Music Bloodline

Erasure

Synth-poppiest of the 1980s new wave titans, British duo crafted subtly disturbing melodic hits for decades.

Biography

Following the disbandment of the short-lived synth pop group Yazoo, former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke formed Erasure in 1985. Like Yaz and Depeche Mode, Erasure were a synth-based group, but they had stronger dance inclinations as well as a sharper, more accessible sense of pop songcraft than either of Clarke's previous bands. Furthermore, Erasure had the flamboyantly eccentric Andy Bell -- one of the first openly gay performers in pop music -- as their focal point. Bell's keening, high voice and exaggerated sense of theatricality became the band's defining image. In their native Britain, Erasure were successful from their inception. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine