In November we announced that the UK new wave act Into A Circle had been recording what looked like their first album of original material since their 1988’s debut album “Assassins”. The band which features Paul ‘Bee’ Hampshire and Barry Jepson were last seen live in 1989 before splitting in the autumn of that year.

Into A Circle have now released “Mercenaries”, a track originally penned in the mid-80s.

“”Mercenaries” is about the power of the word and how books can shape a person, and their ideals, in both constructive ways and destructive ways,” says Bee. The single finds Bee unearthing memories of his childhood at a faith school and reflecting on how those experiences would ultimately influence his rebellious later years.

As Bee adds: “As a young child, I attended a very religious school where each kid was given a personal bible. In the beginning, was the word! In my mid-teens, I put down the bible and picked up books by Brion Gysin and William Burroughs, whose mission was to cut up, rub out the word, lift the veil and explore the power and message behind the word.”

The release of “Mercenaries” is accompanied with a video directed by Mark Jordan.

Here’s the video.

About Into A Circle

Into A Circle (also known as In2a0) was founded by members Paul “Bee” Hampshire and Barry Jepson in 1985. Barry, who was also a member of Southern Death Cult (a band that featured vocalist Ian Astbury and later went on to become The Cult) was later introduced to Bee in the legendary post/punk band Getting The Fear.

Into A Circle issued their debut single “Rise” in 1985. It featured Rose McDowall, formerly one-half of the pop-punk outfit Strawberry Switchblade. While never a full-time member, the single’s success saw McDowall become something of a regular feature with Into A Circle, with her vocals appearing on all of the band’s subsequent singles and often as a part of the band’s live set-up whenever commitments permitted too.

Signing to Abstract Records in July 1986, Into A Circle released the “Inside Out” EP which featured input from Billy Morrison, who would later play with acts as diverse as Robbie Williams to Black Sabbath and Billy Idol.

The band’s debut album “Assassins” was preceded by the single “Forever”. Co-produced by Larry Steinbachek of Bronski Beat, “Assasins” found the band in experimental mood and exploring a more electronic/dance oriented sound.

From there, Into A Circle would cut just one more single from the record, “Evergreen”.

The completion of the tour at the end of 1989, would also draw a line in the sand for the band. As a series of unplanned twists in their personal lives unfolded, along with Bee’s decision to relocate to Thailand, plans for the release of a second album fell apart.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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The UK new wave act Into A Circle have been recording what will be their first album of original material since their 1988’s debut album “Assassins”. The band which features Paul “Bee” Hampshire and Barry Jepson were last seen live in 1989 before splitting in the autumn of that year.

Into A Circle have also confirmed they will do a very limited and exclusive series of reunion shows in 2022, with first dates due to be announced imminently.

About Into A Circle

Into A Circle (also known as In2a0) was founded by members Paul “Bee” Hampshire and Barry Jepson in 1985. Barry, who was also a member of Southern Death Cult (a band that featured vocalist Ian Astbury and later went on to become The Cult) was later introduced to Bee in the legendary post/punk band Getting The Fear.

Into A Circle issued their debut single “Rise” in 1985. It featured Rose McDowall, formerly one-half of the pop-punk outfit Strawberry Switchblade. While never a full-time member, the single’s success saw McDowall become something of a regular feature with Into A Circle, with her vocals appearing on all of the band’s subsequent singles and often as a part of the band’s live set-up whenever commitments permitted too.

Signing to Abstract Records in July 1986, Into A Circle released the “Inside Out” EP which featured input from Billy Morrison, who would later play with acts as diverse as Robbie Williams to Black Sabbath and Billy Idol.

The band’s debut album “Assassins” was preceded by the single “Forever”. Co-produced by Larry Steinbachek of Bronski Beat, “Assasins” found the band in experimental mood and exploring a more electronic/dance oriented sound.

From there, Into A Circle would cut just one more single from the record, “Evergreen”.

The completion of the tour at the end of 1989, would also draw a line in the sand for the band. As a series of unplanned twists in their personal lives unfolded, along with Bee’s decision to relocate to Thailand, plans for the release of a second In2a0 album fell apart.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

I never thought I would be writing about Robbie Williams on Side-Line, but the day has come, for a good cause.

A few weeks ago Robbie Williams hosted a live ‘Coronaoke’ session for fun and to raise money for charity while being under self-isolation because he had Corona virus symptoms. During those sessions which lasted a few days Williams also included some Erasure material. Note that Erasure supported him on his last stadium tour and Williams is a known Erasure fan.

In the videos below you can hear Williams’ versions of Erasure’s “A Little Respect”, “Love To Hate You” and some more Erasure snippets. Below are 2 videos capturing the ‘event’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

2 days after the free EP “50 Shades of Gay” by Junksista to celebrate the international day against homophobia and transphobia, we can present you an interview with yet another LBGT minded duo, namely Erasure.

(Interview by Janos Janurik) I can clearly remember the first time I met Erasure live as it was on my 18th birthday. OK, actually it was a one-sided meeting only because it happened at their Budapest concert in 1992 and I stood among the public with other fans and they were on stage performing live.

I was so impressed of what I saw and heard on that evening that I even wrote a fan-review on it – although I kept it in my drawer. Approx. 10 years later I started freelancing for various music sites – among others for example I was the editor of the Hungarian Mute microsite. I did several articles on Erasure and in March 2005 I finally got the opportunity to meet my heroes in Munich and I interviewed them face-to-face.

I have kept contact with their management/record company and our relationship slowly became amicable. I still help their work silently with my promo articles and it was evident for me that I would get in touch with them again to do another interview on the release of their new album “World Be Gone”. Maybe I have a soft spot for Erasure but “World Be Gone” is really one of their bests – both musically and lyrically. Let`s take a look in the minds of Mr. Vincent Clarke and Mr. Andrew Bell and let them tell us about their past, present and future…

SL: You recently had an important milestone in your career. You celebrated a big anniversary to mark 30 years of being together as a pop-duo. Have you ever thought you`d come this far? Are there any unfulfilled wishes in your life?

V: It would have been impossible to imagine (in the 80’s), that we’d still be around after 30 years. As for ambitions there’s just that elusive ‘perfect pop song’.

A: I didn’t really think about how long we’d last, whether it be 30 or 50 years to be honest I take each day as it comes I was just very honoured to be able to work with Vince Clarke in the first place! I think it is kismet & we were meant to be a song writing partnership. Sometimes I wish we had a bit more recognition within the industry but it’s not absolutely necessary!

SL: Sometimes you’re just ranked as a typical 80s band although your career mainly happened in the 90s and in the `00s – and you`re still present in today`s music business. Do you think radio stations are responsible for that? Do you get enough airplay nowadays? 

V: The radio station ‘business’ is about playing the latest and newest. That’s totally understandable. More airplay would be nice, but that’s not the way of the world.

A: I think pop is mainly for teenagers so you are very lucky if you manage to keep some of those initial fans with you, for me being a gay man seems to keep you forever young so I don’t tend to think about things in a traditional way.

As for the radio etc it’s all up to them & it’s all very corporate & centralised I don’t need to be categorised in any way & take no notice any way!

SL: Do your supporting gigs with Robbie Williams have anything in common with making your music known for a wider public, with the newer “pop-kids”? How did you get to know each other with Robbie? What are your expectations of this tour?

V: We met Robbie once, when Take That first started their careers at a TV show in the UK. This tour is a fantastic opportunity for us to remind people of our music… I’m not sure Robbie’s fans are ‘kids’ anymore?

A: I think Robbie & his wife maybe slight fans, I like him & it’s a good opportunity for us to play to a million people without having to do 75 shows!

SL: There is a new Erasure album coming out on Mute on 19th May 2017. It`s titled “World Be Gone”. The title is not too optimistic but its content is full of hope – except for a few parts. How can you find optimism in the most unlikely circumstances?

V: I believe good and bad comes in waves. I’m a naturally optimistic person. I have to be, especially as I have an 11 year old son.
You have to otherwise you might as well pack it all in.

Vince Clarke and Andy Bell will join Robbie Williams on a tour starting in the UK on June 2.

The tour continues through Europe in July, August and September 2017 with dates in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Finland, Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and Russia.

It will be a good way for Erasure to get their electro pop hits back under the attention and in the ears of a whole generation which has probably never heard of this legendary act before.

The duo are currently putting the finishing touches to the 17th Erasure studio album, due for release on Mute in spring 2017. Below is a snippet!

https://soundcloud.com/vince-clarke/taster

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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