Erasure • Features • Ask Erasure
Vince Clarke (Dec 2003)
01) Vince, in the last set of answers you mentioned books among your interests. What kind of books do you read, and do you have a favourite author? (Silke Roettger)
Vince: I am a big fan of science fiction and I particularly like Philip K. Dick.
02) Now that you're living here, does it annoy you that America is not on the metric system? (Scott Mueller)
Vince: No, because a pint of beer is still a pint of beer.
03) I would like to ask, what would Andy and Vince say were the most memorable high and low points of their careers together so far? (Karl Watkinson)
Vince: One of the most memorable high points so far is when The Innocents reached #1 for the second time in the UK. The low point was playing to 4 people at a gig in Belgium.
04) Having bought the Hits DVD I have seen a lot of the later videos for the first time. One of these being Solsbury Hill. I think it is a very different and outstanding video. Andy looks soooo spooky! What was the idea for the video and how long did it take for Andy to put on the make up and hair piece. (Gary Basford)
Vince: We wanted Solsbury Hill to be a performance video with a hard edge. Less like the soft pop videos we've made in the past. It took about 3 hours for Andy to 'pretty' himself up.
05) During 18 years people must have asked you same things many times. I would like to know if there is a question you wished to but were never asked. Now you have the opportunity - ask and answer! (Karel Kulhavy)
Vince: Favorite color? Green
06) Now you're living in America, have you hiked or considered hiking the Appalachian trail? (it's a national hiking trail - all 2172.6 miles of it - that extends from Maine to Georgia) (Scott Mueller)
Vince: Surely you mean 3496km Scott? But seriously, I would like to hike it, but not all at once.
07) I recently read a book on electronic music production and there was an article with Vince in relation to how he created the music for Erasure. He mentioned 'scoping' tracks, but being a novice electronic musician, I'm not really sure what he means. (Frank Ortiz)
Vince: When we recorded Chorus, we used a scope to identify the delays between the different musical elements in each track and then correct them. Basically we used the scope to improve the timing of each individual instrument.
08) Have either of you ever been stalked by a fan, if yes, what did they do? (Pat Plant)
Vince: No, we've never been stalked.
09) What's your favourite toy? (Stefan Zatko
Vince: Slinky.
10) How well do you remember all the different venues and sets you have played over the years? (Ed Adkins)
Vince: Some venues do have a personality, particularly the smaller sweaty clubs that we've played over the years. Also, some of the older theatres have real character and a palpable history which makes them a 'treat' to perform in.
11) Would you ever consider collaborating with BT (Brian Transeau) as producer or otherwise? (Erik Anders Ernst)
Vince: Yes, he is a nice, talented bloke.
12) As a fan of your work going back to Depeche Mode's first album, I would like to know: if you had to choose one song you have written and recorded to always be remembered for, what would it be? (Jim Brady)
Vince: Only You.