Erasure • Features • Biography
I Say I Say I Say (1994)
"The album's called 'I Say I Say I Say' says Vince Clarke, reticently, "Just 'cos it sounds funny, I suppose...."
Vince Clarke and Andy Bell are back with 'I Say I Say I Say' the eighth Erasure album, comprising ten luminescant new songs that range from the aching 'Man In The Moon' to the epic 'Miracle'. And Vince Clarke is as ever modest about it all.
"Hopefully it's different from the last records" he says, "The main difference between this and the previous albums is it's taken so long to do. Half the songs were written over a year ago, so it's been quite weird working on them...."
Vince credits Erasure's extraordinarily epic tour for inspiring their new activity.
"It was quite boring, the tour. You're not using your imagination at all. It's just like being a robot. So to actually to do something artistic was nice. Hence the ideas flowed freely". 'I Say I say I Say' also follows the compilation 'Pop! The first 20 Hits' and the 'Abba-esque' EP.
"We weren't really intending to do a 'Greatest hits', it just happened" surmises Vince. So after the 'Greatest hits', this is a new era, I suppose. We've got a new art company doing the sleeves anyway!"
Erasure were also keen not to be known just as the band who do Abba sings... "It was really done for a bit of a laugh. We spent very little time doing it, and we'll never do it again" says Vince blithely, "It's a bit naff anyway"!
"Naff" is not a word appropriate to Erasure. Vince Clarke and Andy Bell remain a unique combination in pop music.
"We work together the same as we've always done, really. I've got no idea what goes on in Andy's head. I haven't got the same kind of imagination s him" claims Vince. "Also I come from Essex, you know, I haven't got such as good vocabulary... I'm happy making funny noises!"
This is fortunate. 1994 will see much funny noise from Erasure. "We were talking about doing another album this year, or at least an EP. I think we're ready to try a new set of ideas" says Vince.
First comes the new single 'Always' a tremendous and tremulous slice of pure pop.
Erasure are back and a half.