You may have read statements on various forums recently concerning an article printed in a newspaper regarding Andy's health. To clarify matters, Andy wishes to say the following:

"Thank you to all the fans for their concern expressed on the Erasure forum over my H.I.V. status. I found out I was H.I.V. + in June 1998 when I had a bout of pneumonia in Mallorca, since then I have been taking combination therapy & I am feeling fine in fact I have never felt better.

Being H.I.V. does not mean that you have a.i.d.s. My life expectancy should be the same as anyone else's' so there is no need to panic, there is still so much hysteria & ignorance surrounding H.I.V & a.i.d.s lets just get on with life i.e. making music, doing a live tour & generally having a good time.

Lots of love Andy."

Andy's partner Paul has written about this in his forthcoming book (which is due out next year), so it's certainly not a matter that they felt should remain hidden.

I can understand the concerns that many of you are feeling, however with Andy's recent successful hip replacements, he is in better shape now than he has been for some time and we can certainly expect to see an outstanding performance from him next year!

Further information regarding HIV can be found at the Terrence Higgins Trust website.

The Erasure Information Service