Column: Neon Nights - the return of Erasure

As we slide into September after the summer that never was, I ventured into Edinburgh to see the desolation of the crowd free Festival City.

The Royal Mile still had a run of tourists but nothing like last August, with three live stages and performers with publicists pushing shows.

Venues were all closed, poster free and, in places, padlocked shut.

A skateboard park has sprung up outside the McEwan Hall where bars and artificial grass would sit, and the Gilded Balloon still had a ‘garden’ for drinks and snacks all socially distanced of course.

I recall meeting Andy Bell here with his baked potato, the day before I introduced him on stage at Foodies Festival in Inverleith park – sadly another casualty this year.

Andy was amused hearing that his old songs like A Little Respect, were still getting requests on dance floors in Fife.

He was performing in a solo show at the Fringe back then, and this week his new Erasure project is released with great anticipation.

Vince Clarke and Andy got together for the first time since 2017 due to solo projects and their last together was World Be Gone. The Neon has ten new tracks and opens with a catchy Hey Now (I Think I Got A Feeling). That sets the pace of this retro set of signature synth.

Not a revisit but a reimagining with keyboard rhythms on Shot A Satellite.

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Andy has never aged in voice or lyrical interpretation. Another perfect example is Kid You’re Not Alone, more relaxing, gentle and a soaring voice over the scales.

The album will be a collector’s piece too and pre-orders get priority booking rights for future concerts.

A neon orange vinyl version sounds fun as does a deluxe CD version with 12-page booklet and four art cards. Or how about a neon green cassette to cherish?

It has taken a year to get this far with Andy flying to New York last summer to meet up with Vince who already had some instrumental unfinished versions of songs.

So last Autumn Andy laid down vocals in Atlanta and the mixing was done in February in Bethnal Green and the artwork complete at God’s Own Junkyard in Walthamstow before Europe’s largest collection of vintage neon lights.

Project now complete the new album on sale this week.