Andy Bell is 60 years old. Who would say, no? Some of his songs as part of Erasure They are certainly banners of an era -The ’80 – in which the English vocalist It appeared as a jumping figure and endowed with a unique throat to imbue energy and ideas to the Synth Pop. But perhaps their classic status makes “a little respect”, “oh l’amour” or “Blue Savannah” always look part of today. And yet, four decades passed from the irruption of the duo that completes Vince Clarke.
So, Andy Bell is 60 years old. But it was not the round number that led him to do a solo albumthe third in so many years of career. “It was pure chance,” the singer kindly swears through the zoom. “I didn’t realize that the last solo album I had done had been twenty years ago, when I was 40. I had no idea.” The truth is that Bell has just published Ten Crownsan album of -Vaya surprise- Synth Pop with a somewhat different approach than your songs your song Clarke. “This album was the result of 12 years of composition with Dave Audéwith whom I have been gathering from time to time among my work with Erasure, “explains Bell.
“We met through my current partner, Stephen (Moss)”, Memora Bell. “I went to one of his clubs in Tampa, Florida, and Dave was a guest DJ. He was a big fan of Erasure. His favorite song was ‘Blue Savannah’, which is also one of my favorites, so we decided to try what it was like to work together. At first I did it as an exercise, because I wanted to see what it was like to write with other people. So we wrote with Meghan Trainor, for example. Scherzinger, who is incredible, but she never recorded it. In the list of reversions of the producer there are artists as different as Faith no More, U2, Yoko Ono, Madonna, Jennifer López, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
Bell and Audé made three songs that came out through the producer’s seal: “Aftermat (here we go)”, “original True” and “runaway”. “The first two were number one in the dance lists in the United States. Then we decided to continue writing,” confesses the singer. During the time they both worked on the compositions of Ten Crownsthe singer saw how the producer’s family grew. “He lived in Los Angeles, he had two older children and one who was about 5 years old. The studio had a glass door. We were in the studio and the little boy approached and hit the door saying ‘let me in, let me in’. But his dad said ‘no, you can’t enter’ and the baby cried and moved away. I felt very bad, poor, poor.”
But the boy grew up and the family moved to Nashville, while dad and English uncle Andy continued to compose. “One of the first songs we wrote was ‘Don’t Cha Know’which ended in the album. I had a piece of paper, he put the music and I thought: ‘Oh, this is 1990’. It has that rave air. So I wrote the letters on that role, crazy. I do automatic writing: just whatever comes out. It may not mean anything and then I become a puzzle to tell a story. Then I sang the song twice in the cheap microphone … and that is the vocal part that was on the album. And people tell me: ‘Oh, your voice sounds so fresh!’ Of course, because it was twelve years ago! But we are not going to say any of that … “
The second song that appeared was “Lies So Deep”. “For me, the stanzas were like a return of Whitney Houston and the chorus some type Fleetwood Mac,” says Bell. “Whenever I write a song I have in mind not what it looks like but where the taste comes from. For example, in ‘For Today’the first stanza is ” He came down from a hill / said he had some time to kill / Of course, I said he accepted ”, which reminds me of ‘Crow and A Baby’ of The human League. That song is a total nonsense, because a crow and a baby … I do not know if they can have a baby together. I do not believe it, it is impossible.
-Who sings with you in “Heart’s a liar” is Debbie Harry. How did that connection occur?
-That song was written by Luciana Caporaso, an English singer and songwriter who had a hit (“I’M still hot”) with Betty White. Luciana is a big fan of Debbie Harry, which she didn’t know. He is as Blondie’s fan as me. So I rewrote the stanza and the bridge imagining how I would like to sing it, and then I asked if please I wanted to record it. It took a year to say yes. Or maybe she was busy, but finally said yes. We recorded the voices on Gay Pride day in New York, when we acted there last year. And I thought: “That is so typical of Debbie, send me the voices just that day.” In addition, whenever I got on a taxi, “Heart of Glass” sounded: they are those universal signs that one sees, right? So it was a dream come true to have her in the song. When Luciana listened to the subject, he cried to know that Debbie was there. And I can understand it. When I was a teenager, I had Parallel Lines And all those albums. I dreamed with that woman. If someone had told me at age 13, “one day you will be on an album with her,” he would have answered “Stop fucking!” Debbie has always been very friendly and generous with me. Faith in humanity and in the music industry returned me.
-In “Thank You”, which closes Ten Crownsyou say “we feel truly blessed by everything we have and to live fully life.” Do you have a recipe to live life to the fullest?
-Well, for me it is sincerity, although I don’t want to sound cheesy. Before it was more complacent. When you are young and you are in the music industry, you want to please everyone. You always say yes. Vince (Clarke), on the other hand, always says no. I say: “Vince, you can’t tell him not to the BBC!” But if he doesn’t want to do it, he doesn’t. Sometimes I feel that has harmed our career, but he is so. If something seems ridiculous, it does not. It cost me more time to learn to trust myself. You don’t need everyone to tell you that you are a good singer. You learn to be happy with whom you are. And it’s not that just when you turn 60, but almost. It’s like when you turn 50 and you lose your eyes: at 60 you stop worrying about what others think. And it’s great!
-Then age had to do with the album.
-Yes, but you can see that I am still an eternal adolescent of 17, right? Part of Ten Crowns Treat about building your path in this tree of life, in which each lesson takes you to another point. For me, jealousy is a difficult lesson. I am from Taurus and I do jealous. Before it was more with other people. It is terrible to have that, but it also means that you love. I spent with Vince, with his girlfriends or with other people. Sometimes I felt jealous. But you can’t be like that. You have to learn to tame, and at the same time show your heart and courage the world. It is a constant balance. But I never want to release my wild self.
-In “Thank you” you also talk about the light coming. Do you refer to death or better times?
-To be honest, I hope it’s not my swan song. I love that song for the image: a great diva enters the stage, does not need effects, only a microphone on your pedestal. Enter alone, with a zenith light, and sing “Thank you.” That is my song. For the world. And if I die tomorrow, goodbye. Many songs, even in Erasure, talk about the end of the world or the end of your existence. Because I don’t think there is anything later. When you die, Moris. So the only thing left is what you leave while you are alive. Although I also think I don’t care if people remember me or not … but that must be a lie, because if not, why sing?
-You said that Ten Crowns It is cheerful and to celebrate, but some lyrics are quite dark. Did you want to provide a contrast?
-Yeah. Some songs are type … we already know what happens in the world. We all know. And he is disgusting. But now it is on a global scale. We didn’t know before. Now we are connected, but still hide things. The news says what they can say. We live in a labyrinth of rules, depending on where you come from. Some adhere to the rules, others write between the lines. This is the first time in history that the world is connected online, supposedly free, which is not. They hide the horrors we inflicted. And they sell us things again and again as if that were going to become happy, but it does not. I think that veil is gradually getting up. But at the same time, people are being crushed. So we have to be happy with who we are, with our close people. The world has always been so. We are wild animals. We will never tame. That would be a utopia. And the utopia can only come from outside.
-And what to do in the meantime? Because in “Put your empathy on Ice” you criticize this online falsehood. Do you think that can be transcended?
-I think so. And I think we are already doing it. But we don’t know. It is something internal, of the soul. We are starting to give off from human experience. Of our own body. We are half robot, half human. We lose … well, I don’t lose my head, but others do, paying for your imagination in virtual reality games. We are transcending, but we don’t know. You just feel it. When you are happy, you set it more. When you are sad, too. You can practice spirituality, as I try to do, but at the same time I am a hypocritical because I like material things. I don’t know, you approach people who love and live that collective experience with everyone you know. That’s why I love doing concerts.
-In the album you use the word “Heaven” (heaven) in several songs. One is even titled “Dawn on Heaven’s Gate”. Is it coincidence?
-I don’t believe in heaven or hell. I think we create it here on earth. We are here. We create it with the imagination. For me, it is a place that one builds. It can be where you live, whatever you do. Sometimes religion is somewhat beautiful. There are people who really take care of others. As Belinda Carlisle says: “Heaven is a place on earth.” It’s true.
-And in that song, “Dawn of Heaven’s Gate”, you sing a line and then someone recites the translation into Spanish. Because?
-Because I know we have many Spanish -speaking fans. I try to learn and speak a bit of Spanish. Our engineer was from Chile, so I thought it would be a good idea to translate some lines because they sound very good. And I want our fans in Spanish to understand what I are talking about.
-Do you think the lyrics of Ten Crowns Couldn’t they have been part of an Erasure album?
-Yes, I think they could have been on an Erasure album. But Vince told me: “I don’t understand how you can take letters as soon as The Neon (2020). ”But it is so. Sometimes you have to wait for your cup to be emptied and then, suddenly, you have to wait again. Sometimes there is nothing. We have made Erasure records without having anything …
-Which is it?
-To some do not like World Be Gone Because it’s very sad, but I love it. Maybe Light at the End of the World. Sometimes I have a writer’s block. It cannot be avoided. It is as if you were carpenter and you have to make a chair, and another, and another. It is your work. And sometimes you make a ugly chair.
-And how do you feel when you realize that you made a ugly?
-Dissatisfied. You try to love her … You try to see beauty in its ugliness. Think: “Well, at least that sound was fine.”
-You had that with Vince already started working on a new Erasure album. What is that?
-Yes, Vince sent me about fifteen short ideas and I returned some melodic ideas. Then we saw each other where he lives now. He is going through a difficult time (N. de la R.: His wife Tracy Hurley died at the beginning of 2024)so let’s go calmly. I will meet him again in August. It is still very early.
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