Cambridge fills out the Corn Exchange to welcome back Erasure
The legendary pop duo, now in their 32nd year, delivered a fine selection of classic favourites and songs from their most recent album, World Be Gone.
Released last year and produced by the band themselves, along with Matty Green, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s 17th studio album is thoughtful, reflective and reminiscent of 1995’s more experimental effort, Erasure.
Unsurprisingly, a number of its songs were performed tonight, including Just a Little Love, Lousy Sum of Nothing, Sweet Summer Loving and the title track – and, good though they were, it was when the duo brought out the crowd-pleasing dance tracks that the crowd really showed their appreciation.
The first of these was the electrifying Chains of Love. Victim of Love was another absolute belter, indicating where The Scissor Sisters got most of their act from.
Standing on top of a rig, the be-suited figure of Vince Clarke was his usual quiet self, calmly playing a selection of instruments, while the flamboyant Andy Bell sang and danced his way around the stage, accompanied by two female dancers/backing vocalists, in a sparkly t-shirt, which he later removed to remove a skin-tight garment underneath.
Speaking regularly to the audience, he noted that despite having played Cambridge about 10 times in the past, he’d never really seen the city. “How beautiful is Cambridge?” he enthused.
Bell also said that he does his make-up based on a different person each night. “Tonight I’m going for Yootha Joyce in George & Mildred,” he joked.
Blue Savannah, my top pick of Erasure’s many hits, was done brilliantly, as were Stop!, Always and Sometimes – all bringing back memories of when synth-pop ruled the charts.
The band went off and came back out for more song, the anthemic A Little Respect, which saw Clarke come down from his platform and strum a guitar while standing next to his musical partner.
It’s easy to forget just how many well-crafted pop songs these two have and it was great to be reminded.
