Erasure’s Andy Bell goes solo
Andy Bell is half of Erasure, the British new wave duo that changed the landscape of what it meant to be an openly gay pop band. In the years that have passed since Erasure’s debut, 1986’s Wonderland, the band has sold an estimated 25 million albums worldwide and they continue to play live and release new music to this day.
And both Bell and his bandmate Vince Clarke continue to pursue other musical projects, including Bell’s forthcoming album Non-Stop, his second solo release, due for release next week. The album is sure to be a club hit, with a sweaty, pulsating beat ruminating through the record’s every word.
Bell recently spoke via phone with EDGE on the new album and what it’s like to start fresh as a solo act in a music industry he describes as "celebrity focused" and "just as homophobic as it ever was."
Frustrated disco diva
EDGE: Andy, It’s an honor to speak with you. How are you feeling now, on the brink of the release of your new solo album, Non-Stop? Excited to unleash it upon the free world?
Andy Bell: Well you try not to get too excited really, because I love doing music and the radio is quite hard to get into over here right now. It’s very celebrity-oriented. So you try not to pin your hopes up too high, but I am feeling very excited.
EDGE: I’m sure there’s also a nervous part to releasing an album. Or have you learned to manage that side of it?
AB: I’m quite nervous. You’re quite naked, I suppose. And no matter how thick you think your skin is after so many years, it’s all the same, you can’t take all the knocks. You just learn how to deal with it a more grown-up way.
EDGE: You really shouldn’t have too much to worry about, though! I gave the album a listen and I think we’re in for a real treat, it’s got a very electro, clubby feel. Is it the "big club album" you’ve said you’re hoping for? Tell me more about the mood you were going for with Non-Stop.
AB: You never know how it’s going to turn out, but I really love the song Touch and the slow song Slow Release, plus the title track. It’s like the more electro it is, the more I like it really. It’s kind of in my blood from being a teenager and being in Erasure but in some ways I’m just a bit of a frustrated disco diva.
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Watch the video of Andy Bell’s new single "Call on Me":
