A flop and and a hit – Erasure’s excellent first two records show the power of hit singles, if nothing else It seems incredible listening to Erasure’s rather accomplished debut, Wonderland, to think that, back in 1986, it was a hit-free zone. Despite some excellent singles ( Who Needs Love Like That, Heavenly Action, Oh L’Amour) and the already solid pedigree of Vince Clarke (Yazoo, Depeche Mode), this was indeed the case. None of the three singles released made the UK top 40. The band came about after Clarke, looking for his next ‘project’, advertised in Melody Maker for a vocalist. Andy Bell applied, and the musical partnership was formed which endures to this day. Back in 1985/6 Erasure may have lacked the boyish good looks that helped propel contemporaries a-ha to the upper reaches of the UK chart, and they could not compete with the presentational skills and cool detachment of the Pet Shop Boys, but what they did have, in abundance, was great songs, and a rather refreshing, fun, carefree attitude.

Andy Bell also turned out to be a good lyricist and co-wrote eight of Wonderland‘s eleven tracks with Clarke. The album is full of synth-pop gems – Push Me, Shove Me, Pistol, Who Needs Love Like That all sound fantastic on the dance floor, with appropriate smatterings of rhythm guitar, but the softer more emotional tracks work just as well. Single Heavenly Action‘s opening line “Angel made in heaven, all I want is your love, give me some of that action, reaction” is set to a gorgeous, silky-smooth melody and on listening to My Heartso blue (a Clarke solo composition) it’s hard not to reach for the lighter and start waving it in the air. Install Doctor Who Mod. A superb torch song.