Sometimes by Erasure

Album: The Circus (1986)

Charted: 2

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Songfacts®:

In this early Erasure hit, lead singer Andy Bell puts the pleasure and pain he feels toward his partner into words. "Sometimes the truth is harder than the pain inside," he sings.

Bell formed Erasure with Vince Clarke in 1985. Clarke had established himself as innovative songwriter and beatmaker in the bands Depeche Mode and Yazoo, but Bell was new to the scene. They worked very well together, with Bell the flamboyant (and openly gay) frontman and Clarke the reserved instrumentalist. "Sometimes" is a good example of their collaborative talents, with Bell's lyrics adding lots of depth to Clarke's very catchy track.
Regarded in the UK (up until "A Little Respect" came back into fashion following Wheatus' cover) as Erasure's best-known record, this goes down as one of the most prolific UK #2 hits of all time, along with Ultravox's "Vienna" and Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." This was beaten to #1 by Europe's "The Final Countdown."
Directed by Gerard De Thame, the video shows, bizarrely, members Andy Bell and Vince Clarke dancing through white-sheeted washing lines upon a city center tenement block at night.
In 2015, Erasure released six new mixes of "Sometimes" to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Comments: 1

Eugene from Minneapolis, MnI wanted so badly for this to be a smash hit in the USA! Well, at least it was a dance classic here. When this was released I was still living in England. "Oh L'Amour" was also club staple here, it was the first song I have ever heard from the duo. All told - this is part of what made my 1986! I felt better when they finally had their top 40 break-through in 1988 with "Chains Of Love".

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