It's difficult to explain what to expect from an Erasure performance. Having been going since 1985 the band have had more hits than Jerry Hall has had surgery but in recent years they have shown a definite slump in chart success. Despite the success of 2005 singles "Breathe" and "Don't Say You Love Me" and the album "Nightbird" reaching #27 in the UK charts Erasure have slipped further and further from the forefront of popular music at which they once stood.

They've never stopped creating inventive new music and releases, but if you ask anyone on the street they'll probably be surprised to hear that the band (consisting of musician Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell) are still going.

Since what some would say was their peak back in the early 1990's with albums "Chorus" and the #1 "Abba-Esque" EP, Erasure have constantly evolved and changed their style, going completely against the tide with genius but under appreciated works such as 1995's self-titled album and 2003's cover album "Other People's Songs", this constant shift in style culminating in the entirely acoustic album "Union Street" (released at the beginning of April this year).

Since the announcement of an entirely acoustic album (from the band that became famous through their synthetic and digitised sound) we all knew it was going to be a hit or miss affair and, despite being a work of genius in the eyes of fans and critics alike, Union Street only managed to chart at #102 in the UK. So how is it that despite the lack of success and pretty much non-existent marketing of such recent releases did the latest Erasure tour still manage to sell out more than half of its UK dates in so many minutes?

The answer, as I found, is because there is a lot more to a live performance than simply music as at the gig I asked some of the fans why they'd come for a gig that was entirely acoustic and many of them said plainly "Because it's Erasure". Perhaps it is this loyalty from fans that keeps their tours selling out but as I experienced, it is also the amazing feeling of being at an Erasure gig. From the catchy tunes that even the least initiated of spectators will pick up quickly, to being in the competent hands of singer Andy Bell and musician Vince Clarke, to being in a room full of the friendliest people you could imagine (a refreshing change considering the amount of moody, opinionated indie-kids out in the world right now) - all of these things come together to make an experience rather than a performance that will continue to draw in new and old fans alike.

The performance was at The Sage in Gateshead and began at 7:30 (although fans were present from about 6:30 buying up the merchandise stall) and I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. Considering the last performances I saw at The Sage were two folk bands and a fiddle orchestra, I guess I was expecting everyone to sit down for the duration of Erasure, clap politely after each song and then leave with complaints such as "Why didn't they do A Little Respect?" I don't think I could have been more wrong (especially on the last point where an acoustic version of the infamous little number took pride of place as the encore).

Opening for Erasure was a one-man band support act called "Simple Kid" who played a strong 6-song set about the nature of happiness and the pressures of working for a living to the accompaniment of a pre-programmed backing track from a laptop (ironically the closest thing to a synth in the whole performance). Sadly a few of the fans were not so obliging to the talented performer, two ladies (bearing an almost shocking resemblance to two Viz characters that will remain unnamed) walked past me saying "are they not on yet? Let's go back to the bar" no doubt to find a thinner version of themselves somewhere in the bottom of a wine glass. I can't talk however as I only caught the last two songs of Simple Kid's set after managing to get backstage (many thanks to Greg of the EIS!) to meet Andy Bell and Vince Clarke in person before the performance. When I finally got to my seat however I had the blanks filled in by my mate who enjoyed Simple Kid quite a bit (high praise from someone who's usual thoughts towards Country & Western music involve a guitar, a pair of scissors and a suddenly concussed busker).

There was a 10-20 minute interval between the support act and Erasure coming on stage (no doubt used to peel the two ladies from earlier out of their seats) in which we all braved the bar for a quick booze up before getting back to our seats. As soon as Andy Bell (in oddly down-to-earth jeans and t-shirt) walked onto the stage I knew that it was going to be an exceptional gig, the crowd went wild, clapping a cheering and then laughing as he explained "I just saw a sign out there saying ‘Fire Fighters Shaft' - thought it was a gay bar". Behind the applause for the Erasure front man the rest of the band strolled on from the wings, a line-up full of new faces and crazy acoustic instruments (have you ever heard of an Autoharp? Well neither have I) for the new tour that were immediately welcomed by the audience.

The band started on the touching track "Home", an odd blend of slide-guitar, drums and almost creepy backing vocals that oozed single potential. Moving on to the actual single "Boy" from the new album the audience was already won over to this new acoustic sound both by the enthusiasm of the band and Andy Bell's pretty much flawless voice.

Next in the line-up was an acoustic version of "Victim of Love" that literally got everyone in the audience on their feet and dancing along to a much slower rework of the classic track. Moving on to the standout track "Stay With Me" acoustically perfected with flute accompaniment, the band progressed through some slow numbers (perhaps too many together I felt) including their early, early hit "Oh L'Amour" that got arms swaying and couples leaning closer.

Rather than letting us all drift off completely (in a good way), the band soon moved into possibly the best number of the night which was a much more upbeat version of the your-mum-would-know-it-and-so-would-you-you-little-liar track "Blue Savannah" that once again had people up on their feet and dancing. The same could be said for Andy who seemingly missed a cue as he danced around the stage but it only added to the atmosphere of enjoyment as even the backing singers (new face Jill Walsh and Erasure veteran Valerie Chalmers) performed their own little dance routine at the side during the instrumental.

After this (and much heckling from a juiced-up audience that Andy dealt with admirably) the rest of the band left the stage, leaving only Andy, Valerie and guitarist Steve Walsh (producer of Union Street and 2005 album Nightbird) for two very slow but deeply moving tracks, "How Many Times?" and "Spiralling". Personally I wasn't a fan of the latter track, as the acoustic version strangely seemed to lose a lot of the sorrow and character of the 1987 original but as the band came back on again for principal Erasure classic "Sometimes" all things were forgiven.

At this point Andy took a moment to introduce the band, consisting of afore-mentioned members Steve, Jill and Valerie plus Cellist Richard Hammond, drummer "Big Bad Ben" Wittman and very talented eye-candy dobro/steel/banjoist Smithy (Smith Curry). Finally Andy introduced his partner-in-crime Vince Clarke and I have not ever heard a noise quite like it. Pretty much everyone in the audience yelled, screamed, cheered and applauded the man responsible for Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Alison Moyet and of course 20 years of Erasure and it really left the ears ringing and myself rather shocked that I was one of the one's joining in.

Despite being a whole half of Erasure, Clarke played a reclusive role during the performance, playing guitar at the back somewhere and only coming to the fore to play a huge bass drum for (one of my favourite Erasure tracks) "Ship of Fools" before slipping back into the shadows for a very catchy (very camp) samba rehash of "Love To Hate You" that had almost everyone I could see singing along and dancing in the aisles. Moving on the songs became slow once again and during new song "Against My View" my mate was beginning to yawn and continued to do so during another of my favourites "Piano Song" (oddly enough sans-piano). It's not that the songs were boring, but simply because the set list was eclectic at best and going from start to stop so often that as soon as you got going you had to sit back down and simply listen again.

Soon after came the moment that many fans had been waiting for (I know this, I asked them) when one of Erasure's most horrifically overlooked tracks was finally played and the room remained pretty much silent as the opening notes of 1995's "Rock Me Gently" were sung. This was a performance and a half, with minimalist guitar complementing the genuinely haunting soundscape created by the backing vocalists as Andy sang of a wish that nearly everyone there could relate to at one time or another - the dream that all the bad memories of past relationships could be washed away to leave only the simplicity of being in love. Perhaps the song was best described as Jill seemingly wiped away a tear from her eye as she sang.

The penultimate tracks were new versions of old hits "Stop!" and "Chains of Love" that left the audience gagging for more as the band said their farewells and exited stage left. This was not the end however as an auditorium of fans were quick to bang, yell, clap and stomp in almost rabid desperation for an encore (The woman on my left who I'm sure was press, stamping her foot into the ground like it was Margaret Thatcher's grave) while many joined in on a chorus of a distorted football anthem, "Oley, oley, oley, oley - Vince Clarke, Vince Clarke". It was like nothing I'd ever felt before and sure enough the band heard the call and came out to do one more track, a very high-energy version of "A Little Respect".

All in all the gig was an amazing experience, many of the fans that I spoke to afterwards claiming that it was the best Erasure performance they'd ever seen, one woman stating "I saw them back in 1997 on the Cowboy tour and that was good but that was amazing, when he sang Rock Me Gently it was like he was singing it just to me". But in the highest regard was held my mate's opinion as he came out smiling, having entered The Sage with low expectations of cheesy pop songs, and walking back to the car afterward musing about Rock Me Gently.

www.erasureinfo.com
www.simplekid.com
www.jillwalsh.com