Today Erasure, the pop duo comprising singer Andy Bell and musician Vince Clarke, are recognised as a band with an enduring legacy and an impressive catalogue of hits. But their career got off to a rocky start.
Their first single, Who Needs Love Like That, came out in September 1985, and it did not set the charts on fire. A remixed version followed shortly after, but it also didn’t gain much traction. The follow‑up single, Heavenly Action, also failed to get noticed.
On this day, the band released their third single, Oh L’amour. It only reached number 85 in the UK charts — a far cry from the Top 40. We in Australia, though, loved the song, and it sped up the charts to reach number 13. The band began to find a global audience, with the song becoming a hit in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.
The 12‑inch version of the track featured the band covering the ABBA song Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!. Later in their career, they would enjoy one of their most successful chart runs when they released an entire EP of ABBA covers.
While the song wasn’t initially a success in their native United Kingdom, it did chart the following year when the band Dollar released a cover version. Their version reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart and spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart. Erasure themselves finally had a hit with the tune in 2003 when a remixed version was released in conjunction with a greatest‑hits collection.
Although Erasure’s career had a slow start, over the decades they’ve scored many hits and recently announced that work is underway on their forthcoming 20th studio album.
Vince Clarke chatted to OUTinPerth back in 2015.
