Erasure Then: After the end of Yazoo (Yaz), former Depeche Mode keyboardist/songwriter Vince Clarke was looking for the perfect musical counterpart. A one-off single with Feargal Sharkey as Assembly helped push him in the right direction. The audition of 42 frontmen found match with a former professional mincer in a meat factory, Andy Bell. In 1985, Erasure was formed. They released 3 singles (barely denting the U.K. charts) and cancelled a tour prior to releasing their debut Wonderland. It would be the release of "Sometimes" in December the next year (from their follow-up album The Circus) that would give them a #2 U.K. hit. The rest of 1987 was filled with Top 20 singles like "It Doesn't Have To Be", "Victim Of Love" and "Ship Of Fools". 1988's album, The Innocents, woke America up with the hits "Chains Of Love" #12 and "A Little Respect" #14. They came back the next year with two releases, Crackers International E.P. and Wild!, ending the decade with U.K. Top 20 hits "Drama!" and "You Surround Me". Now: The 90's began with two further U.K. hits from Wild! - "Blue Savannah" #3 and "Star" #11. "Blue Savannah" was chosen the Most Performed Work of 1990 at the 36th annual Ivor Novello Awards. 1991 brought the album Chorus (their third album to debut at #1 in the U.K.). The singles "Chorus" and "Love To Hate You" make the U.K. Top 5 while "Breath Of Life" makes #8. Erasure then release a tribute E.P. to ABBA titled Abba-esque which will hold the U.K. #1 spot for 5 straight weeks. A greatest hits album (Pop! The First 20 Hits) is released and the band takes 1993 to rest after 8 albums and a string of 18 Top 30 UK singles in a row. They came back in '94 with I Say I Say I Say, again debuting at #1. The #4 U.K. track "Always" returned them to the U.S. charts at #20 after a long hiatus. In 1995, the band came back with a darker self-titled album and the U.K. hits "Stay With Me" and "Fingers And Thumbs (Cold Summer's Day)". The album Cowboy came next in '97. Oddly enough, this included a cover of Blondie's "Rapture". A new album titled Loveboat is expected for 2000.