By Don Chareunsy
Gay icon Andy Bell, frontman of the enduring electropop duo Erasure, is making his one-night-only debut performance at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday, Oct. 26, with “Andy Bell of Erasure.”
Since the release of Erasure’s debut album “Wonderland,” the duo (Bell with keyboardist Vince Clarke) has sold more than 20 million albums (with five of them hitting the U.K.’s No. 1 spot) and have amassed 17 Top 10 U.K. singles. Their hits include “A Little Respect,” “Sometimes,” “Chains of Love” and “Always.”
Following their success and being named Best British Group at The Brit Awards, Bell embarked on a solo career, writing and recording two solo albums – “Electric Blue” (2005) and “Non-Stop” (2010). In 2014, Bell topped the Billboard Dance Charts with “Aftermath (Here We Go),” a collaboration with Dave Audé.
Bell has collaborated with artists including British Electric Foundation, Jake Shears, Claudia Brücken, Perry Farrell and Shelter and is a respected remixer, working with artists including Yazoo, Goldfrapp and Sandra Bernhardt. Bell is working on new solo material and new Erasure music with Clarke.
Bell chatted over Zoom ahead of his Oct. 26 date and said fans can expect many Erasure hits in his solo show. He doesn’t perform in Las Vegas very much; I last saw him with Clarke at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort in 2014.
I asked Bell about the importance of queer representation in music and pop culture.
“We have a ways to go because it’s still an issue for people. It’s a shame, but I’m glad I came out when I did. Nowadays, it’s all-consuming. Everybody has to live their lives in public like it’s a live diary,” Bell said.
“When I came out, it was pre-Internet, so we had a lot of privacy. I was able to live my life like a person. For these younger people, the pressure is tremendous, but my hat goes off to them because they live truly and openly.”
And I asked Bell to tell me something people would be surprised to learn about him. “I used to be a butcher, so you better watch out!”
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