''The Circus'' is the second 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 30 March 1987 by

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

in Germany and the United Kingdom and on 7 July 1987 by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

in the United States. It was Erasure's second consecutive album to be produced by

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

. ''The Circus'' became the duo's breakthrough in the UK, spawning four successful 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 US did not occur with this album, it did generate two hits (including a number-one) on ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. It also became their first record to enter the ''Billboard'' 200. '' The Two Ring Circus'', also released in 1987, is a double 12-inch 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 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 ...

, except where noted.

2011 remastered 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.

2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP

Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalogue, and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary,

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

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.

2016 "30th anniversary edition" US remastered LP

In 2016, American boutique record label Intervention Records acquired access to

' US analogue masters of Erasure's '' Wonderland'' (1986) and ''The Circus'' (1987), as well as the rights to remaster and reissue them. ''Wonderland'' was released in December of that year, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and in a 60s-style Tip-On jacket. However, despite finalized art copy and announcing that production had completed for its Q1 2017 release, ''The Circus'' was withdrawn in February of that year.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Circus 1987 albums Albums produced by Flood (producer) Erasure albums Mute Records albums Sire Records albums