AGC-Your last two albums havent almost been noticed, so do you miss those days when you had so much commercial success? AB-Not really, but I must admit you�re never pleased whatever you get. We havent actually been looking for all the things that happened to us. I remeber when we were so succesful I used to go �Oh! God, I want to be an indie again! Im tired of all this pop-dirt!� And then when people kind of left us aside I started begging �Oh! God, please, let us sell more records!�. But when two albums in a row go wrong, it doesnt matter how much we may like them, you end up blaming yourself for that. But it isnt necessarily so. There�s so many reasons why that happens. Maybe you just have released the album in the wrong while, maybe the music that you�re doing is not the hottest at that time....So the best thing is to turn the page and make a new album to see what�s up then. - LIFE IS CABARET � The new Album Other people�s songs is released on January 27th by MUTE/EVERLASTING in Spain. After the special concert on last December 13th, Erasure will start their first UK tour for years next February called The Other Tour. Gigs, though, will be scarce and, according to Andy�s own words, �less extravagant than before". The stage will be presided by a gramophone and, since it was invented in the Edwardian times, I will go out dressed as an Edwardian lady. Of course there�s also going to be a more conservative costume than those I have worn in other occasions. There�s gonna be a few surprises, well, depends what people may expect as a surprise. But there�s not going to be any more drugs and alcohol. We had reached a point where we had to stop touring because the whole issue was out of our own hands. We�d ran out of control!. My boyfriend has had a brain stroke a couple of years ago and that was when we realised you cant keep getting drunk forever. But luckily heels and wigs arent bad for my health, so rest assured I�m not going to leave drag! THE END |
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