Review: Erasure’s Andy Bell returns to Cambridge Corn Exchange
Singer Andy Bell, one half of iconic pop dup Erasure with multi-instrumentalist Vince Clarke, made a triumphant return to the Cambridge Corn Exchange on Monday, 19 May.
It was the first time the Peterborough-born star had performed at the venue since 2018, when Erasure came to town for a very memorable gig.
This solo show followed the release of Bell’s latest album, Ten Crowns, which came out earlier this month, and the Cambridge date was the last in Andy’s UK tour before he heads out to Germany and Denmark in June.
I have to say I was expecting more from opening act, Hifi Sean & David McAlmont, but despite one or two fairly decent songs, I felt their set lacked excitement.
The same cannot be said of Andy Bell, who came out to a rapturous reception dressed in a sparkly red suit and sunglasses.
He later joked that the sunglasses belonged to Lenny Kravitz and that the suit was there for “maximum impact at low cost”.
He got us under way with Breaking Thru the Interstellar, a solid opening number which was quickly surpassed by the next song, my absolute favourite from Erasure’s stunning back catalogue - Blue Savannah.
This storming pop classic had me up and dancing, which I’m not usually doing two songs in!
It was followed by another outstanding Erasure tune, Sometimes - and Andy’s voice sounded fantastic on both. Needless to say, I was still dancing.
Amongst the Erasure big-hitters - Drama!, Chains of Love and Love to Hate You were all further highlights early on - the seasoned singer-songwriter also included eight tracks from his latest album.
Often when artists play newer material, it sparks an exodus of people going to the bar/toilet - though tonight the newer material was enthusiastically received, and deservedly so.
Andy spoke of his love of pop music, saying it all started with Blondie’s Denis Denis.
He praised “blonde goddess” Deborah Harry and noted that it was an honour to collaborate with her on Heart's a Liar, a memorable song on the new album.
“Tonight the part of Deborah Harry’s going to be played by Hailey Steele,” said Andy, introducing his American backing singer - and South Dakota’s yodelling champion - to the centre of the stage.
Hailey, a country singer ‘by trade’, did a great job, and then took centre stage a few songs later to sing the Erasure song Breathe with guitarist and fellow American, Jerry Fuentes, while Andy took a breather.
Erasure’s Always was another winner, and then came a surprising - though very welcome - cover of Olivia Newton‐John’s Xanadu.
Andy, whose between-song banter was often highly amusing, commented on his and Vince’s songwriting and joked, “Why do they always have to be so effing high?!”
He certainly still seems to be able to reach the higher notes, however!
The singer revealed that “Vince is coming round my house in August and we’ll see what happens”, indicating that we could soon be getting some new music from Erasure. Their last album was 2022’s Day-Glo (Based on a True Story).
The pulsating For Today and the catchy Dance for Mercy were two of the better songs off Ten Crowns, while the sheer pop ecstasy that is Erasure’s Victim of Love remains as joyful as ever.
And it was to Erasure that Andy also turned for the last song of the main set, the tuneful Oh L’Amour.
The two-song encore consisted of Thank You, a slower and less noteworthy number off Ten Crowns, and then possibly Erasure’s most famous song worldwide - A Little Respect.
The song sounds as amazing today as it did when it first came out way back in 1988, ensuring, I would imagine, that no-one left the venue feeling unhappy.
“Until the next time,” said Andy at the end, suggesting that we can look forward to seeing him here in Cambridge again. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another seven years to see this pop maestro in action!
For more on Andy Bell, go to andybell.com. For more on Erasure, visit erasureinfo.com.
