Erasure's Openly Gay Andy Bell Unplugged

AE: Regarding the new, “unplugged”, Union Street tour, my imagination immediately focuses on what the stage set-up will be like. Will it really be a pared down affair, or will there be some classic Erasure theatrics and costume changes?
AB: I don't think there will be too many theatrics. We are going to scale it down, but we will have eight musicians with us onstage, so it will look pretty full and sound really rich. We're not going to dress up or anything. I'll just take along what I have in my suitcase, and we'll see what happens as we go along.

AE: Might the country/western flavor of the show inspire a return to any visuals from the Cowboy album tour – or perhaps your infamous “open-back” chaps?
AB: No, no! (laugh)

AE: On the tour, will there be any synths or sequencers kept onstage for perhaps a vintage Erasure medley/encore?
AB: No – not at all… I don't think so.

AE: As Erasure did on the Other People's Songs album, would you think of including any covers for this tour, especially something you've covered before that is very country/western, like Elvis's “Can't Help Falling in Love”?
AB: Aw… you're really clever. I hadn't thought of that one. But we are thinking of doing (ABBA's) “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” again, because we did that one in 1984.

AE: All across the U.S., there is a burgeoning country/western music scene especially among younger gay men. Your new CD is really going to connect with those fans. Have you gotten any feedback yet, or can you sense the buzz, from younger gay fans?
AB: Well, its funny you should say that. We were just sitting in the bar last night, after the GLAAD awards. Two guys came up to us. They had been to the after-show party. One was a country/western singer – only 21 years old from Nashville, TN – He had released his own country/western recording and gotten a recording deal - and I thought “wow”.

AE: It looks like your new single – the same-sex love ballad “Boy” from Union Street is going to be a big hit among gay listeners. Have you gotten any feedback yet from the straight media – or any conservative, anti-gay media forces, who would oppose a male-to-male same-sex hit single?
AB: Well, what's really surprising is, in the straight press - in America people seem to be more open to it, but in the U.K. we've had no press whatsoever from the straight press. Hardly any at all, and it's not been played on the radio that much.

AE: I'm sure fans would like to know how you are doing in recovering from your recent hip replacement surgery. Has the surgery helped you feel better about the rigors and strain of the upcoming tour?
AB: It's amazing, yeah. I had it (the surgery) fresh after the last tour, and I was going to the gym for about 3 months afterwards, just to get into shape and get the strength back into my legs. And then we had to do 60 shows, and I was busy promoting my solo record in the meantime. This time around I'm not so focused on going to the gym – I thought, “well, this time it's not what it's about”. It's more about the singing and the songs. I won't be about leaping around onstage or anything like that.