Listen To VCMG's Ssss In Full.

The 10-track debut album set to be released Mar. 13 on Mute from Vince Clarke and Martin Gore's VCMG is currently streaming in its entirety at xlr8r. We are on our second listen of the all-instrumental Ssss and agree with mlf8, VCMG is the new love drug.

30-Day Depeche Mode Challenge - Day 18.

 

Depeche Mode song you can’t help but sing along 

@thewaisthigh #30dayDM Day 18 - DM song u can't help but sing - "Photographic" - and for this I say: Thank you Vince!

Happy 30th Birthday "Just Can't Get Enough."

The first Depeche Mode single to be released in the U.S., "Just Can't Get Enough" was released in the U.K. on Sept. 7, 1981 and was the final song Vince Clarke wrote before he left the band. The video for the song was DM's first.

Erasure Announces U.S. Tour.

 

Along with revealing the title of their forthcoming album Tomorrow's World, which is set to be released in the fall, Erasure announced today that they will be touring the U.S. and Canada for the first time in five years.

With a stop in Waist High's own Portland, Oregon, the 25-date U.S. tour begins on Aug. 31 in Tampa, continues through September, and finishes in Seattle on Oct. 6. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, June 24. See the Erasure website for details. 

From Erasure: Tomorrow's World was written in New York, London, and at Vince Clarke's cabin studio in Maine following a short break, which found Andy Bell recording and releasing his second solo album Non Stop, and Vince Clarke reuniting with former Yazoo partner Alison Moyet for a recent tour. It was recorded in Maine, London and Los Angeles between January and June 2011, with Vince using his vintage collection of analog synths for the final touch. The end result is a collection of electronic songs that sound totally contemporary and classic at the same time. 

Photo: Erasure

Vince Clarke And The Temple Of Synth.

 

For an episode of Electric Independence Motherboard.TV visits Vince Clarke in the woods of Maine where he constructed a cabin for his vast collection of machines, including some that he used during his time with Depeche Mode. 

"Vince Clarke is a man synonymous with synth pop and a legend in the history of electronic music. He's famous for founding three of the most popular and lasting musical acts in history: Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure. But his distinct sonic output depends upon another feat: he has spent the last 30 years amassing one of the world's most impressive collections of rare, 'holy grail' analogue synthesizers." 

To Clarke, music is still magic even now, an alchemy in which he gets to make "something from nothing." 

Photo: Motherboard.TV

Further Proof That "Without Music, Life Would Be A Mistake."

Early electronic music at it's finest, "New Life" was Depeche Mode's second single, and their first to reach the UK Top 40. The song was originally released Jun. 13, 1981.

"New Life" was written by Vince Clarke.

Vince Clarke Wins Ivor Novello Award.

Saying that it was "a real honour to get this award," the great Vince Clarke picked up the prestigious award on May 21 for Outstanding Song Collection, in recognition of 30 years in the music industry.

"Presented annually at the Grosvenor House, London, The Ivors continue to be acknowledged as amongst the most widely coveted awards for British songwriters or composers in the world."

Vince Clarke's songwriting credits include 13 studio albums with Erasure, all but two songs on Depeche Mode's 1981 debut album Speak & Spell, and the Yazoo albums Upstairs at Eric's and You and Me Both.

Photo: Fred Field via The Boston Globe
Quote: The Ivors

Yazoo Coming To The U.S.

"Whoever said synthesiser music has no feeling can start eating their hearts out now." The Daily Mirror, 28th August 1982

Vince Clarke & Alison Moyet, reunited for the first time in over 25 years, have announced a brief U.S. trek in July.

The pair announced in January that they will be reuniting as the short-lived but much-loved Yazoo for what is being called the Reconnected tour, starting in Glasgow on the 4th of June.

Reconnected is being preceded by the release of In Your Room, a 4-disc box set which includes remasters and 5.1 mixes of both the Yazoo classic albums Upstairs At Eric's and You And Me Both, b-sides and remixes, a DVD featuring a new short film containing exclusive new interviews with Clarke and Moyet, and the promo videos for "Don't Go," "The Other Side Of Love," "Nobody's Diary," "Situation (1990)," and "Only You (1999)."

A limited edition vinyl 12" with new dance mixes will also be released to promote the set.

The joyous, unlikely coming together of Vince Clarke, who had just left Depeche Mode, and Alison Moyet lasted for only two albums, saw them performing only 24 concerts worldwide, but left an indelible mark on pop. Yazoo released Upstairs At Erics in July 1982 and then parted company just 12 months later on release of the second album You And Me Both, which reached #1 in the UK. Vince and Alison have since gone on to have their own successful careers, Vince with Erasure and Alison as a solo performer, both releasing critically acclaimed albums in 2007.

The Reconnected tour will also see Yazoo perform material from You And Me Both for the very first time.

US TOUR - JULY 2008
July 7: Oakland, CA [Paramount Theatre]
July 10: Los Angeles, CA [Orpheum Theatre]
July 11: Los Angeles, CA [Orpheum Theatre]
July 14: Chicago, IL [Chicago Theater]
July 16: New York, NY [Terminal 5]
July 17: New York, NY [Terminal 5]

Photo & material: myspace.com/yazooofficial & myspace.com/alisonmoyetofficial via chrissyfessler.blogspot.com

Yazoo To Reform.

VINCE CLARKE AND ALISON MOYET TO REUNITE FOR FIRST UK SHOWS IN 25 YEARS

Vince Clarke & Alison Moyet have announced that they will reunite for the first time in over 25 years for Reconnected, a UK tour in June, starting in Glasgow on the 4th and culminating in a headline show at London's Hammersmith Apollo on the 18th.

The tour is preceded by the release of In Your Room, a 4 disc box set which includes remasters and 5.1 mixes of both Yazoo's classic albums Upstairs at Eric's and You And Me Both, b-sides and remixes, a DVD featuring a new short film containing exclusive new interviews with Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, and the promo videos for "Don't Go," "The Other Side of Love," "Nobody's Diary," "Situation (1990)" and "Only You (1999)."

The joyous, unlikely coming together of Vince Clarke, who had just left Depeche Mode, and Alison Moyet, lasted for only 2 albums, saw them performing only 24 concerts worldwide, but left an indelible mark on pop. Yazoo released Upstairs at Eric's in July 1982 then parted company just 12 months later on release of the second album You And Me Both, which reached #1 in the UK. Vince and Alison have since gone on to have their own successful careers, Vince with Erasure and Alison as a solo performer, both releasing critically acclaimed albums in 2007. The Reconnected tour will also see Yazoo perform material from You And Me Both live for the very first time.

Material: myspace.com/alisonmoyetofficial

Upstairs At Eric's & You And Me Both To Be Reissued.

Mute Records is back in reissue mode as they plan to release both albums of the short-lived but highly successful duo Yazoo (Yaz in the U.S.) Both 1982's Upstairs at Eric's and 1983's You and Me Both will be remastered and re-released next year, possibly in combination with a DVD attached.

The band's first official website hub at yazooinfo.com links to the band's official myspace page and to a mailing list link for a newsletter which will start early next year.

Yazoo are rumoured to be planning a burst of activity to mark the releases, and online rumour and speculation involves Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke reuniting for some special live shows.

Material: side-line.com/news & remembertheeighties.com

Happy 25th Birthday Upstairs At Eric's.

Released 25 years ago this month, Upstairs at Eric's reached #2 in the UK and has been hailed as a landmark synth pop release; a record that established the link between American-style R&B and European electronica. Named after the duo's living space in producer Eric Radcliffe's home during the recording, Upstairs at Eric's contains the three classic singles "Don't Go," "Situation," and "Only You."

Departing Depeche Mode after their first album Speak and Spell, Vince Clarke formed Yazoo in 1981 with Alison Moyet, a veteran of a number of southeast Essex based punk and rock bands. Their second and final album You and Me Both went to #1 in the UK, however on the eve of the album's UK release, Clarke and Moyet announced their split.

"Upstairs at Eric's is a true classic of not only the 80's synth-pop movement but also, without exaggeration, of 20th century music. On the one side is the genius of Vince Clarke on the synthesizers and on the other side, the beautiful, unmatched powerful voice of Alison Moyet. They were together for only two albums but they attained immortality with these. Every song in this album is a work of genius. Arrangements are first class. This is a once in a lifetime performance."

"The FINEST piece of electronic pop music to come out of the Eighties."

Material: wikipedia.org, Halil Bolayirli and J. Brady via amazon.com, and synt.nu/depeche via chrissyfessler.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Vince Clarke.

In the small town of Basildon, outside London, there lived two guys named Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher. In 1976 they formed a band called "No Romance In China." At that same time, a guy named Martin Gore was a guitarist in the band "Norman and the Worms." By 1979 Clarke and Gore were playing together in the guitar and synth band "French Look." Soon, Fletcher joined them and they changed their name to "Composition of Sound."

In 1980, a guy named David Gahan was drafted in to complete the line up and the band was re-named Depeche Mode.

The band became part of Daniel Miller's Mute label by verbal contract, and released their first album in 1981. For Speak and Spell, Clarke penned "Dreaming of Me," "New Life," and "Just Can't Get Enough." While the band was promoting the album, Clarke began to publicly admit his discomfort with the level of success that Depeche Mode was achieving, and departed shortly thereafter.

Clarke has commented on Depeche Mode's post Speak and Spell material as being a little dark for his taste, but good nonetheless.

Clarke then teamed up with singer Alison Moyet to form Yaz, who produced two albums. Upstairs at Eric's gave us the greats "Don't Go," "Situation," and "Only You," and You and Me Both delivered "Nobody's Diary."

In 1985 Clarke put an ad in Melody Maker for a singer, and the forty-first applicant was Andy Bell, a fan of his earlier projects. He teamed with Bell to form the group Erasure, and the duo has become one of the biggest selling acts in British pop music history. Songs include Waist High favorites "Oh L'amour," "Sometimes," "Chains of Love," and "A Little Respect."

The band have released fifteen albums in their twenty-one years together, most recently 2006's Union Street.

Photo: jencray.com
Material: wikipedia.org & synt.nu/depeche

Happy Birthday Andy Bell.

The Erasure story began in 1985 when former Depeche Mode and Yazoo founding member Vince Clarke advertised to find a singer for his new project. Then just 21, ex-butcher Andy was the 41st candidate that Vince auditioned, but their creative chemistry clicked instantly. Before long the pair were scoring the first of five number one albums and started racking up an incredible 32 consecutive singles in the Top 40, with more than 14 million albums sold so far.

On their brand new album Union Street, Vince and Andy have delivered their biggest surprise yet. In a boldly experimental step for an electronic band, they have unplugged themselves, bringing new soulful depths and acoustic textures of 11 songs spanning their entire career.

Andy releases a new single via Sanctuary Records on 22nd May 2006. "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" is taken from the Erasure frontman's debut solo album Electric Blue, which was released in October 2005.

Material: andybell.com & erasureinfo.com

Happy Birthday Vince Clarke.

Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure founder. Driving force "behind the rise and continued vitality of the synth pop movement, his work proving an enormous influence on the subsequent emergence of electronica."

Photo by: Dirk Lindner via erasureinfo.com
Quote: icebergradio.com