One half of Erasure, the one and only Vince Clarke reveals the first and last records he bought and the one he always reaches for in times of trouble
FIRST
Genesis
‘A Trick Of The Tail ‘
(Charisma, 1976)
There was a record shop in our home town called Down Town Records. I must have been 17, so 1977. I had the money to buy a stereo record player and to buy my first album, so it’s the first record I heard in stereo. I couldn’t believe it. I would lie in my bedroom with a speaker by either ear listening to that album over and over again. It was like magic.
LAST
Paul Simon
‘Stranger To Stranger’
(Concord, 2016)
I’m a huge fan of Paul Simon, but I wasn’t into his really recent stuff. I heard him talking on the radio about this record and it really intrigued me so I thought I’d check it out and see what he’s up to now. I was playing it last weekend actually. I like to play music on a Saturday morning when I’m doing the ironing, and, you know, I’ve got quite a fancy stereo now.
ALWAYS
The Human League
‘Travelogue’
(Virgin, 1980)
One of my all-time favourite records. It sounds as exciting and as strange now as it did when I first heard it. It was this amazing combination of sounds no one had heard before, and then there were those science fiction lyrics. I still listen to it for inspiration for sounds. If I find that I’m working on a production or a remix, and I’m repeating myself, then I’ll refresh my brain with a dose of The Human League.
