Live: Erasure @ Apollo

Erasure
Manchester Apollo
20th October
3 stars

While there were many things uncertain about experiencing an Erasure gig, I was confident that there would be a lack of similarly aged audience members. I was correct. Yet, instead of feeling smugly superior of my weary-eyed, sensibly dressed co-attendees I found myself overcome with envy. They were wild – not an inhibition was to be found in the packed out (and incredibly beautiful) Manchester Apollo.  An unmistakeable attitude of “We’re going to pretend the last two decades didn’t happen and we don’t give a fuck” permeated the air, and as the concert went on I found it impossible to remain immune.

Prior to the gig I was under the impression that Erasure were a diet version of the Pet Shop Boys; purveyors of flamboyant pop with little to no real substance. After the gig, I found myself racing home to hit loop on their music videos on YouTube, in shock at both my reaction and the sheer quality of their output. You can’t really argue with 25 million record sales either. The gig was an outrageous two hour show of non-stop glitter, colour and joy – if you’re rolling your eyes right now on a rainy Magic Bus ride home, get ‘A Little Respect’ on Spotify and you’ll soon cheer up. Front man Andy Bell seemed to capture the hearts of every man and woman he performed in front of, and it was extremely pleasant to see the crowd around me entirely lost in nostalgic euphoria.

Not to say there wasn’t any new material. The band were plugging their latest album, Tomorrow’s World (produced by Frankmusik nevertheless), which blended well with their back catalogue and managed to keep the hit-hungry crowd’s attention. If I came away from the gig learning one thing, it was to never be guilty about a pleasure; thank you Erasure.

Erasure – A Little Respect

Erasure – Always