On Saturday 11th April at the Wyndham Hotel (Palm Springs, California) Andy Bell will be spinning his favorite songs as guest DJ for Jeffrey Sanker's White Party, now celebrating 20 years. He will DJ from 3 to 4pm, spinning classic Erasure songs plus the hottest electro artists and mixes from yesterday and today.
The Erasure 'Total Pop! Deluxe Box' 4 disc box set (3CD & 1DVD) is released by Rhino Records in North America on the 7th April, and will be available at all retail outlets, including rhino.com. The box set will also be available for purchase at the FYE booth inside the Wyndham Hotel in Palm Springs during White Party weekend. Andy Bell will make a special appearance at the booth directly after his DJ set to greet fans.
Andy has been flashing his skills at turntables around the world since his sold-out DJ tour to support his solo album, Electric Blue in 2005. Andy is currently recording his second solo album for release later this year.
On the 9th April (two days before his White Party set) Andy Bell will DJ a special in-store event at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, CA.
He will sign copies of the new boxed set purchased at Amoeba (plus one additional Andy Bell or Erasure item per fan) after his set. A pair of tickets to White Party 2009 will be given out during Andy's DJ set at Amoeba.
Also on the 7th April, Rhino Records will release 'Pop! Remixed' as a digital-only release for $9.99. Pop! Remixed features remixes from Vince Clarke, Mark Picchiotti, Manhattan Clique, Komputer, Sweden's Sound Factory, and a mix of "Drama!" by Andy Bell and JC. It will be available exclusively at masterbeat.com (the official music sponsor of White Party 2009) for the first 30 days of release.
These are a selection of photos featuring Andy Bell at the LGBT History Month reception that was held at Number 10 earlier this month.
The Erasure Shop (Lexer Music) is currently running a half price sale on all Erasure / Yazoo / Yaz & EIS t-shirts.
This t-shirt sale is for one week only and ends Saturday 4th April.
Paul Mitchell from theskinny.co.uk talks to Andy Bell about fame, sexuality and a prolific career.
"People say that the music industry is cyclical and we've been waiting and waiting and now seems to be the right time."
Andy Bell is referring to the post-indie vogue for mainstream electronica and the fact that their record company now sees fit to unleash an Erasure Extravaganza, incorporating Total Pop! (their first 40, yes, 40 hits), a remix album called Pop! Remixed and a couple of live DVDs to boot.
"You'd think we'd died or something," he laughs.
On Friday 20th March, internet radio station SkyHigh Radio will be devoting the evening to playing nothing but Erasure songs, beginning at 18:00 (GMT) and continuing until at least midnight.
SkyHigh Radio are interested in receiving your requests for songs (one request per person please). To request a song you would like to hear, post your request within the Erasure Forum before 18:00 (GMT) Wednesday 18th March.
SkyHigh radio is available via a variety of different methods - full details on skyhighradio.co.uk.
For one week only, The Erasure Shop (Lexer Music) is running a half-price sale on it's range of Yazoo / Yaz Ladies tour t-shirts.
7th April sees the North American release of 'Total Pop! The First 40 Hits! Deluxe Box', a 4 disc boxset (3CD/DVD) that features newly remastered versions of all the band's singles on two discs, a CD of vintage live performances and a DVD of rare live BBC performances.
The boxset is available for pre-order now from cduniverse.com, barnes & noble, bestbuy.com and amazon.com.
Also on the 7h April, 'Pop! Remixed' will be released as a digital download only release. 'Pop! Remixed' features remixes from Vince Clarke, Mark Picchiotti, Manhattan Clique, Komputer, Sweden's Sound Factory and a mix of 'Drama!' by Andy Bell and JC.
An interview with Andy Bell by Tim Nixon of The Sun has been published today online.
Andy fears Erasure are "not very trendy" in the eyes of many music fans, and those who do dig their anthemic pop tunes often don't like to admit it.
However he's hoping they will benefit from the 80s music revival that's becoming ever more evident in the sounds of new artists breaking through.
The Quietus have just published an interview with Vince Clarke which you can read online.
Synth pop's retiring pop genius talks to us on the possibilities of a Depeche Mode reunion, Erasure's longevity and how he nearly got produced by Kate Bush.
LGBT History Month is an opportunity for people to learn more about the histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister will host a reception at 10 Downing St tonight in celebration of LGBT History Month. Andy Bell is amongst the invited guests for tonight's event.
The beautiful pop-up castle edition of Erasure's 'I Say I Say I Say' album is now available for £8.00.
The 'Erasure Information Service' and Erasure 'Union Street' mousemats are now £5.00, as is the 'Light At The End Of The World' mini torch.
Finally the complete set of nine 'Total Pop!' themed postcards are available for £4.50.
Don't forget that an extensive range of Erasure and Yazoo tour merchandise is available.
For those with long memories, you may remember the 'Here I Go Impossible Again' Digimpro Remix competition held in 2005. The winning mix (as chosen by Erasure) was created by Glynn Jaine.
Moving forward to 2009 and Glynn has teamed up with Bridget Gray to bring you 'Destination' and their debut album 'Alternate Realities' which is released on Monday 20th April. If you pre-order the album now via The Erasure Shop (Lexer Music) then you can immediately receive two free MP3's and your copy of the album will be signed by both Glynn and Bridget.
Visit The Erasure Shop for further details and audio samples.
"In a nutshell... Full-on Erasure pop goodness"
Lee Davis has recently published an extensive review of 'Total Pop! The First 40 Hits' on InTheNews.co.uk giving it a final score of 10/10.
As you may remember, everyone that pre-ordered the 'Total Pop' 4 disc box-set from The Erasure Shop (Lexer Music) was entered into a prize draw.
Six names have now been picked from the virtual hat, and the winners are:
1st Prize (Andy's Costume & 'Total Pop' Poster)
- Frederique Cicou (Belgium)
(Runners Up (Signed CD & 'Total Pop' Poster)
- Robert Smith (United States)
- Simon Wooldridge (United Kingdom)
- Dave Joerg (Germany)
- Bridoux Veronique (France)
- Kate Clark (United Kingdom)
Congratulations to you all.