Andy Bell’s ‘Extended Blue’ triple vinyl and the ‘Love Oneself’ 12-inch both miss their release date
Andy Bell’s “Extended Blue” 3LP and the “Love Oneself” / “Delicious” 12-inch missed 28 August 2026. The vinyl needed a re-cut and no new date has been given.
Andy Bell (Photo by Andreas Blank)
Neither of the two Andy Bell records due on 28 August 2026 came out. Extended Blue, the 21st-anniversary triple vinyl edition of his 2005 solo album “Electric Blue”, has been delayed because the original vinyl cut was not good enough and had to be re-cut. The double A-side 12-inch pairing new Manhattan Clique remixes of “Love Oneself” and “Delicious” was also held back for a second time. The Erasure Information Service, which announced the delay in its 28 August newsletter, has no new date for either.
The album delay has an explanation. Writing in the newsletter, Richard of the Erasure Information Service stated that “the delay is down to the audio quality of the original vinyl cut not being quite up to scratch which meant the vinyl required a re-cut, which can take a bit of time”, and added that the new cut is believed to be finished and that he is waiting on the label for a date.
The 12-inch has none. It was originally set for 14 August, then moved to 28 August, as Side-Line reported when the single was first put back. No reason has been given for either postponement. Both records remain on pre-order at Lexer Music and at UK vinyl retailers; the Lexer Music listings still carry the 28 August date.
What is on ‘Extended Blue’ and the ‘Love Oneself’ 12-inch
“Extended Blue” spreads eighteen tracks across three discs pressed in different shades of blue, adding four single b-sides to the original fourteen-track album, all of them on vinyl for the first time. Pre-orders include four art prints, and the first 500 also carry a bonus CD whose tracklist matches the vinyl. The double A-side 12-inch is pressed on pink vinyl and runs “Love Oneself (Manhattan Clique 2026 Extended New York Remix)”, “Love Oneself (Andy Bell Version)”, “Delicious (Manhattan Clique 2026 Extended London Remix)” and “Delicious (Andy Bell Version)”. Claudia Brücken of Propaganda sings on the album versions of both songs and co-wrote “Love Oneself”. Two “Electric Blue 21” t-shirts and a bundle of the 3LP, the 12-inch and a shirt are listed for the same date. Side-Line covered both records when they were announced on 15 July.
The same newsletter carried one piece of forward news: the new Erasure album is finished. Richard wrote that “not only is the new Erasure album finished it also has a confirmed name, as do each of the tracks it contains”, and that the release timeline is still being worked out. No title, tracklist or date has been published. Erasure have no live dates scheduled.
About Andy Bell
Andy Bell has been the vocalist of Erasure since he answered Vince Clarke‘s advertisement and the pair formed the duo in 1985, after Clarke’s spells in Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly. Bell’s first solo album, “Electric Blue”, arrived on 3 October 2005 through Sanctuary Records and was made with Manhattan Clique, the remix and production duo of Philip Larsen and Chris Smith. The label collapsed around the release, and the record circulated thinly despite later CD and digital reissues.
Bell has kept a parallel solo catalogue running since. Recent releases include the 2025 album “Ten Crowns”, trailed by the singles “Dance for Mercy” and “Heart’s A Liar” with Debbie Harry, and the “The Crown Jewels” 4-CD box set that expanded it, which was followed by “The Chance Won’t Come Again” with Tim Rice-Oxley. He discussed that record and his solo work in a 2025 Side-Line interview. “Extended Blue” was to be the first vinyl pressing “Electric Blue” has had since 2005; it now waits on a date from its label.
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