The Circus (Erasure album)

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Q[2]

The Circus is the second album by Erasure, originally released in March 1987 on Mute Records in the UK and by Sire Records in July 1987 in the U.S. It was Erasure's second consecutive album to be produced by Flood.

The Circus became the duo's breakthrough in the UK, spawning four hit singles and reaching number six. It was an immediate success thanks to the number two UK placing of the first single "Sometimes", six months earlier. The album remains Erasure's longest-running on the UK charts.

Although mainstream success in the U.S. did not occur with this album, it did generate two hits (including a number-one) on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also became their first record to enter into the Billboard 200.

The Two Ring Circus, also released in 1987, is a double 12" remix album that served as a companion piece to The Circus. It includes remixes and re-recordings along with live bonus tracks on the cassette and CD versions.

Track listing

All tracks written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "It Doesn't Have to Be" – 3:53
  2. "Hideaway" – 3:48
  3. "Don't Dance" – 3:36
  4. "If I Could" – 3:52
  5. "Sexuality" – 3:55
  6. "Victim of Love" – 3:40
  7. "Leave Me to Bleed" – 3:21
  8. "Sometimes" – 3:38
  9. "The Circus" – 5:30
  10. "Spiralling" – 3:10

CD only bonus tracks:

  1. "In the Hall Of the Mountain King" (taken from Grieg's Peer Gynt suite) – 2:58
  2. "Sometimes" (Extended Mix) – 5:22
  3. "It Doesn't Have To Be" (The Boop Oopa Doo Mix) – 7:12

Release history

Country Date
United Kingdom 30 March 1987 (1987-03-30)
United States 7 July 1987 (1987-07-07)

Chart performance

Original release

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[3][4] 91
German Albums Chart[5] 16
New Zealand Albums Chart[6] 40
Swedish Albums Chart[7] 12
Swiss Albums Chart[8] 9
UK Albums Chart[9] 6
U.S. Billboard 200 Chart[10] 190

1997 re-issue

Chart (1997) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[11] 144

2011 Remaster and Repackage

On 4 July 2011, EMI re-released Erasure's first two albums in 2CD/DVD format. Both feature the original album remastered, plus another disc of tracks associated with the album, and a DVD containing promo videos and a live concert.

Track listing

Disc one: Original album
No.TitleLength
1."It Doesn't Have to Be"3:56
2."Hideaway"3:48
3."Don't Dance"3:39
4."If I Could"3:52
5."Sexuality"3:53
6."Victim of Love"3:42
7."Leave Me to Bleed"3:22
8."Sometimes"3:39
9."The Circus"5:31
10."Spiralling"3:10
11."In the Hall of the Mountain King"2:58
12."Sometimes" (12" Mix)5:24
13."It Doesn't Have to Be" (Boop Oopa Doo Mix)7:17
Disc two: Bonus CD
No.TitleLength
1."Sexuality" (12" Mix)6:48
2."Sometimes" (Shiver Mix)5:53
3."The Circus" (Bareback Rider Mix)6:24
4."Who Needs Love Like That?" (Betty Boop Mix)7:34
5."It Doesn't Have to Be" (Cement Mix)5:35
6."The Soldier's Return" (The Return of the Radical Radcliffe Mix)5:06
7."Victim of Love" (Vixen Vitesse Mix)5:50
8."If I Could" (Japanese Mix)3:45
9."The Circus" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)4:42
10."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)3:46
11."Spiralling" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)2:25
12."Phantom Bride" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)3:21

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Q review
  3. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  5. ^ "charts.de". charts.de. 30 March 1987. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  6. ^ Steffen Hung. "Erasure - The Circus". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  7. ^ Steffen Hung. "Erasure - The Circus". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  8. ^ Steffen Hung. "Erasure - The Circus". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  9. ^ "The Official Charts Company - The Circus by Erasure Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  10. ^ Erasure. "Erasure - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Chart Log UK: E-40 - E-Z Rollers". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 24 June 2012.