Erasure discography

The Circus

Studio album · 1987

The 1987 breakthrough album: “Sometimes,” “Victim of Love,” and songs with more bite than their bright arrangements first suggest.

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ErasureFan illustration; not official release artwork.

Listening notes

Inside The Circus

By Alex Vale

“Sometimes” changed Erasure’s public scale, but The Circus is not ten attempts to repeat it. “It Doesn’t Have to Be” opens with clipped momentum. “Hideaway” places a gay son’s rejection and resolve inside bright electronic pop. The title track brings a darker subject into the mix, with its story of a worker facing the loss of his job.

That range makes this a rewarding album to play in full, even if you came for the singles. Flood’s production is still lean, yet Andy Bell has more room to move between directness and drama; Vince Clarke’s arrangements can support a trumpet line, a long title song, or the deliberate comedown of “Spiralling” without losing the record’s shape.

Go backward to Wonderland to hear the components being tested, then forward to The Innocents to hear them placed in near-perfect balance.

First release: 30th March 1987 (Germany), 30th March 1987 (UK), 7th July 1987 (USA)
Release type: Studio album
Label: Mute
Catalog number: CDSTUMM35

Track list (10 tracks)

Reference edition: The Circus · GB · 1987-03-30 · CD. Track order can differ by territory and reissue.

It Doesn’t Have To Be [3:53]
Hideaway [3:48]
Don’t Dance [3:36]
If I Could [3:52]
Sexuality [3:55]
Victim of Love [3:40]
Leave Me To Bleed [3:21]
Sometimes [3:37]
The Circus [5:30]
Spiralling [3:10]

Formats, editions, charts, and credits

Formats

VINYL (UK – STUMM35 / GERMANY – INT146.831 / USA – Sire 25554-1), DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (iSTUMM25), CD (UK – CDSTUMM35 / GERMANY – INT846.831 / USA – Sire 25554-2), CASSETTE (UK – CSTUMM35 / GERMANY – INT446.831 / USA – Sire 25554-4), 3-DISC REISSUE BOXSET (LCDSTUMM35), 3-DISC REISSUE DOWNLOAD (iLCDSTUMM35)

Chart positions

6 (UK) | 20 (Germany) | 190 (USA)

Edition notes

The CD edition of this album contains 3 bonus tracks. This album was also released as a Limited Edition double cassette with ‘Wonderland’ below (CDSTUMM35D).
The three disc (2CD and DVD) reissue of ‘The Circus’ was released on July 4th 2011 and was available with a limited edition Erasure Information Service slipcase via the official Erasure shop. This release is also available for audio download although the DVD elements are not available digitally. Due to licensing restrictions this edition was not available domestically in the USA.

Selected credits

Written by Clarke/Bell
Published by Musical Moments Ltd/Minotaur Music Ltd/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.
‘In The Hall of the Mountain King’ written by Greig, arranged by Erasure.
Produced by Flood
Recorded at Worldwide International, The Garden, The Strongroom and The Powerplant.
Mixed by Phil Harding.
‘Sometimes’ mixed by Flood and Daniel Miller.
‘In The Hall of the Mountain King (New Version)’ mixed by Vince Clarke.
Engineered by Peter Griffiths.
‘Sometimes (12″ Mix)’ mixed by Erasure.
‘It Doesn’t Have To Be (Boop Oppa Doo Mix)’ mixed by Phil Harding.
Trumpet on ‘Sometimes’ by Guy Barker.
Design by Me Company.

Sources

Corrections are welcome through the contact form.

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