''The Innocents'' is the third studio album by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

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 on 10 April 1988 by

Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

and

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in the United States and on 18 April 1988 by Mute Records in Germany and the United Kingdom. Produced by

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

, it was the release that made Erasure superstars in their home country of the UK and gave them their breakthrough in the US. ''The Innocents'' became the first in a string of number-one albums by Erasure in the UK, turning double platinum with sales over 600,000. Thanks to heavy exposure on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, it also spawned two major ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits, a Top 50 placing on the ''Billboard'' 200 and

Platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

certification in the US. According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, 23 years after its release the album has sold a total of 5 million copies worldwide. It is their best selling album to date. The album was remastered and re-released on 26 October 2009 to celebrate its 21st anniversary. Prefaced by an EP of remixes led by album track "Phantom Bride", the 21st Anniversary Edition came in a couple of flavours including a limited edition two CD/DVD set, packed inside a CD-sized 20-page hardback book that includes interviews with

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 about the making of the record and their thoughts on all the tracks. The second CD includes various rarities, including the 7″ version of the duo's take on "River Deep, Mountain High" and US-specific remixes of "Chains of Love" and "A Little Respect" that were not released in the UK singles box set. The album cover image derives from the stained glass window of St. James and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

, in

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

Track listing

All tracks written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, except where noted. # " A Little Respect" – 3:32 # "

Ship of Fools The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...

" – 4:01 # " Phantom Bride" – 3:32 # " Chains of Love" – 3:38 # "Hallowed Ground" – 4:05 # "Sixty-Five Thousand" – 3:23 # "Heart of Stone" – 3:20 # "Yahoo!" – 3:48 # "Imagination" – 3:28 # "Witch in the Ditch" – 3:45 # "Weight of the World" – 3:40

CD / Cassette bonus tracks

# "When I Needed You" (Melancholic Mix) – 4:22 # "

River Deep, Mountain High A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

" (Private Dance Mix) (

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

) – 7:02

21st anniversary edition

CD one

Same as above

CD two

# "Ship of Fools" (Shiver Me Timbers Mix) – 7:53 # "When I Needed You" – 4:00 # "River Deep Mountain High" (7" Version) – 3:20 # "Chains of Love" (The Unfettered Mix) – 8:28 # "Don’t Suppose" (Country Joe Mix) – 5:58 # "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (The Dangerous Remix) ( Ennio Morricone) – 4:42 # "A Little Respect" (12" House Mix) – 6:44 # "Like Zsa Zsa Zsa Gabor" (Mark Freegard Mix) – 4:56 # "Love Is Colder Than Death" – 2:13 # "Phantom Bride" (Live BBC 'In Concert') – 4:08 # "Heart of Stone" (Live BBC 'In Concert') – 3:37 # "Hallowed Ground" (Live BBC 'In Concert') – 3:55 # "Witch in the Ditch" (Live BBC 'In Concert') – 3:53

DVD

''The Innocents'' Live – NEC Birmingham 15/11/88 # "Chains of Love" # "A Little Respect" # "Witch in the Ditch" (previously unreleased) # "The Circus" # "The Hardest Part" # "Push Me Shove Me" # "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" (previously unreleased) (

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals '' Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

) # "Spiralling" # "Hallowed Ground" # "Oh L’Amour" # "Who Needs Love Like That" # "Stop!" # "Victim of Love" # "Ship of Fools" # "Knocking on Your Door" # "Sometimes" ''The Innocents'' at the BBC # "Ship of Fools" – ''

Going Live! ''Going Live!'' was a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 26 September 1987 to 17 April 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene. Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Annabel Giles, Phillip ...

'' # "A Little Respect" – ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' # "''The Innocents'' Live" (BBC 35-minute TV special – first broadcast 12 December 1988) ''The Innocents'' – Promotional Videos # "Ship of Fools" # "Chains of Love" # "A Little Respect" ''The Innocents'' Live - Downloads # MP3 files of ''The Innocents'' Live

2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP

Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalog and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary, BMG commissioned reissues of all previously released UK editions of Erasure albums up to and including 2007's ''

Light at the End of the World ''Light at the End of the World'' is the thirteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 14 May 2007 by Mute Records. The album's release was announced on the band's website on 26 January 2007 in a video message from membe ...

''. All titles were pressed and distributed by Play It Again Sam on 180-gram vinyl and shrinkwrapped with a custom anniversary sticker.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Innocents (Album), The 1988 albums Albums produced by Stephen Hague Erasure albums Mute Records albums Sire Records albums