The two of them have been making music now since 1985, responsible for some of the more outstanding pop anthems of our time, including A Little Respect, Love To Hate You, Fingers And Thumbs, and of course Oh L’Amour. Pioneers of today’s electropop movement, they have never stopped making music and are currently busy promoting their fourteenth album, Tomorrow’s World.

I mean, the man wrote Just Can’t Get Enough for god’s sake! And today he talks to FUSE about writing pop music, working with Frankmusik, and eating Aussie breakfasts.

FUSE : The new album is called Tomorrow’s World. Tell me about the title.

Vince Clarke: It was actually the title of a TV show in the UK that was on in the 60s. It was a program devoted to new technology, and they would introduce new things like the phone, or electricity (laughs). So it was a program dealing with futuristic inventions, and it just felt right for this particular record.

FUSE: The album’s first single, When I Start To (Break It All Down), is just fantastic. And it’s got a very jolly-pop sensibility. Was that the intention?

VC: Well I think that we’re a pop band. (Laughs) No doubt about that. And I think what Andy and I are interested in doing is writing hopefully good melodies. And for me that’s the most important part of this whole production effort.

FUSE: Did you have a particular sound or vibe in mind when writing the album?

VC: The way that we operate is we write the songs first. You know, it’s all about melody and choruses and arrangements. And everything’s written acoustically. As far as the sound of the record is concerned, that comes later. That’s when we meet the producer, and the producer has a vision for the way that the record should sound. Which is what happened in this case, with Frankmusik.

FUSE: Frankmusik is very hip and happening at the moment, working with the likes of Gaga and Ellie Goulding. Did you approach him, or did he approach you?

VC: What happened was we’d written the songs and the record company came up with a list of possible producers. We had a little bit of input from the fans, as well as some of our friends, and they said that Frankmusik was quite interesting. And we knew that Frank was a bit of a fan. Also, he was on the same page as us so we said okay let’s give it a go.

FUSE:And you’re happy with the results?

VC: Yeah, I am really happy. It was like a really interesting period. Frank comes from a slightly different world to us and his sound is very different from the way that we usually make records. It’s a very full-on sound, as opposed to the minimal sound that Erasure records have sounded like before.

FUSE: How does working with someone relatively young and new to the industry compare with working with old favourites like Gareth Jones?

VC: Well to be honest, it didn’t really occur to me. I mean, he is young, but it’s all about the record and it’s all about the music. And it’s whether the producer’s contribution is valid. And I think his contribution was valid in this instance. So we were very pleased.

FUSE: Are there other producers or artists that you have thought to yourself ‘I really wanna work with them!’?

VC: Not really. (Laughs) No.

FUSE: I noticed you’ve been busy touring the world. What about Australia?

VC: Well we’d love to come back to Australia. We’re hoping to line up a South East Asian tour of Japan, of Hong Kong, and of Australia. And you know I’d like to go to New Zealand as well, which we’ve never been to before. So we’re talking about that at the moment. It’s all about practicalities. Discussions are underway and hopefully at the beginning of next year, when it’s nice weather, we’ll be coming back to Australia.

FUSE: There is a small but fierce following of fans who have started up a Bring Erasure To Australia page on facebook. You have to check it out.

VC: Okay, I will.

FUSE: You’ve toured here a couple of times haven’t you?

VC: We have. And we love it there. In fact, do you know what I’d be really looking forward to? The Australian breakfast! I remember last time I was there it was like the best breakfast I ever tasted man. The full monty!

FUSE: We do like our produce.

VC: Yeah, exactly. Best breakfast I ever had.

FUSE: What’s your take on these Rewind festivals and Back To The 80s comeback gigs?

VC: Well you know we’ve been asked to do a few of those kind of compilation tours, but it’s not like we’ve ever stopped making music and then rebanded or restarted or anything. We’ve always been making music, so we’ve always turned that stuff down. Hopefully we’re a bit more relevant than that.

FUSE: Do you ever watch X Factor or Idol and see someone you think might be an up and coming Alison Moyet or Andy Bell?

VC: Well, the thing is when you’re with your own band and your own singer and your own music it’s not like you’re looking at other people particularly. I’m not a producer, and I’m not a management company or a record company or anything. So, I’m not really a big fan of those types of TV reality shows. Mostly because it seems to me that people are performing other people’s songs. And what interests me more is people writing their own material. That’s what we’ve been about. And I think that’s far more interesting.

FUSE: Do you ever go through old Erasure or Yazoo tracks? Does it ever come up when your iPod is on shuffle and surprise you?

VC: No, it’s not on there. The only time I listen to old tracks is when I’m preparing for a tour. Then I have to reference it and prepare it for a show. Prior to the 2008 Reconnected tour I hadn’t heard a Yazoo song for twenty years.

FUSE: Do you have a favourite Erasure track? One that you never get tired of playing live no matter how many times you do it?

VC: A Little Respect is always fun to play – and Oh L’Amour – because everybody knows all the words. Playing live is all about the interaction between us and the audience, and when you see the audience lip synching every single syllable that’s an amazing feeling. It’s incredibly flattering.

FUSE: Can Andy still hit that high note at the end of the chorus of A Little Respect?

VC: Oh yeah. No problem. In fact, better so now than he ever could before actually.

FUSE: Erasure have consistently produced albums every few years since the 80s, but even aside from that you are always working on some side project or new thing. Do you ever just want to stop and take a breather?

VC: Not really. I mean, I love this job. I love it. I love what I do. I can’t imagine a world without making music. And I’m incredibly lucky to wake up in the morning to a job that I love doing. I’ve done plenty of jobs where I didn’t do that. I used to work in a factory. But this isn’t like working in a factory, it’s like a dream job. That’s why Erasure won’t ever end. Just for that reason. I mean, why would you stop doing something you love?

FUSE: Vince, thank you so much for talking to us today. It’s been a great thrill. And come back to Australia, please. We’d love to see you live.

VC: I would love to. I would really, really love to. Can?t wait for that breakfast!

Check out the The new album Tomorrow's World is available through iTunes!
Check out the official webiste: www.erasureinfo.com