30 years Erasure party: Shelter, Neil Francis, Destination and a special appearance by Andy Bell

September 26th 2015, Bournbrook Social Club, Selly Oak, Birmingham £10

Sometimes it feels hard to relate to when people refer to events as magical, but this night was not only epic in every sense of the word but purely magical, too.

Depeche Mode and Yazoo – founding member Vince Clarke and the ever flamboyant Andy Bell’s epic musical journey started three decades ago with the release of their first single “Who needs love like that”.Millions of record sales and releases later, some hitting the upper regions of the global charts while others went almost unnoticed or even slowed down the band’s career, a crowd of die hard fans came together, organised by the amazing Rory Jones and wonderful behind-the-scenes people, to celebrate the British institution that is Erasure.

2014s release ‘The Violet Flame’ and the tour saw Erasure’s star on the rise once more and Classic Pop magazine named the album ‘album of the year’.

It was on that tour that Shelter garnered a large fanbase of their own while supporting Erasure for eight nights. And it was after a gig of that tour that Erasure fan Neil Francis sang ‘A little respect’ at a London tube station which turned him into a 20 million + views youtube – sensation.

And both Shelter as well as Neil Francis (who have since collaborated on a song) were part of the lineup of this special evening. Another band known for performing unique versions of Erasure – penned tunes (and yazoo ones as well) are Destination who were also on the bill followed by an amazing DJ set to round off the night – and all that for a tenner (including cake and buffet) AMAZING.

And if that doesn’t sound magical enough the unannounced visit of Erasure’s own Andy Bell who then even sang with Neil Francis and patiently allowed himself to be photographed with his fans clearly highlighted how much of a fan/band relationship and bond there is.

Apart from their own material there were also plenty of Erasure covers by the artists who mingled with the crowd after their respective performances and danced along to the ever-amazing tunes of Erasure.
























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