"Stay with Me" is a song by British synth-pop duo

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

, released in September 1995 as the lead single from their self-titled, seventh studio album, ''

'' (1995). Written by

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

and Andy Bell, it is a slow love

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. Starting with simple synth chords from Clarke and subdued vocal from Bell, the song builds to a mid-tempo

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

-influenced conclusion, complete with vocal contributions from the

London Community Gospel Choir The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 198 ...

. Like the other two singles from this album, it was edited for its release. It was not as successful as prior Erasure singles, reaching number fifteen on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and it did not chart in the

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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In Denmark, it peaked at number 10 while it reached number 13 in Sweden. In an interview with John Marshall from Lincs FM in 2009, Bell stated that "Stay With Me" was one of his favourite Erasure songs. The single's B-side, "True Love Wars", is an extension of the ''Erasure'' album opener "Intro: Guess I'm Into Feeling". Both tracks use the same instrumental track and share several vocal elements, although they are different songs.

Critical reception

Ned Raggett from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

described the song as "quietly intoxicating". Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' felt it stands among the duo's "most enchanting and hitworthy recordings to date." He noted that the music "blends delicate music-box-like keyboards with Andy Bell's gorgeous, theatrical vocal performance", and added further that "this

soars to a beautiful conclusion, as Bell is surrounded by a

choir that adds spiritual depth to the song's sweet, romantic lyrics." Ross Jones from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named it "one of their best; a salty slowie more beautiful than this world deserves." Chris Gerard from '' Metro Weekly'' commented, "If anybody ever doubts that Andy Bell is a first-rate vocalist, play them "Stay with Me" immediately. The layers of sound that he develops, along with

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

's simple keyboard line, are simply magical." Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' said, "The question is which version are you going to air? ACE is best advised to take the Guitar Mix of the sad love song, EHR won't have problems with the electronic Flow Mix, while " dance" can do the rest." ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it three out of five, declaring it as "a delicate but powerful electronic ballad, produced by

the Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

Thomas Fehlmann Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music since the 1980s. He is currently active on the Kompakt record label based in Germany. Fehlmann is an on-and-off member ...

." They added that the "slow-burning" song "is heard best in context, where Clarke's churchy keyboard patterns are played against a classic, impassioned performance by Bell." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...

'' wrote, "Thanks to an emphasis on gorgeous torch tunes like " Rock Me Gently" and "Stay with Me", lead singer Andy Bell's always operatic vocals take on a newfound luster". Darren Lee from ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' felt that it "remain serviceable enough" ballad, "but lack the pizzazz and charm of earlier releases."

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was made to accompany the song. It was later published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

in September 2014, and had generated more than 310 000 views as of November 2020.

Track listings

* Cassette single (CMUTE174) # "Stay With Me" (Single Edit) # "True Love Wars" * 12" single (12MUTE174) # "Stay With Me" (NY Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Flow Mix) # "True Love Wars" (Omni Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Guitar Mix) * CD single #1 (CDMUTE174) # "Stay With Me" # "True Love Wars" # "Stay With Me" (Basic Mix) # "True Love Wars" (Omni Mix) * CD single #2 (LCDMUTE174) # "Stay With Me" (Flow Mix) # "Stay With Me" (NY Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Guitar Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Castaway Dub) * US maxi-single (66084-2) # "Stay With Me" (Commercial Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Basic Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Flow Mix) # "Stay With Me" (Guitar Mix) # "Stay With Me" (NY Mix) # "True Love Wars"

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles Erasure songs Songs written by Vince Clarke Songs written by Andy Bell (singer) Song recordings produced by Gareth Jones Mute Records singles Elektra Records singles 1990s ballads Pop ballads