Erasure • Features • Private Ear

It was after the first night of the Cowboy Concerts that it was first suggested that Erasure could play a concert for EIS members at the end of the year. Vince and Andy were both enthusiastic about the idea to give something back to the fans who had followed them devotedly throughout the Tiny Tour and Cowboy Concerts and to play in front of one of the most enthusiastic audiences of their career and air some 'special' songs.

The venue, the Manchester Academy, was chosen to be as accessible to as many members as possible as cheaply as possible. Although obviously this wasn't ideal for EIS members in other countries, the majority of EIS members do live throughout the UK and there was nowhere else where we could we get enough people together in one place to make it worthwhile.

It transpired that as the date of the concert approached there unfortunately wouldn't be enough time to program as many new songs as had been intended, with the last-minute rehearsals taking place during sound checks on the Scandinavian dates of the Cowboy Concerts tour.

Following a hectic couple of weeks for the EIS, the day arrived and from 6 o'clock in the morning a queue grew outside the Academy.

By the time the doors opened, the line of shivering Santa's, nuns, Cowboys and Indians stretched for hundreds of yards down the Oxford Road. The surge to reach the front was a chaotic blur as people scrambled to squeeze to the stage, pausing only to be handed party hats, by two drag queens.

The stage set was somewhat bizarre, with two pop-art pouting lip chairs to the right and a leopard skin sofa and red leather chair on the left. The glowing 'Erasure' logo (last seen on Erasure's appearances promoting I Say I Say I Say) filled the rear of the stage, with a diminutive Christmas tree on the cowhide coffee-table lending the proceedings a festive flavour.

After an hour of early electronic classics by bands such as the Human League and the Silicon Teens, the lights dropped and Vince and Andy took to the stage, both resplendent in shimmering metallic suits, followed by the backing singers: Sam, Jordan and John.

Before the cheering had subsided, Erasure launched into a storming rock version of Who Needs Love Like That, which immediately defrosted their increasingly compacted audience. After thanking everyone for waiting outside ("freezing their holly off'), Andy introduced the next song, "our only hit in France, because of these two words" - Oh L'amour. Vince accompanied on guitar for the next three songs: an enlivened Sometimes, Victim Of Love (not performed in the UK for over a year) and the melancholic Ship Of Fools.

By this time Andy was soaked with perspiration and willingly obliged all the screams to remove his top, saying, "I've got to show it off. It's taken us 100 and something shows for me to lose one stone!", before pulling on an EIS Evening With Erasure souvenir T-shirt (designed by Katie Bramall and on sale on the night).

The next track was Rock Me Gently, Andy giving one of his best vocals of the evening with his impassioned, heart-rending rendition of this gorgeous song. As the instrumental section began, Andy jokingly asked for volunteers to do a 'Diamanda Galas' and then took the opportunity to join Vince at the front of the stage and relax with a beer and cigarette. After the final chorus and applause, Andy confided to the audience, "I love that song."

The acceleration of a heart-stopping beat ushered in a stomping Chains Of Love (the set-list for the show being deliberately almost chronological), followed by the charged synthesized buzzing of Stop! complete with audience participation.

His drenched T-shirt clinging to his skin, Andy introduced the next song as one of their most requested songs (not to mention Vince's favourite), Home.

After a false start, they played a unique and beautiful arrangement of the track, with guitar-style arpeggiated chords, epic drums, Christmas chimes and atmospheric strings.

As the last notes of Home faded away, Andy poured some champagne for the backing singers and moved to the sofa for the 'chat show' section of the evening.

Vince was briefly fascinated with a musical key ring thrown on stage which was chirping 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' - after a fan suggested they use it for the next record, Andy responded, "Don't tempt us!"

Vince, the 'host', reclining in his seat reading from a clipboard, began:

"Right. We have these questions which have been sent by some EIS members who can't attend tonight all the way from America. Though there are some people from America tonight..:'- this was greeting with a cheer - "Bloody yanks! Right, I'm going to ask Andy a few questions"

Andy: "Don't ask me boring ones."

Vince: "No boring ones. The question is: Boxers or briefs?"

Andy: "Briefs, the briefer the better!"

Vince: "Do you have any New Year's resolutions?"

Andy: "My New Year's resolutions are to give up drugs, sex, drinking, smoking and practically living. What else is there to do? What about you Vince?"

Vince: "My resolutions? I'm not sure that I want to make any promises."

Andy: "He's given them all up already. There's no more he can give up!"

Vince: "Right. Andy, what do you want for Christmas?"

Andy: "I would love a Teletubby. I would really like one, but they've all sold out. I'm going to wait for one of the talking ones. I think they're really brilliant!"

Vince: "Which character would you play in EastEnders?"

Andy: "In EastEnders? Well, I haven't seen it for ages and ages and ages, but I'd quite like to be that twisted boy who they tried to convert to Christianity... [The character's name is shouted from the audience] Joe Wicks. Or Barbara Windsor. I don't mind, but I think she's better at comedy. I preferred her when she got her boobs out. [Someone suggests Pat] No, Pat Butcher looks like my mum! She does, she's the spitting image of my mum!"

Vince: "Scary. Which is the least favourite song that we've written together?"

Andy: "Well, I don't know."

Vince: "There are a few!"

Andy: "It's a bit weird, because some of your least favourite songs become your most favourite after a while, because you play some of them to death and get bored with them. What's a song with a short shelf life? I would have said Heavenly Action years ago... [There is some consternation in the audience] But no! No!"

Vince: "Okay, Yeah, you're right. Er..."

Andy: "he's good, isn't he? He's good at these psychiatrist kind of things."

Vince: "Okay, someone's sent in the question saying, 'Do you read the labels on shampoo bottles when you're sat on the toilet?"

Andy: "Well, what I used to do, and still sometimes do, was to read the labels on the bleach bottles, because I get bored sitting on the toilet. It's very good practice for song writing, reading the bottles, because you can sing them as well. So you go, [sings] 'Woah, oh, only use twice a day, sprinkle up round the rim'. So, no, I don't read the shampoo bottles."

Vince: "Right, we're coming to the end of this section. What is the Fingers & Thumbs video about?"

Andy: "I don't know, that was one of those songs that was about three songs in one, a bit like Drama! suppose. It reminded me of a Rubettes-ish sort of song, though you probably don't even know who the Rubettes are, [sings] 'Sugar baby love, Sugar baby love, didn't mean to make you cry...' So I thought Fingers & Thumbs was a bit of Rubettes-type song which reminded me of a fairground and being on the bumper cam."

After thanking the concert organisers, the crew and the backing singers, Erasure attempted to hold a prize draw using people's ticket number which, after a great deal of confusion, finally resulted in a winner, Chris Halliday from Bradford. As he joined the band on the sofa, Andy filled in by singing as much of 'Once In Royal David's City' as he could remember and then passed his microphone along the front row for the rest of the carol.

Vince presented the prizes. a 'fabulous Billy Boy' action man, a packet of cigarettes and a beer. "Now don't say we don't look after our fans, alright?"

Whilst finishing his champagne, Andy wished everyone a Merry Christmas. "We have here somebody who came here from San Francisco just for the day, there's some more people from America, there's somebody from Singapore on holiday..." - people started shouting out other place names - "...Some people from Italy, from Barcelona, from Holland, Hull, Belfast, but you live in London now, Reading, Peterborough -it's not my brother is it? -Basildon, Tilsley, Chelmsford, the moon? Old Compton Street, Manchester Gay Village..."

Vince interrupted, suggesting that they might get on with show, and initiated the crashing opening of a raucous rendition of Love To Hate You. As usual, Andy didn't resist the temptation to trail off into 'I Will Survive' during the bridge.

The undoubted highlight of the next song, Take A Chance On Me, was Jordan's gutsy rap. The bubbling synths of Always followed - every single time this song has been performed live the audience has started singing the chorus after the instrumental break too early and, even with an audience of EIS members, this occasion happily proved no exception.

After the buttock-slapping arm-waving Tiny Tour favourite that is Heart Of Glass, Andy paused before the next song. "It's quite surreal doing this, because we do feel that we know you all. It's like doing a gig for your neighbours."

"While we're down our cover version alley we've got this song here and this song is for Daniel Miller of Mute Records, who started the whole thing off with the help of this song, Vince's very first song."

A roar from the crowd greeted the famously distinctive synth intro of Just Can't Get Enough. Reading from a lyric sheet, Andy made the song his own whilst Vince's upbeat and bouncy arrangement updated this classic Depeche Mode track for the 1990's. As the song ended with block harmonies and a cute synth coda, Erasure received their loudest ovation of the night Rain and In My Arms from Cowboy followed, the latter in its thumping live version which ended with a lone beat for Andy to strut manically to.

After rapturous applause Vince and Andy encored with a breathtaking Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me, announced with a cascade of balloons from the ceiling. Without a pause Erasure rounded off the evening with one of their most dynamic songs, A Little Respect.

Before leaving the stage exhausted, Andy breathlessly announced, "Thank you all very much. Happy Christmas 1997 and have a fantastic 1998 -and maybe you'll hear from us! Thank you!"

The lights came up and the band were quickly taxied away (Vince and Andy being understandably too tired to deal with the hundreds of autograph-seekers at the stage door) and as each fan left they were handed an EIS Christmas Card. Many fans went on to continue the party in their own hotels, but the Evening With Erasure was over. Until next time.

Questions from Clint Hassell 081069, Robert Gallop 5029, David Power 4339, Elizabeth Walter 3857 and Darren Wood 2678.