That's Andy Bell recollecting his early days working with Vince Clarke, after he found out that he had won the audition to join a new band formed by Vince, a founding member of Depeche Mode and member of Yazoo. The year was 1985 and the band was Erasure. Andy felt like he'd won the lottery in those early months, and -- when he came into studio for Songs in the Key of Life -- he gave us the impression that to a large extent, he still does.
Erasure have sold over 25 million albums in their long career, and released hits including A Little Respect, Love to Hate You and Sometimes. They're back with a new album -- a classical reinterpretation of their record World Be Gone which is called World Beyond -- and they recently played the Olympia theatre in Dublin, having had to postpone their gigs there in January when Andy fell ill. Thankfully all better now, Andy arrived into Songs in the Key of Life in excellent form -- and picked some amazing tunes to play on the show, from artists such as Blondie, Madonna and Kate Bush.
Of Kate Bush he said simply that he loved her. "When we went around to her house, I couldn't believe that she was a real person," Andy added. "She's always given me goosebumps." Andy loves Bush's songwriting and her approach to singing. When singing a song, he says, "you want to give an emotional experience each time. I want people to have as much joy from the song as they did when they first heard it."
Listen back to the interview in full by clicking the play button on the top right of the screen and let us know what you think by tweeting @nadineoregan or @songsinthekey.
Andy Bell's playlist:
1. Erasure 'A Little Respect'
2. Madonna 'Vogue'
3. Blondie 'Denis'
4. The Human League 'The Sound of the Crowd'
5. The Ronettes 'Walking in the Rain'
6. Erasure 'Be Careful What You Wish For'
7. Kate Bush 'Wow'
8. Rihanna 'Only Girl in the World'
9. Japan 'Quiet Life'
10. Joni Mitchell 'For the Roses'
