John Marshall: How are you doing Andy, all right?
Andy Bell: I'm fine thank you, yeah!
John: Good, great to talk to you
Andy: You sound like me! Your accent!
John: Do you think? There's no Vince today, what's he up to?
Andy: No... I don't know really, I haven't spoken to him for ages. But he was snowed in a while back in Maine, they had seven foot of snow.
John: Really?
Andy: Yeah. So he was digging himself out. But he's been building his own studio, like a log cabin, so he's just been going in there really.
John: And he's got the whole recording kit over in America now?
Andy: Yeah he has.
John: Right - gearing up for the next album which we'll come to in a moment. We're talking about 'Total Pop!' today though, the best of Erasure, forty fabulous tracks. And lot's of memories for you I guess Andy?
Andy: Loads and loads of memories, too many to speak of. They all kind of blur into one another after a while!
John: Really?
Andy: Yeah!
John: I think the really exciting thing about this release is that maybe people who haven't kept up with Erasure over the years, might buy this album for the best known classics and then discover some amazing other songs. Would you agree?
Andy: Yeah I'm really proud of the latter half of the record, the Pop Hits 2 record. I just think that's it's really high quality stuff, and there's probably a few in there that people would know. But hopefully they'll be nicely surprised.
John: Any personal favourites on there? What would you go for Andy?
Andy: I would go for, maybe... 'Stay With Me', 'In My Arms' and 'Storm In A Teacup'.
John: They're all great, I love 'Storm In A Teacup'. And this release comes during a time of Erasure on a bit of a break.
Andy: Yeap
John: So when are you and Vince getting together and get in that studio in Maine and do some new Erasure material Andy?
Andy: Well I'm going to see him in the Autumn, so hopefully we'll do some writing then, and maybe some shows next year.
John: Right, so I guess this current break that you just touched on means no 'Total Pop!' tour that I'm sure people would like, but it's not going to happen?
Andy: No, not at the moment. We've toured virtually every album, apart from maybe the 'Erasure' album in 1995, and I don't know... It just seems to me anyway that I needed a break because it had been like 21 years none stop Erasure. And I felt like I needed to find out who I was outside the band and stuff, and get to know myself really.
John: But it all goes on, when the time comes it will continue?
Andy: Oh yeah.
John: Brilliant. So meanwhile you're working on your second solo album aren't you?
Andy: Yes that's true.
John: Which a little birdie has told me sounded really really good.
Andy: Oh!
John: When might that get released, when might we hear it?
Andy: Hopefully by the end of this year, we're just getting together the first week of March and then the last two weeks of March and then hopefully getting it all mixed and stuff by the end of May. So, hopefully by the end of the year.
John: And is it a similar sound to the first record, 'Electric Blue'?
Andy: It is similar, but I suppose it's more... it's less poppy than 'Electric Blue' and more sort of left field, more in the clubs.
John: Oh really? Can you tell us any of the tracks?
Andy: There's a track called 'Honey, I Love Him' which is the only track written by somebody else, by Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction, and I've also done a track with Kate Pierson from the B52's. I went to see her, she's got this lovely trailer park in Woodstock so I went up there to see her. And then the other stuff is all co-writes with Stephen Hague and Jon Collyer who did 'Nightbird' with us and Pascal Gabriel.
John: Any duets this time? There were some great duets on your first album?
Andy: No, the only duets are the track with Perry and Kate.
John: What about working with Stephen Hague who produced 'The Innocents' with Erasure didn't he? What does he bring to the project?
Andy: Well really we just got together for a bit of a writing period, really. So I think probably... We did do about 10 tracks together but probably about 2 tracks will make it onto the finished album.
John: Oh I see
Andy: One of them is a bit George Michael'ish type ballad.
John: And Stephen may go on and produce the next Erasure album?
Andy: I don't think so, no. Because it didn't really work out this time. It's all to do with politics...
John: We don't want to get into politics!
Andy: No! No!
John: Will you be playing the the solo album live then?
Andy: I'm sure that I will do some showcase gigs, like I did with 'Electric Blue', which I really enjoyed. So maybe Madame JoJo's or something in London, or Coco or something like that.
John: I came along to one of those before, and very good it was to! And very well received in the crowd wasn't it?
Andy: Yeah it was great, I loved it!
John: The Pet Shop Boys have just got this Outstanding Contribution To Music Award at the Brits. Do you feel like bursting onto the stage and shouting it should have been us!
Andy: Well I'm surprised they didn't ask me to give it to them! 'Cause I really would have given it to them! [laughs]
No... I do like the Pet Shop Boys, and compared to Erasure they are the media darlings, and they always have been and I suppose they always will be. I always think we're kinda of the poor mans Pet Shop Boys really, as we're really working class and stuff and didn't come through the media you know. But I do admire their work. But I think we're just as valid.
John: Absolutely - I think you should be up for that award - I think you should be getting that! Is it right on Wikipedia, you never know whether to trust that, that before you got together with Vince that you were working in a meat packing plant? Is that right?
Andy: Well I was working in Sainsbury's and I was in the meat department. That was my part-time teenage job.
John: And when you met Vince for the first time, did you ever think that all these years on that Erasure would still be going strong?
Andy: No I didn't think of that really, to me it was an honour to even hook up with Vince Clarke in the first place as I thought he was one of the best song writers around then. And I suppose he still is! And I just feel really grateful that he stuck around with me, because it did take us a while to get off the ground and he could have moved on. But he's a great person, I feel really blessed that we've got such a strong song writing partnership.
John: Another new release right now is 'Pop! Remixed' and I know that you're a big fan of the remix aren't you?
Andy: Yeah I do like it!
John: You've even done one of the mixes yourself - 'Drama!' Is it difficult going back and trying to remix your own classic songs, is that tough?
Andy: Well the thing that you think about, it's quite hard because Vince's sounds are so unique as well, you can't really better them, so you just have to do something completely different, or use his sounds and try and distort them in some way. The thing I can't get over is when I listen to my backing vocals, and I think "oh my god, they're so rough!" I can't my mind off of it! I suppose I'm bit obsessed.
John: It plagues you!
Andy: Yeah, Yeah!
John: Greatest hits is a time for reflection on your career so far, do you have a defining high point?
Andy: I wouldn't say there was really a defining high point, I mean I think one of the best things about this job, is meeting your heroes from being a teenager, meeting Debbie Harry from Blondie, meeting the B52's. And having bought their vinyl records and they're still going and they kind of give you hope for the future.
And then just like playing some of the big places, playing around like in Rio and in Argentina and places like that. And some funny stories, like in Malaysia which is a Muslim country and I got told off for taking my jacket off, as I was bare chested underneath. A young man doing some unspeakable act in the front row who got chucked out, so a few little stories like that.
John: They ought to be pleased it was just your jacket that you took off!
Andy: That was the Cowboy jacket, you know the little cow print one. But I was just asked to put it back on again, so that's what we did.
John: What, in the middle of the concert?
Andy: Yeah, that was at the Hard Rock Cafe in Malaysia.
John: Any regrets from the years?
Andy: Well I think probably my biggest regret is... I don't know... It was very hard to know where I contracted HIV, I don't know where that came from at all. It could have been from my boyfriend or whatever.
John: Sure.
'Cause I hadn't really been that bad you know. And also I supposed taking drugs, it's all the usual things really.
John: And you health right now? You doing OK?
Andy: I'm really fantastic - I'm feeling great, I'm in really great shape.
John: Great stuff. And Vince and yours passion and desire and determination to carry on recording and touring together. Does that remain as strong as ever today?
Andy: I think so. I think it was a very healthy for us, or for me anyway to take this year out, and kind of reflect on all the work we've done. And its also been a bit of a struggle with my new solo record, so it's made me appreciate Vince even more.
John: How do you spend your free time Andy? Presumably you have a bit - do you gave any secret hobbies?
Andy: No not really, I'm living now at the sea-side at the moment in Hastings with my new boyfriend of three years and he works for Green and Blacks chocolate lady - she sold it and now has an organic bakery. So he sells the bread on the market stall and I go along with him sometimes and it's quite funny, as we do Rye Market, it's a farmers market and I do serve the Cheeky Girls and they haven't got a clue who I am!
John: The Cheeky Girls come and buy their bread from you?
Buy there bread from our store, yeah!
John: There's a bit of pop trivia! Performing some of the Erasure songs live that you've been doing for over 20 years now, do you ever get a bit tired of any of the songs, or is it always a pleasure doing those classics?
Andy: It is quite a pleasure playing them. It's funny, I suppose that the song that people know us the most for is 'A Little Respect' which I love doing that song, as it almost sings itself. I don't mind 'Sometimes', I love singing 'Blue Savannah'. It's just maybe some of the other ones like 'It Doesn't Have To Be Like That'. I think we've only performed 'Heavenly Action' once on one tour, so maybe its time for a revisit for that song.
John: And you always have the new tracks to mix in as well, that's the one thing about Erasure, it's never purely a greatest hits tour, there's always the new stuff in there or some tracks that people might not be so familiar be with. What other exciting news might you have for us, Mute have plans to remaster versions of the albums?
Andy: Yeah they have plans to do the remastering of 'The Innocents' album, 'cause it's the 20th anniversary already of that.
John: Wow - how does that feel to look back and you think, that was 20 years ago?
Andy: I know! Well you don't know where it's all gone really, it's the same as anybody, you feel completely young at heart and you don't feel any different from when you were a teenager. Although you just know that you have to rest inbetween more. But no, you don't feel any different. And I just feel like I'm quite glad that I'm not starting out all over again now in the celebrity obsessed culture that we live in now, as it's all too much.
John: Do you think Erasure would have survived the 20 plus years if you began now?
Andy: I don't know, 'cause I don't think we're really cut throat enough, and I do think you do have to be quite superficial and gung-ho, and maybe that only comes with experience. I mean, not that superficially comes with experience! But knowing that comes with experience, so I don't know if we would. But I would say that I would have a go on the X-Factor.
John: Would you?
Andy: Yeah I would. I probably wouldn't even get through to the second round!
John: I think you would do OK Andy! It's great talking to you and I can't wait to hear the solo stuff and hopefully oneday soon, on a bit, a new Erasure album. Thanks ever so much for the chat Andy.
Andy: Cheers, thankyou!