Erasure Turn 40 Years of Friendship Into a 20th Album

Erasure are back with their 20th album of sumptuous synthpop, and the duo's founding friendship — now entering its fifth decade — is the thread running through their story.

In a new interview with the Guardian, published on 2 October, singer Andy Bell and keyboardist Vince Clarke spoke from opposite sides of the world: Bell from his farm in Mallorca, Clarke from his home in San Diego. The video call captured a dynamic that has sustained the band since its formation — Bell talking freely, Clarke listening contentedly.

Bell held forth on multiple subjects. He described a fine year on the Mallorca farm he shares with his husband Stephen Moss, harvesting pomegranates, kiwis and lemons. He mused on his fascination with clowns — "Would the makeup help you avoid facial recognition technology?" — and recalled 1990s nightclubbing with the observation: "You could do anything and get away with it!"

He also admitted a worry that he is turning into "a fussy old grandpa" before catching himself mid-flow: "But what about you, Vince? You're being very quiet!"

Clarke, whose only contribution to that stretch of the conversation had been a hello, smiled and replied: "No, no, I just love listening to you, man. I'm really enjoying this."

The exchange illustrates what the Guardian's headline calls "a deep soul connection" — the 40-year friendship that, according to the interview, carried the pair through difficult recent years, including grief.

The interview also addresses two significant developments for the band. The first is Clarke's decision to quit touring, a shift that will change the shape of Erasure's live presence even as the duo continue recording. The second is the context in which the new album arrives: a period of what the interview describes as resurgent homophobia, which both men confront directly in their conversation.

Bell and Clarke have long positioned themselves as "happily uncool," an attitude the interview frames as part of their endurance. The forthcoming 20th album, described as sumptuous synthpop, marks four decades of a partnership that has outlasted shifting fashions in pop.

With Clarke stepping back from the road, the new record and its reception will indicate what shape Erasure takes in their fifth decade — a band still defined, above all, by two men who clearly enjoy each other's company.