Almost met Vince. Was picking up my newly restored Yamaha CS-80 from a place called Analog Labs in NYC. Whilst waiting for the fellow to get off the phone there, I marveled at some of the other synths they were working on. One in particular was what looked like an Oberheim 4 voice but heavily modified. Once off the phone, he told me it belongs to Vince Clark. I am not usually star struck, but even to be just standing in front of one of his synths was pretty cool. I told the guy I was glad I didn’t twist a knob on it or something like that. He then told I had just missed him, and oh by the way, he was leaning on your CS-80 and even pressed a key or two, as it was already warmed up so I could hear it before taking it home. I was hoping that it might somehow be imbibed with some magic, but when I got it home and played around with it, it still sounded like crappy old me. Sorry for being long winded, but thought it would be a fun anecdote.
Asger Khan Interesting, I had not heard that bit of wisdom before. It absolutely rings true however, as your hero probably could never live up to the esteemed and romanticized place you hold for them.
My favorite Depeche release ever was Blasphemours Rumours / Somebody. Yazoo, in two albums, eclipsed everything Vince did before and anything Depeche did as a synth band since. Best gig I ever went to was Yazoo Reconected in Brighton, June 2008. Vince Clarke; Genius. I love Roger Waters too. It's allowed.
Yazoo / Upstairs at Eric’s still sounds wonderful today. It hasn’t dated at all. If Vince Clarke hadn’t of left Depeche Mode, Alan Wilder wouldn’t have joined. ...... and if he hadn’t of joined Depeche Modes sound wouldn’t have morphed into the epic dark synth sound that it became. The butterfly effect and I for one am thankful of that. Another top video Vaughn 🎹🎤
Maybe more of a "Sliding doors" moment with these "What ifs". It was a more direct effect of one person leaving and another substituting him. A big change. The butterly effects is more of a subtle little change that seems like nothing, but in a chain of events it will change history in a big way.
Vince leaving Depeche Mode turned out to be the best thing for Vince and for Depeche Mode -- DM's sound evolved with Martin at the helm and with bringing in Alan Wilder, and Vince went on to huge success with Yazoo and then with Erasure. I have often thought that it would have been great to hear Andy Bell, in his prime, singing some Yazoo songs -- thinking of "Don't Go", "Too Pieces" or "Situation" in particular. He could have pulled it off.
Vince Clarke is responsible for so much of the soundtrack of my life. He is truly Holy Grail, to me. Let us remember Family Fantastic!! Yaz, Depeche Mode, Erasure, bring us Andy Bell!! I have seen him live so many times, if I met him I would probably just fall down. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
i've always thought Andy and Allison sounded very similar and you could almost hear them sing each others songs. weird that they've never collaborated on a duet. imagine them battling it out on a cover of No More Tears like Streisand and Summer did.
Loved your “Sometimes” intro! I think Vince Clarke and Andy Bell formed a brilliant musical partnership. I always enjoyed the theatricality of Erasure-and as a vocalist I have always found their songs more singable than DM’s. That’s not a knock on DM at all; just an observation from that personal standpoint 😀
Great dip in the Vince Clarke pool. I know it goes deep. I am one of the people that couldn't be more grateful for Vince leaving DM. We got the DM we know and love, AND we got Erasure. Love that "Andy Bell" made another appearance!
Thanks Vaughn.for me he is an understated genius.when I've watched him being interviewed he comes across a bit aloof,but the guy seems to just know.it was great seeing Vince and Martin getting back for their album.i think I've seen Erasure about 6times over the years.
The Assembly might have had the best "one hit wonder" during the 80s. I highly rate it as one of the best songs that Vince ever wrote or contributed to. Feargal Sharkey has a perfect voice. Sad it didn't work out.
"Never Never" was written by Vince on his own, and yes, it is quite a brilliant song. My understanding is that The Assembly was intended to be multiple one-off collaborations between the two members, Vince and Eric Radcliffe, and as many singers as they could recruit. Eric co-wrote the B-side instrumental song "Stop/Start" with Vince, and produced the songs. They didn't get very far because they couldn't recruit all the singers they wanted, so Eric focused on production while Vince realized that he needed to start a new regular band (something he wished he could avoid at the time). Feargal Sharkey and Vince would have made a great duo, and I don't know why they didn't decide to team up on a more permanent basis, but it is possible (my speculation) that Feargal, who had just left his longtime band The Undertones (which broke up) over creative differences, wanted to begin a solo career, which he did in short order after his guest stint on The Assembly, which turned out to be sort of a stepping stone for him.
Mind that Kraftwerk for a long time also worked as a duo. The Pro One is mentioned in an interview with Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy) as the most influential synth for himself. VC is great and I like his Yazoo work best.
One cool thing that survived from Yazoo to Erasure was the continuation of the story started in the song Too Pieces from Upstairs at Eric’s. Vince completes the story about the “picture on the wall” in My Heart So Blue on Erausre’s first Album Wonderland. Vince will always be the “father of synth pop”!
Vince Clarke once said in interview, that he often writes songs on the acoustic guitar. all that complex layered synth arrangements come later in the studio.
For Yazoo they hated each other at the time. They recorded separately where she would come in the morning to sing and Vince would work on the synths at night. The synth with the blues vocals works so well bringing soul into a synth sound complimenting so well.
Vaughn, i`m so grateful and delighted that you finally did a Vince video!! I wanted to comment already on one of your last Depeche Mode videos that i would deeply appreciate you making a video to " Upstairs at Erics" which i am still full of anticipation of you doing a review of that specific album! VINCE to me is the man - He is an introvert but has a very special charisma, sexy through intelligence.. A recognizable songwriter without being predictable .. You briefly nailed alot of what makes his songs sound good. And for the similarities of Andy and Allison`s vocals? Hell yes! Just listen to Erasure`s HALLOWED GROUND for instance - This could have easily been Moyet`s voice too! UPSTAIRS AT ERICS was the album where Vince proved he was a more mature song writer and the entire sounds changed and song structures ( in parts maybe through Moyets "Bluesy" approach) THIS was indeed the precursor of Erasure - But then again there were some maybe leftover ideas from Depeche Mode like on "Bad Connection" which have easily have been on the SPEAK AND SPELL ALBUM. I really love how you pick out the ( to me) most significant songs and sing them! Thank you again for doing this and keeping the good chemistry up!!!!
The Assembly, I believe, was always intended to be a project with different lead vocalists. Fergal was just one of the vocalists for Never, Never. Vince also did a single with Paul Quinn, called One Day.
Wow - so glad I stumbled on your channel, and listening to you talk about my keyboard idol Vince Clarke. Although I prefer his earlier work - DepecheMode, Yazoo, Assembly - his genius is unmistakable. I grew up listening to his music, and to this day, and his albums always have a permanent home on my phone. Can't wait for you to do the piece on Alison Moyet!
I'm a child of the 80s, I was always fond of synth-pop/post-punk. Within that period of time songs were produced that survived decades. Those melodies are seemingly simple but in truth you need a lot of inspiration! Today's artists lack in inspiration, they produce songs that survive some weeks... Vince is a genius and I still love Erasure ♥
I think it`s check and rectangular rather then square I see Vince's music in this means. I think open it! I can`t it`s locked. Here take this hammer. It`s opened? What`s inside ? , I`m not sure but is Depeche Mode , Yazoo and Erasure ...... And look what a beautiful treasure they left me. I like so much VINCE`s music , his many project. Music it`s covered with dust and he to clean it. Thanks Vaughn !
I can't remember which program it was off but there is footage of Vince and Andy doing rough drafts of Perfect Stranger and Chorus. Vince played the guitar on Perfect Stranger and used a Roland TR-606 for the drum beat and on Chorus a Roland MC-4, Roland System 700 and an ARP 2600.
Vince Clarke is a genius I understand just what you mean re the basic tune and then what is added. One of the many things I have enjoyed about Vince Clarke’s songwriting is the nuances he adds to tunes. This was a really interesting talk .. thank you
You make a great point about the melody. If it's a great song, it'll sound great regardless of what equipment you use. In Vince Clarke's example, he loves his analogue gear and likes tinkering with sound. On a complete opposite side of things, you get guys like Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, who don't really care about doing all that and majority of the time would stick to whatever presets were available. Both would result in equally great songs.
Vince Clarke have been so Important for Pop Music through the Years!! So Many Hits from The first Depeche Mode then Yazoo & Erasure. Vince also did a album and 3 singles with Robert Marlow. Perfect clip Vaughn!! Around 20-25 minutes is nice! Very entertaining as always of course! Hope for a-ha soon! Looking forward to Yazoo of course! THANKS for this!! =)
This may be incredibly obvious, but I remember seeing an interview with Alison Moyet where she said that one of the reasons why Vince was doing a lot of arpeggios in Yazoo was because he was using monophonic synthesizers. When I heard that, I realized that the technical limitation of the instrument actually contributed to a key part of the sound. Again, this is probably obvious to musicians like yourself, but it may be a part of why the music of Vince Clarke (and others) can stand alone in terms of melody and chord progression. It's because he's starting with melody and chord progression and then having to perform it within the limitations of the instrument.
Loved Yazoo, Situation is one of my all time records, never really got on with Erasure. Did You Know, VC's Studio is at the bottom of his garden but VC drives there every morning, He says He likes thinking of it as driving to work. Let's hope he doesn't get into a traffic jam in rush hour................
Well, it was a few hundred feet away, and there is sometimes a lot of snow in Maine. Martin Gore thinks this is weird, but it made perfect sense to Vince, for whom home is home and work is work, I guess. As for traffic jams, it's more likely that a fallen tree would block his path, because his studio was basically in a forest.
@@sunilsolanki That's true, although if he had more land, as he'd had before, he'd prefer to build a studio that was separate from his home. That's the way it was with his homes in Surrey (a separate copper "igloo" known as 37B) and Maine (a cabin in the woods called...The Cabin). Unfortunately, this is not possible at his current home, so the basement will have to do.
When they play live Vince uses Logic which is a Daw as you probably know. I've seen them six times and only in 1997 at Manchester Academy U.K have I seen Vince with multiple Keyboards live. I know it must have been really hard work as early analogue synths didn't have much in the way of presets. Artists often had to talk between songs while changing settings on their synths. You missed out the Moog I now he is a big fan of those Modular and Mini. I saw them at a concert in Nottingham U.K in 2006 strip back the songs with acoustic & orchestral accompaniment. Just as you say great songs no matter how they are played.Vince is just pure genius so proud to have grown up listening to his music.
Vince composes on Logic, as well, and ultimately it is all converted, part by part, to CV-Gate and his analog synths. Whenever Vince has brought multiple analogue synths on tour, which he doesn't always do, he tends to bring his Jupiter-8s or anything that has a digital memory. He'll bring synths without memory and program them live, too, but doesn't usually go through the trouble these days. Usually it's just his Mac, Logic, and a tiny MIDI keyboard for him to peck on occasionally (plus backup samplers and, as a last resort in case of massive equipment failure, full recordings of all of the backing tracks). As for Moog equipment, he still has a Minimoog, and I could swear that I saw a Moog Source in his current basement studio in Brooklyn, but he sold his Moog Modular some years ago. It was just too unstable in its tuning, and he felt that its sound didn't add anything unique to his ensemble. In general, every piece of equipment in his studio is only there if it gets used a fair amount. He used to collect, but has gotten over that phase, and now only keeps a few memorabilia from Depeche Mode's early days, just to have them. Everything else that doesn't get used gets sold now. Another equipment note is that contrary to common belief Vince does use a few digital synths, such as the Roland JP-8000 (analog modeling), Roland D-50, Korg M1, Casio CZ-101, and Clavia Nord Lead (only the rack-mount version now); there are a few others that I'm not able to recall at the moment. Oh yeah, his PPG Wave 2.2; there are a few more. Additionally, two of Erasure's albums, _Nightbird_ and _Light at the End of the World_ , were performed entirely on soft-synths, since at the time Vince didn't have all of his analog synths set up in a usable studio. He had just moved to the US to live with his girlfriend/fiancée/wife, some of his synths were damaged by a flood, some of them had to be converted for use in the US, and designing a whole new studio space was just too much at the time, so he went ahead and used soft-synths for two full albums. And they still sound great, although they do sound subtly different in a way: too digital-perfect, if you will. Vince has been very happy to have everything all properly set up since then, since he doesn't just prefer how analog synths sound, he enjoys working with them much more than soft-synths, as well.
V.Clarke was not sure he could go on. He was surprised D.Miller liked "only you" because DM turn down that track when Vince left it as a parting gift. He said that him self.
Good honest summary of Vince. However, fact, one inaccuracy. Vince broke up Yazoo during early recording of You and Me Both. Alison didn't want to break up.
Exactly, Vince hardly interacted with Alison during the entire Yazoo period, poor thing. Andy Bell is fine but Vince and Allison's work on Yazoo is amazing on so many ways. I always wonder what could have been. I thought Alison was male for quite a while before learning more about the band. In many ways she has such an incredible voice.
This was a great video......I was devastated when Yazoo split up, we then had The Assembly then the Paul Quinn - One Day single, both got airplay but faded away. Erasure have stood the test of time. A Yazoo album review is going to be great, Upstairs at Eric's is my favourite. I remember reading words that were inscribed into the lead out section of various Mute vinyl releases...anyone else remember seeing these?
You are a amazing artist , I love your videos. Your Depeche mode ones are my favorites. Thank you for your knowledge and dedication to such fine music. Can't wait for your Alyson moyet videos.... Thank you, thank you!
Well done, sir. I saw the pic of VC & MG during the video, but I thought you would touch on VCMG at some point as well. If you did, I missed it. Erasure is beyond amazing.
Hi Vaughn,thanks for your channel is amazing.i love all of this artists like you.Modern talking ,Dieter Bohlen maybe is not the same level like the rest,but i think they deserve to be in your channel.thk
Great video , you asked for suggestions on more videos about Vince , I say delve deeper into his songwriting breaking down the songs , chords , melodies ..... He's written some of the best pop songs .
I remember seeing a Vince Clarke interview where he said something along the lines of “ I wasn’t out to make the greatest pop song ever as that had already been done with Video killed the radio star.
If I recall Vince said he likes Analog Synthesizers over digital that with digital you press the key and that’s the sound you get but with Analog he feels like a painter and the pallet is more mixable so you don’t know what Colour you will get or shall I say sound from the synth.
You can see it that in today's many YT gear videos for instance and music in general that people just focus on a that great beat and meaty bass, bleep fartline galore and that is mostly it. Long are gone the times when great melody and chord structure was the king as you have demonstrated. I suspect that once we hit that "rock bottom" there will be a reawakening and revival of this style to write great songs again.
I love Vince Clarke's songs. He's a fabulous writer. Viz Yazoo, I have seen a few interviews where Alison Moyet said that there was very little interaction with Vince as far as the writing process went. Also, she is very fiery and emotional and he is well, NOT. 🤣 I don't think there was enough of a personal connection. Vince, well, what does anyone know about him? Hardly anything. He's very private. I think that probably didn't really work for her. She felt like a session singer rather than a fellow creator.
Absolutely spot on point about analog synths and their temper. To be honest im often in same workflow as you mentioned (didnt even knew VC does it too :) ), im creating ideas, melodies and basics of the tune using DAW and softsynths, its fast, easy and not distracting... And when I feel im done with that, I start on all the analog (or even classic digitals, they are charmy too :) ) synths and use em to bring my ideas to life. And sometimes im really surpriced how great the final outcome is.
Prophet VS!!!! He made me want one. Sadly, I only have the Prophet-600, as I aspired to have Nick Rhodes Prophet-5. When I think of the Pro-One, I think of the Thompson Twins.
Vince is truly a genius and I've been a fan of his for a very long time. I'm very happy that Vince and Andy have found such a great working relationship and it shows in their work and in interviews. I think he found the perfect complement in Andy. I also feel like Andy has brought Vince out of his shell a bit more over the years and I have enjoyed seeing that growth in Vince. I would love for you to talk more about Vince and his career spanning from DM to Erasure. It's a bit harder when you get to Erasure since they have so many albums in their catalog, so that might need to be something you discuss if you do an album review series on Erasure. But The Assembly and Yaz(oo) would be a bit easier. You are so right about Andy and Allison's voices, they could sing each other's songs and although it would sound a bit different... it would sound fucking brilliant! I would love you to, in the future do album reviews of Pet Shop Boys (it's a toss-up for my favorite band between DM, PSB, and Erasure [although less DM in recent years]) and albums reviews of Erasure. I would also love a series on Frankie Goes To Hollywood and New Order to name a few other bands. I am anxiously awaiting Black Celebration's album review and discussion with Brian!!!! Cheers and have a wonderful evening Vaughn!
He’s an incredible talent and extremely underrated Would be great to hear your thoughts on some of midge ure work through ultravox and Visage with some breakdowns of the tracks as they are so integral to the early development of synth orientated music
I'm a huge Midge Ure fan, and was awestruck when I met him,but Billy Currie deserves 90% of the credit for the synth sounds of Ultravox and about 70% for Visage synth sound with the founder of Visage getting 20% more. Midge Ure is fantastic but that wasn't his contribution to that.
ambidex - to be honest, being a huge Midge and Ultravox fan, I think Midge contributed more than you think to the songs. He produced the first 2 Visage albums, so had a huge influence on their sound. Billy is a virtuoso, but with Midge, they formed a perfect partnership. Listen to any of the tracks Midge produced for other artists around that time and they all have that Ultravox/Visage sound.
@@MO0DMAN I'm a huge Midge Ure fan too and he's awe inspiring. I just didn't feel like the original statement gave Billie Currie the credit he deserved. They were a great combo! I did not know Ure produced the first two Visage albums.
THANKYOU GEORGE FOR MAKING VIDEO ON VINCE CLARKE.Yes Absolutely he is a Genious and I being more Kraftwerk fan give an edge to Vince in context to using Synthesiser in making tunes then being more industrial like Kraftwerk.Vince should also be given a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.Speaking frankly Jean Michel Jarre anther Electronic Pioneer is more Showoff but cannot match the creativity of Vince Clarke which we found in his Automatic Song with JMJ.
I really enjoyed your video (especially the Andy Bell impression!) so thanks for posting. The only thing I would add is that it's easy to forget the amount of input Daniel Miller had in terms of crafting the sound of early Depeche Mode. From what I have read I would say he did the lion share of the programming on Speak & Spell. I also don't think Yazoo would have sounded anything like they did without Eric Radcliffe. I think many people think of Vince as some sort of synth boffin but I honestly don't think he is. I think he is a gifted pop songwriter who came along at just the right time, got signed to the right label and has been fortunate enough to be surrounded by some very talented and supportive people throughout his career. That's not to take anything from the guy. He is very good but also, and I've heard him say this more than once himself, very lucky.
Great video. Vince really is the Mozart of synth music. He just has a 6th sense of how to get sounds and melodies out of them. PS, I am so happy to see a JD-800 behind you! Such a beautiful and complex machine (mine has a stiff spring on one key, so it sticks until it's been pressed a couple of times). Vince never used one, so i wonder if he could be the one to figure the thing out?
Very nice . i guess that you also heard about another side project of vince clarke : the peter pan effect - robert marlow. . i think that every erasure /yazoo fan will also like this project. This album has the sounds and the atmosphere of the first Depeche mode album speak and spell and also the yazoo albums. The simularity of alison and andy's voice especialy expressed in the song" love to hate you " can you imagine alison moyet perfoming this song? I think that After yazoo's split , vince preferred to choose a voice like andy bell which fits like a glove to his melodies. Vince had oditioned many singers untill andy became his partner in erasure. Thank god he did.
Great video!!! I love Vince and almost all that he has done. Huge fan of DM, Erasure and Yazoo - and even Assembly! I like your argument about Feargal/Andrew/Alison could sing the same songs. I have been arguing that for a long time. I think it is obvious and I think it could be interesting having them interpret/perform "their" (i.e. Vince's) different songs. I never thought about the "simplicity" in the basics of Vince's music. Pretty cool (and proves the genious!). At 3:35 I think you make a really important statement eyeing the music business and the huuuuge (and often talented) amateur music scene. Doing music on iPads on bit-by-bit (pun intended) in DAWs. It has become easier to do music or rather - to express yourself. For better or for worse! Thanks again for a brilliant and inspiring video. Now I need to go listen to all my "forgotten" records!
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Roland sh-101 for yazoo. Love my arp 2600. Ship of fools and the circus are greatness. Moyet was great at least in yazoo. Erasure was a progression as was erasure after.. great review!
God Bless ya buddy...live your content and especially your sence of humor. Durring this Crisis its so nice to watch videos that are different, informative and fun as hell. Seems youtube stars all have to have a gimmick or catch phrase but youve certianly broken the mold qith your ANTI FANBOY SELF CORRECTION HAND SLAP and the Alan Wilder Alarm...oh lord I just laugh my ass off...good medicine. Thanks..very impressive how well you present all the information and behind the scenes curiosities. From a total fan..thank you. Can you link a complete verson of your intro song. That and your DM mashup are both so amazing..id love to hear more. Promice i wont copy print and slap a lable on it for sale..lol Thanks agamn V!
Hi Vaughn love your features.Love all the recreations.Unknown fact do you know the missing 4th single from the Erasure album The Innocents was...Hallowed Ground-would love a feature on that classic album 🧐
Interesting remark regarding Alison Moyet being less suited to electronic music - her last two albums are sublime, pure electro-synth stuff. Obviously much richer textures and darker moods, but still... anyway, back to Vince (and Andy). I find "Siren Song" from Chorus to be an apex (one of a few) in Erasure's catalog, not just in terms of synth and vocals, but in terms of songwriting. It is simply perfect, though never a single and never a separately standing work. In fact, I consider the last four songs of Chorus as something extraordinary, that is difficult to fault, and not achieved again (though I Say I Say I Say and Erasure came close). I agree with your point that the strength lies in the songwriting itself, and though it has never been of the sophistication of Tennant-Lowe, the songwriting has always been very solid. In this regard Love Boat represents a bit of a nadir in my mind, although there have been some redeeming moments after it. The interesting thing for me is that for the most part, despite advances in technology and the changes in musical trends in terms of WHICH electronic sounds to use, Vince mostly stuck to his guns - those edgy analogs. Even though I liked the song, there seemed to be a betrayal of this principle with "A whole lotta love run riot" and other songs from Tomorrow's World, and it feels like the Erasure sound was almost entirely abandoned by the time they got to The Violet Flame. (I am not familiar with World Be Gone and cannot comment). In conclusion, even though the songwriting has always been integral to the character and value of Erasure's music, the sound itself has been equally important. Perhaps the limitations in Andy's vocal range in later years are partly responsible - the breadth of his range was always beautifully exploited and demonstrated in the earlier works, much like Morten Harket's, the difference being that Morten has held on to his higher register, whereas Andy hasn't. Anyway, Vaughn - long story short - thanks for this insightful video. Much enjoyed!
About the ending of Yazoo - they did actually had a falling out and it was mostly due to Vince yet again act as he did a year earlier in Depeche Mode. "This is to much, I dont want to deal with all this. I want to be at home doing music on my own" Alison didnt want to end it at all and tried to change Vinces mind. Take a look at this Yazoo documentary and start after 22 minutes. th-cam.com/video/AgkuO7EOcPk/w-d-xo.html
Yeah, Vince definitely struggled with being in a band from the start. He'd always dreamt about being successful behind the scenes as a writer-producer, but never found lasting success with that, only with being in a band as an actual member. He eventually settled into this not just because it was the only thing that worked financially for him, but because he actually enjoys working with Andy Bell. Depeche Mode was, dare I say it?, easy for Vince to leave because they weren't real chummy and the rest of the band weren't nearly as driven as him at the time. He (often along with Dave) was the one who went around seeking record deals, and he was actually being picky about it! Then when they began to have some success and offers from the major labels came flooding in, he (along with the others) decided to stick with Mute (a two-person operation at the time!) because he liked Daniel Miller and didn't trust the big record companies, who all offered some pretty big up-front guaranteed money to a pretty poor guy. Vince had amazing confidence and guts. With the passage of time, he has become a lot more humble, realizing that no matter how talented he was, he must have been very lucky, as well, but at the time, in his youth, this dude knew he had "it" and was determined to do things his way. If he wasn't happy with his situation for any reason, he moved on, expecting to achieve success yet again. As for Yazoo specifically, Alison and Vince were a poor personal match, as they were as young people at the time. Alison was very social in a way and liked to probe people to learn as much as possible about them, while Vince greatly preferred to be left alone and focus on work. Her humor toward him probably came across as rather brash and crass, which wasn't her intention, but that's how he took it. In turn, Vince's cold reception and unwillingness to open up kind of offended Alison, leading to the escalation of their general irritation toward one another. Their partnership still worked, but when they began to clash a bit musically instead of each doing their own thing their own way, that was enough for Vince. This is in stark contrast to Vince's personal relationship with Andy Bell, with whom he feels comfortable opening up to--they just get along much better and really like each other. Neither ever really "bugs" the other in any way (well, Vince does get mildly annoyed when Andy stumbles into the studio at 2pm after staying up all night dancing and drinking, while Vince had been working diligently since early in the morning)--some pairings simply get along much better than others. A young Alison might have teased or prodded Vince for being so closed off, which seriously got on his nerves, while Andy would never do that. Similarly, Andy was never annoyed or offended by anything Vince did or didn't do, and he eventually got through to Vince by being a very different and far more compatible person, that is all.
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If you enjoyed this video, please check out my first Erasure video here : th-cam.com/video/0SL932JD2WA/w-d-xo.html
First ?????????????????
Beata Tomaszewska that was my first Erasure video on the channel 😎👍
If the first...... Congratulate Vaughn !!! I don`t know
Almost met Vince. Was picking up my newly restored Yamaha CS-80 from a place called Analog Labs in NYC. Whilst waiting for the fellow to get off the phone there, I marveled at some of the other synths they were working on. One in particular was what looked like an Oberheim 4 voice but heavily modified.
Once off the phone, he told me it belongs to Vince Clark. I am not usually star struck, but even to be just standing in front of one of his synths was pretty cool. I told the guy I was glad I didn’t twist a knob on it or something like that.
He then told I had just missed him, and oh by the way, he was leaning on your CS-80 and even pressed a key or two, as it was already warmed up so I could hear it before taking it home.
I was hoping that it might somehow be imbibed with some magic, but when I got it home and played around with it, it still sounded like crappy old me.
Sorry for being long winded, but thought it would be a fun anecdote.
Great Story Adam....Thanks for sharing. It probably happened in the best possible way...They often say "Don't meet your heros".
Thank you for sharing that with us Adam!! VG:-)
Asger Khan Interesting, I had not heard that bit of wisdom before. It absolutely rings true however, as your hero probably could never live up to the esteemed and romanticized place you hold for them.
Vince Clarke is criminally underrated. He IS the greatest synth artist I've ever hear.
Vince Clark is a absolute musical genius.
He is indeed !! VG 🎹👍😎
Concerte que ele é gênio
Alison moyet has one of the best female voices ever
She also has one of the best male voices ever. ;)
I thought Vince Clark's best work was with Alison Moyet
My favorite Depeche release ever was Blasphemours Rumours / Somebody.
Yazoo, in two albums, eclipsed everything Vince did before and anything Depeche did as a synth band since.
Best gig I ever went to was Yazoo Reconected in Brighton, June 2008.
Vince Clarke; Genius. I love Roger Waters too. It's allowed.
Yazoo / Upstairs at Eric’s still sounds wonderful today. It hasn’t dated at all.
If Vince Clarke hadn’t of left Depeche Mode, Alan Wilder wouldn’t have joined.
...... and if he hadn’t of joined Depeche Modes sound wouldn’t have morphed into the epic dark synth sound that it became.
The butterfly effect and I for one am thankful of that.
Another top video Vaughn
🎹🎤
Goodbye '70s has aged.... in 2017 I wanted a re-release with Goodbye '17s
Maybe more of a "Sliding doors" moment with these "What ifs". It was a more direct effect of one person leaving and another substituting him.
A big change.
The butterly effects is more of a subtle little change that seems like nothing, but in a chain of events it will change history in a big way.
Vince leaving Depeche Mode turned out to be the best thing for Vince and for Depeche Mode -- DM's sound evolved with Martin at the helm and with bringing in Alan Wilder, and Vince went on to huge success with Yazoo and then with Erasure.
I have often thought that it would have been great to hear Andy Bell, in his prime, singing some Yazoo songs -- thinking of "Don't Go", "Too Pieces" or "Situation" in particular. He could have pulled it off.
Not forgetting Vince's extensive use of the awesome Fairlight C.M.I .
Vince = pure genius. Need i say more?
Great video. To me, Chorus/Abba-Esque era albums are sonic and technical achievements for Erasure. Chorus is still my all-time favorite album. Cheers!
I'm more in the Wild camp (I find it to be Erasure most diverse album) but I get what you're saying. Chorus has some amazing tracks on it.
Vince Clarke is responsible for so much of the soundtrack of my life. He is truly Holy Grail, to me. Let us remember Family Fantastic!! Yaz, Depeche Mode, Erasure, bring us Andy Bell!! I have seen him live so many times, if I met him I would probably just fall down. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Vince Clarke Synthpop Pioneer ! Greets from Poland :)
I'd like to see something like "Melody evolution in Vince Clarke's music"!
i've always thought Andy and Allison sounded very similar and you could almost hear them sing each others songs. weird that they've never collaborated on a duet. imagine them battling it out on a cover of No More Tears like Streisand and Summer did.
Loved your “Sometimes” intro!
I think Vince Clarke and Andy Bell formed a brilliant musical partnership. I always enjoyed the theatricality of Erasure-and as a vocalist I have always found their songs more singable than DM’s. That’s not a knock on DM at all; just an observation from that personal standpoint 😀
Great video about the living legend, Mr. Vince Clarke!
Great dip in the Vince Clarke pool. I know it goes deep. I am one of the people that couldn't be more grateful for Vince leaving DM. We got the DM we know and love, AND we got Erasure. Love that "Andy Bell" made another appearance!
Thanks Vaughn.for me he is an understated genius.when I've watched him being interviewed he comes across a bit aloof,but the guy seems to just know.it was great seeing Vince and Martin getting back for their album.i think I've seen Erasure about 6times over the years.
The Assembly might have had the best "one hit wonder" during the 80s. I highly rate it as one of the best songs that Vince ever wrote or contributed to. Feargal Sharkey has a perfect voice. Sad it didn't work out.
"Never Never" was written by Vince on his own, and yes, it is quite a brilliant song. My understanding is that The Assembly was intended to be multiple one-off collaborations between the two members, Vince and Eric Radcliffe, and as many singers as they could recruit. Eric co-wrote the B-side instrumental song "Stop/Start" with Vince, and produced the songs. They didn't get very far because they couldn't recruit all the singers they wanted, so Eric focused on production while Vince realized that he needed to start a new regular band (something he wished he could avoid at the time).
Feargal Sharkey and Vince would have made a great duo, and I don't know why they didn't decide to team up on a more permanent basis, but it is possible (my speculation) that Feargal, who had just left his longtime band The Undertones (which broke up) over creative differences, wanted to begin a solo career, which he did in short order after his guest stint on The Assembly, which turned out to be sort of a stepping stone for him.
@@rbrtck I actually prefer the b-side "Stop Start"
It's a great instrumental.
Mind that Kraftwerk for a long time also worked as a duo.
The Pro One is mentioned in an interview with Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy) as the most influential synth for himself.
VC is great and I like his Yazoo work best.
You sound so much like Andy Bell. All you need is a keyboardist and you have an Erasure tribute band.
One cool thing that survived from Yazoo to Erasure was the continuation of the story started in the song Too Pieces from Upstairs at Eric’s. Vince completes the story about the “picture on the wall” in My Heart So Blue on Erausre’s first Album Wonderland. Vince will always be the “father of synth pop”!
I'm watching this again because I like it. OMG, this vid has been up for almost a year.
Thank you Ben and welcome to the channel !! VG :-)
Would enjoy reviews of erasure classics such as Chorus/The Innocents/I say I say I say they have such a rich catalog of music to delve into.
Agree! These three albums are great, especially 3*(I say) !
i love them all the way up to Tomorrow’s world
Vince Clarke once said in interview, that he often writes songs on the acoustic guitar. all that complex layered synth arrangements come later in the studio.
Mr. Vince Clarke - Synthpop Genius ! Greets From Poland ;-)
On a side note (geek alert?) The Behringer Pro-One clone has started shipping in Europe. It'll be mine as soon as it's available in the US!
Awesome Ryan!! Let me know what you think of it once you've played it !! VG:-)
I just got my Neutron and have the Odyssey already ordered. The pro one is definitely next up. Behringer is killing it.
For Yazoo they hated each other at the time. They recorded separately where she would come in the morning to sing and Vince would work on the synths at night. The synth with the blues vocals works so well bringing soul into a synth sound complimenting so well.
Yes, I heard about friction between them at the time.They were very different people.Vince didn't get on with anyone apart from Andy Bell.
I'm really enjoying your videos Vaughn, and always excited when you release a new video. Thanks for your time and effort!
You're welcome Martin !! VG:-)
Fantastic brilliant explanation of the Vince Clarke musical essence! Thank you!
Vaughn, i`m so grateful and delighted that you finally did a Vince video!!
I wanted to comment already on one of your last Depeche Mode videos that i would deeply appreciate you making a video to " Upstairs at Erics" which i am still full of anticipation of you doing a review of that specific album!
VINCE to me is the man - He is an introvert but has a very special charisma, sexy through intelligence.. A recognizable songwriter without being predictable .. You briefly nailed alot of what makes his songs sound good. And for the similarities of Andy and Allison`s vocals? Hell yes! Just listen to Erasure`s HALLOWED GROUND for instance - This could have easily been Moyet`s voice too!
UPSTAIRS AT ERICS was the album where Vince proved he was a more mature song writer and the entire sounds changed and song structures ( in parts maybe through Moyets "Bluesy" approach) THIS was indeed the precursor of Erasure - But then again there were some maybe leftover ideas from Depeche Mode like on "Bad Connection" which have easily have been on the SPEAK AND SPELL ALBUM.
I really love how you pick out the ( to me) most significant songs and sing them!
Thank you again for doing this and keeping the good chemistry up!!!!
The Assembly, I believe, was always intended to be a project with different lead vocalists. Fergal was just one of the vocalists for Never, Never. Vince also did a single with Paul Quinn, called One Day.
Interesting thank you Steve!! VG:-)
Wow - so glad I stumbled on your channel, and listening to you talk about my keyboard idol Vince Clarke. Although I prefer his earlier work - DepecheMode, Yazoo, Assembly - his genius is unmistakable. I grew up listening to his music, and to this day, and his albums always have a permanent home on my phone. Can't wait for you to do the piece on Alison Moyet!
I'm a child of the 80s, I was always fond of synth-pop/post-punk. Within that period of time songs were produced that survived decades. Those melodies are seemingly simple but in truth you need a lot of inspiration! Today's artists lack in inspiration, they produce songs that survive some weeks... Vince is a genius and I still love Erasure ♥
I think it`s check and rectangular rather then square I see Vince's music in this means. I think open it! I can`t it`s locked. Here take this hammer. It`s opened? What`s inside ? , I`m not sure but is Depeche Mode , Yazoo and Erasure ...... And look what a beautiful treasure they left me. I like so much VINCE`s music , his many project. Music it`s covered with dust and he to clean it. Thanks Vaughn !
Thank you as always Beata!! VG:-)
I can't remember which program it was off but there is footage of Vince and Andy doing rough drafts of Perfect Stranger and Chorus. Vince played the guitar on Perfect Stranger and used a Roland TR-606 for the drum beat and on Chorus a Roland MC-4, Roland System 700 and an ARP 2600.
Always enjoy your shows / TREPANIC :)
Vince Clarke is a genius I understand just what you mean re the basic tune and then what is added. One of the many things I have enjoyed about Vince Clarke’s songwriting is the nuances he adds to tunes. This was a really interesting talk .. thank you
You make a great point about the melody. If it's a great song, it'll sound great regardless of what equipment you use.
In Vince Clarke's example, he loves his analogue gear and likes tinkering with sound.
On a complete opposite side of things, you get guys like Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, who don't really care about doing all that and majority of the time would stick to whatever presets were available.
Both would result in equally great songs.
Vince Clarke have been so Important for Pop Music through the Years!! So Many Hits from The first Depeche Mode then Yazoo & Erasure. Vince also did a album and 3 singles with Robert Marlow. Perfect clip Vaughn!! Around 20-25 minutes is nice! Very entertaining as always of course! Hope for a-ha soon! Looking forward to Yazoo of course! THANKS for this!! =)
Hello Michael and thank you for your support as always !! VG:-)
This may be incredibly obvious, but I remember seeing an interview with Alison Moyet where she said that one of the reasons why Vince was doing a lot of arpeggios in Yazoo was because he was using monophonic synthesizers. When I heard that, I realized that the technical limitation of the instrument actually contributed to a key part of the sound. Again, this is probably obvious to musicians like yourself, but it may be a part of why the music of Vince Clarke (and others) can stand alone in terms of melody and chord progression. It's because he's starting with melody and chord progression and then having to perform it within the limitations of the instrument.
Spot on mate
Loved Yazoo, Situation is one of my all time records, never really got on with Erasure. Did You Know, VC's Studio is at the bottom of his garden but VC drives there every morning, He says He likes thinking of it as driving to work. Let's hope he doesn't get into a traffic jam in rush hour................
That was his old studio in Maine. His studio is now in Brooklyn in the basement of his home
Well, it was a few hundred feet away, and there is sometimes a lot of snow in Maine. Martin Gore thinks this is weird, but it made perfect sense to Vince, for whom home is home and work is work, I guess. As for traffic jams, it's more likely that a fallen tree would block his path, because his studio was basically in a forest.
@@sunilsolanki That's true, although if he had more land, as he'd had before, he'd prefer to build a studio that was separate from his home. That's the way it was with his homes in Surrey (a separate copper "igloo" known as 37B) and Maine (a cabin in the woods called...The Cabin). Unfortunately, this is not possible at his current home, so the basement will have to do.
Great video showcasing a genius of SynthPop. Loved looking at the gear he has used.
Cheers Mark !! VG:-)
When they play live Vince uses Logic which is a Daw as you probably know. I've seen them six times and only in 1997 at Manchester Academy U.K have I seen Vince with multiple Keyboards live. I know it must have been really hard work as early analogue synths didn't have much in the way of presets. Artists often had to talk between songs while changing settings on their synths. You missed out the Moog I now he is a big fan of those Modular and Mini. I saw them at a concert in Nottingham U.K in 2006 strip back the songs with acoustic & orchestral accompaniment. Just as you say great songs no matter how they are played.Vince is just pure genius so proud to have grown up listening to his music.
Vince composes on Logic, as well, and ultimately it is all converted, part by part, to CV-Gate and his analog synths. Whenever Vince has brought multiple analogue synths on tour, which he doesn't always do, he tends to bring his Jupiter-8s or anything that has a digital memory. He'll bring synths without memory and program them live, too, but doesn't usually go through the trouble these days. Usually it's just his Mac, Logic, and a tiny MIDI keyboard for him to peck on occasionally (plus backup samplers and, as a last resort in case of massive equipment failure, full recordings of all of the backing tracks).
As for Moog equipment, he still has a Minimoog, and I could swear that I saw a Moog Source in his current basement studio in Brooklyn, but he sold his Moog Modular some years ago. It was just too unstable in its tuning, and he felt that its sound didn't add anything unique to his ensemble. In general, every piece of equipment in his studio is only there if it gets used a fair amount. He used to collect, but has gotten over that phase, and now only keeps a few memorabilia from Depeche Mode's early days, just to have them. Everything else that doesn't get used gets sold now.
Another equipment note is that contrary to common belief Vince does use a few digital synths, such as the Roland JP-8000 (analog modeling), Roland D-50, Korg M1, Casio CZ-101, and Clavia Nord Lead (only the rack-mount version now); there are a few others that I'm not able to recall at the moment. Oh yeah, his PPG Wave 2.2; there are a few more. Additionally, two of Erasure's albums, _Nightbird_ and _Light at the End of the World_ , were performed entirely on soft-synths, since at the time Vince didn't have all of his analog synths set up in a usable studio. He had just moved to the US to live with his girlfriend/fiancée/wife, some of his synths were damaged by a flood, some of them had to be converted for use in the US, and designing a whole new studio space was just too much at the time, so he went ahead and used soft-synths for two full albums. And they still sound great, although they do sound subtly different in a way: too digital-perfect, if you will. Vince has been very happy to have everything all properly set up since then, since he doesn't just prefer how analog synths sound, he enjoys working with them much more than soft-synths, as well.
to cite Andy: "…my favourite, favourite one of all!"
V.Clarke was not sure he could go on. He was surprised D.Miller liked "only you" because DM turn down that track when Vince left it as a parting gift. He said that him self.
I love it when you play the songs on piano. Very nice way to explain how everything comes together
It was rusty Egan from visage who commented on vince Clarke, please do a video on Howard Jones and jean Michel jarre 👍
Good honest summary of Vince. However, fact, one inaccuracy. Vince broke up Yazoo during early recording of You and Me Both. Alison didn't want to break up.
Exactly, Vince hardly interacted with Alison during the entire Yazoo period, poor thing. Andy Bell is fine but Vince and Allison's work on Yazoo is amazing on so many ways. I always wonder what could have been.
I thought Alison was male for quite a while before learning more about the band. In many ways she has such an incredible voice.
She wasn't happy that if Vinces mother didn't like the song he wrote he would bin it
Said in my best Andy Bell voice, "Hello there... your banana is super ripe!" (chicken cluck)
I love your channel. Great work covering a niche near and dear to my era! Thanks!
This was a great video......I was devastated when Yazoo split up, we then had The Assembly then the Paul Quinn - One Day single, both got airplay but faded away. Erasure have stood the test of time.
A Yazoo album review is going to be great, Upstairs at Eric's is my favourite. I remember reading words that were inscribed into the lead out section of various Mute vinyl releases...anyone else remember seeing these?
Excellent analysis of Vince, Alison and Andy. Let’s have one on Michael Cretu and his magic with Enigma.
You are a amazing artist , I love your videos. Your Depeche mode ones are my favorites. Thank you for your knowledge and dedication to such fine music. Can't wait for your Alyson moyet videos.... Thank you, thank you!
Great insight Vaughn. ☺️
Cheers Annabella!! VG:-)
What a great video. Very educational. I thought I knew just about everything about Vince. Brilliant!!
Scott Mullins thanks for your kind words my friend !! VG🎹👍😎
Top post agree 100%... I have been with Vince since New Life, though thought Vince left after Just Can't Get Enough and offered Only You to DM?
Yes Ian , he did offer that song to DM but they turned it down. I could imagine Martin singing it though. VG:-)
Radical video! One that is worth watching again and again! You got yourself a new subscriber
Leanne thank you!! Great to meet you and welcome to the community. VG :-)
"Might be interesting if you're a geek" - amateur geek here, interested to hear about Yazoo!
Look up: Yazoo - A Short Film - Documentary. It's really good.
Well done, sir. I saw the pic of VC & MG during the video, but I thought you would touch on VCMG at some point as well. If you did, I missed it. Erasure is beyond amazing.
You need to do Martin Gore now!!! As much as I LOVE Clark, Gores brilliant work resonates with me more.
Again and again... thank you!
Thank you, Made for an very enjoyable Sunday Afternoon.. Great work!
Thank you for your kind words James !! Happy that you liked it !! VG:-)
Right. It's always a treat when Vaughn uploads.
Hi Vaughn,thanks for your channel is amazing.i love all of this artists like you.Modern talking ,Dieter Bohlen maybe is not the same level like the rest,but i think they deserve to be in your channel.thk
Thank you and welcome!! VG
Yet another fantastic observational video
Enjoyed it, thank you.
Great video , you asked for suggestions on more videos about Vince , I say delve deeper into his songwriting breaking down the songs , chords , melodies ..... He's written some of the best pop songs .
I remember seeing a Vince Clarke interview where he said something along the lines of “ I wasn’t out to make the greatest pop song ever as that had already been done with Video killed the radio star.
If I recall Vince said he likes Analog Synthesizers over digital that with digital you press the key and that’s the sound you get but with Analog he feels like a painter and the pallet is more mixable so you don’t know what Colour you will get or shall I say sound from the synth.
You can see it that in today's many YT gear videos for instance and music in general that people just focus on a that great beat and meaty bass, bleep fartline galore and that is mostly it. Long are gone the times when great melody and chord structure was the king as you have demonstrated. I suspect that once we hit that "rock bottom" there will be a reawakening and revival of this style to write great songs again.
I love Vince Clarke's songs. He's a fabulous writer. Viz Yazoo, I have seen a few interviews where Alison Moyet said that there was very little interaction with Vince as far as the writing process went. Also, she is very fiery and emotional and he is well, NOT. 🤣 I don't think there was enough of a personal connection. Vince, well, what does anyone know about him? Hardly anything. He's very private. I think that probably didn't really work for her. She felt like a session singer rather than a fellow creator.
Vince Clark is for sure "up there" with the pioneer's
Absolutely spot on point about analog synths and their temper. To be honest im often in same workflow as you mentioned (didnt even knew VC does it too :) ), im creating ideas, melodies and basics of the tune using DAW and softsynths, its fast, easy and not distracting... And when I feel im done with that, I start on all the analog (or even classic digitals, they are charmy too :) ) synths and use em to bring my ideas to life. And sometimes im really surpriced how great the final outcome is.
The Chorus album is my favorite album. I always loved the intro of Chrous.
Prophet VS!!!!
He made me want one.
Sadly, I only have the Prophet-600, as I aspired to have Nick Rhodes Prophet-5.
When I think of the Pro-One, I think of the Thompson Twins.
Another great video George!!! I would like, if it is possible to make it a tribute to kraftwerk and Jean Michelle Jar.
Thank you George , I will cover them eventually !! VG:-)
@@VaughnGeorge thanks you very much!!! Greetings from Greece!!!
Vince is truly a genius and I've been a fan of his for a very long time. I'm very happy that Vince and Andy have found such a great working relationship and it shows in their work and in interviews. I think he found the perfect complement in Andy. I also feel like Andy has brought Vince out of his shell a bit more over the years and I have enjoyed seeing that growth in Vince.
I would love for you to talk more about Vince and his career spanning from DM to Erasure. It's a bit harder when you get to Erasure since they have so many albums in their catalog, so that might need to be something you discuss if you do an album review series on Erasure. But The Assembly and Yaz(oo) would be a bit easier.
You are so right about Andy and Allison's voices, they could sing each other's songs and although it would sound a bit different... it would sound fucking brilliant!
I would love you to, in the future do album reviews of Pet Shop Boys (it's a toss-up for my favorite band between DM, PSB, and Erasure [although less DM in recent years]) and albums reviews of Erasure. I would also love a series on Frankie Goes To Hollywood and New Order to name a few other bands.
I am anxiously awaiting Black Celebration's album review and discussion with Brian!!!!
Cheers and have a wonderful evening Vaughn!
Please do a video of Heiko Maile of Camouflage and the band itself. The band splintered off to form M.I.N.E
dude, again do Micheal McNeil from SM, that would be awesome
I own Mick McNeils Yamaha DX7 the one you can see on top of the piano during the Live in Verona gig. He’s a great player
He’s an incredible talent and extremely underrated
Would be great to hear your thoughts on some of midge ure work through ultravox and Visage with some breakdowns of the tracks as they are so integral to the early development of synth orientated music
I'm a huge Midge Ure fan, and was awestruck when I met him,but Billy Currie deserves 90% of the credit for the synth sounds of Ultravox and about 70% for Visage synth sound with the founder of Visage getting 20% more. Midge Ure is fantastic but that wasn't his contribution to that.
ambidex - to be honest, being a huge Midge and Ultravox fan, I think Midge contributed more than you think to the songs. He produced the first 2 Visage albums, so had a huge influence on their sound. Billy is a virtuoso, but with Midge, they formed a perfect partnership. Listen to any of the tracks Midge produced for other artists around that time and they all have that Ultravox/Visage sound.
@@MO0DMAN I'm a huge Midge Ure fan too and he's awe inspiring. I just didn't feel like the original statement gave Billie Currie the credit he deserved. They were a great combo! I did not know Ure produced the first two Visage albums.
THANKYOU GEORGE FOR MAKING VIDEO ON VINCE CLARKE.Yes Absolutely he is a Genious and I being more Kraftwerk fan give an edge to Vince in context to using Synthesiser in making tunes then being more industrial like Kraftwerk.Vince should also be given a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.Speaking frankly Jean Michel Jarre anther Electronic Pioneer is more Showoff but cannot match the creativity of Vince Clarke which we found in his Automatic Song with JMJ.
I really enjoyed your video (especially the Andy Bell impression!) so thanks for posting. The only thing I would add is that it's easy to forget the amount of input Daniel Miller had in terms of crafting the sound of early Depeche Mode. From what I have read I would say he did the lion share of the programming on Speak & Spell. I also don't think Yazoo would have sounded anything like they did without Eric Radcliffe. I think many people think of Vince as some sort of synth boffin but I honestly don't think he is. I think he is a gifted pop songwriter who came along at just the right time, got signed to the right label and has been fortunate enough to be surrounded by some very talented and supportive people throughout his career. That's not to take anything from the guy. He is very good but also, and I've heard him say this more than once himself, very lucky.
Great video. Vince really is the Mozart of synth music. He just has a 6th sense of how to get sounds and melodies out of them.
PS, I am so happy to see a JD-800 behind you! Such a beautiful and complex machine (mine has a stiff spring on one key, so it sticks until it's been pressed a couple of times). Vince never used one, so i wonder if he could be the one to figure the thing out?
Whenever I holiday in Greece I always have nutters saying Yazoo to me. I don't look anything like Vince Clarke 😬
Maybe you look like Alison?
@@D.Appeltofft 🤔
vaungh I love your passion.
Thank you Alexis !! Lots of love to you too!! VG:-)
🤗
Ode to boy excelent song,chilling,dark from VC
Very nice . i guess that you also heard about another side project of vince clarke : the peter pan effect - robert marlow. . i think that every erasure /yazoo fan will also like this project. This album has the sounds and the atmosphere of the first Depeche mode album speak and spell and also the yazoo albums. The simularity of alison and andy's voice especialy expressed in the song" love to hate you " can you imagine alison moyet perfoming this song? I think that After yazoo's split , vince preferred to choose a voice like andy bell which fits like a glove to his melodies. Vince had oditioned many singers untill andy became his partner in erasure. Thank god he did.
I found this very informative and a very good video.
Great video!!! I love Vince and almost all that he has done. Huge fan of DM, Erasure and Yazoo - and even Assembly! I like your argument about Feargal/Andrew/Alison could sing the same songs. I have been arguing that for a long time. I think it is obvious and I think it could be interesting having them interpret/perform "their" (i.e. Vince's) different songs.
I never thought about the "simplicity" in the basics of Vince's music. Pretty cool (and proves the genious!).
At 3:35 I think you make a really important statement eyeing the music business and the huuuuge (and often talented) amateur music scene. Doing music on iPads on bit-by-bit (pun intended) in DAWs. It has become easier to do music or rather - to express yourself. For better or for worse!
Thanks again for a brilliant and inspiring video. Now I need to go listen to all my "forgotten" records!
Roland sh-101 for yazoo.
Love my arp 2600.
Ship of fools and the circus are greatness.
Moyet was great at least in yazoo.
Erasure was a progression as was erasure after.. great review!
God Bless ya buddy...live your content and especially your sence of humor. Durring this Crisis its so nice to watch videos that are different, informative and fun as hell. Seems youtube stars all have to have a gimmick or catch phrase but youve certianly broken the mold qith your ANTI FANBOY SELF CORRECTION HAND SLAP and the Alan Wilder Alarm...oh lord I just laugh my ass off...good medicine.
Thanks..very impressive how well you present all the information and behind the scenes curiosities.
From a total fan..thank you.
Can you link a complete verson of your intro song. That and your DM mashup are both so amazing..id love to hear more. Promice i wont copy print and slap a lable on it for sale..lol
Thanks agamn V!
Hi Vaughn love your features.Love all the recreations.Unknown fact do you know the missing 4th single from the Erasure album The Innocents was...Hallowed Ground-would love a feature on that classic album 🧐
Awesome video
Interesting remark regarding Alison Moyet being less suited to electronic music - her last two albums are sublime, pure electro-synth stuff. Obviously much richer textures and darker moods, but still... anyway, back to Vince (and Andy). I find "Siren Song" from Chorus to be an apex (one of a few) in Erasure's catalog, not just in terms of synth and vocals, but in terms of songwriting. It is simply perfect, though never a single and never a separately standing work. In fact, I consider the last four songs of Chorus as something extraordinary, that is difficult to fault, and not achieved again (though I Say I Say I Say and Erasure came close). I agree with your point that the strength lies in the songwriting itself, and though it has never been of the sophistication of Tennant-Lowe, the songwriting has always been very solid. In this regard Love Boat represents a bit of a nadir in my mind, although there have been some redeeming moments after it. The interesting thing for me is that for the most part, despite advances in technology and the changes in musical trends in terms of WHICH electronic sounds to use, Vince mostly stuck to his guns - those edgy analogs. Even though I liked the song, there seemed to be a betrayal of this principle with "A whole lotta love run riot" and other songs from Tomorrow's World, and it feels like the Erasure sound was almost entirely abandoned by the time they got to The Violet Flame. (I am not familiar with World Be Gone and cannot comment). In conclusion, even though the songwriting has always been integral to the character and value of Erasure's music, the sound itself has been equally important. Perhaps the limitations in Andy's vocal range in later years are partly responsible - the breadth of his range was always beautifully exploited and demonstrated in the earlier works, much like Morten Harket's, the difference being that Morten has held on to his higher register, whereas Andy hasn't. Anyway, Vaughn - long story short - thanks for this insightful video. Much enjoyed!
About the ending of Yazoo - they did actually had a falling out and it was mostly due to Vince yet again act as he did a year earlier in Depeche Mode. "This is to much, I dont want to deal with all this. I want to be at home doing music on my own" Alison didnt want to end it at all and tried to change Vinces mind. Take a look at this Yazoo documentary and start after 22 minutes. th-cam.com/video/AgkuO7EOcPk/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for this Pelle !! I appreciate your input!! VG:-)
Yeah, Vince definitely struggled with being in a band from the start. He'd always dreamt about being successful behind the scenes as a writer-producer, but never found lasting success with that, only with being in a band as an actual member. He eventually settled into this not just because it was the only thing that worked financially for him, but because he actually enjoys working with Andy Bell. Depeche Mode was, dare I say it?, easy for Vince to leave because they weren't real chummy and the rest of the band weren't nearly as driven as him at the time. He (often along with Dave) was the one who went around seeking record deals, and he was actually being picky about it! Then when they began to have some success and offers from the major labels came flooding in, he (along with the others) decided to stick with Mute (a two-person operation at the time!) because he liked Daniel Miller and didn't trust the big record companies, who all offered some pretty big up-front guaranteed money to a pretty poor guy. Vince had amazing confidence and guts. With the passage of time, he has become a lot more humble, realizing that no matter how talented he was, he must have been very lucky, as well, but at the time, in his youth, this dude knew he had "it" and was determined to do things his way. If he wasn't happy with his situation for any reason, he moved on, expecting to achieve success yet again.
As for Yazoo specifically, Alison and Vince were a poor personal match, as they were as young people at the time. Alison was very social in a way and liked to probe people to learn as much as possible about them, while Vince greatly preferred to be left alone and focus on work. Her humor toward him probably came across as rather brash and crass, which wasn't her intention, but that's how he took it. In turn, Vince's cold reception and unwillingness to open up kind of offended Alison, leading to the escalation of their general irritation toward one another. Their partnership still worked, but when they began to clash a bit musically instead of each doing their own thing their own way, that was enough for Vince. This is in stark contrast to Vince's personal relationship with Andy Bell, with whom he feels comfortable opening up to--they just get along much better and really like each other. Neither ever really "bugs" the other in any way (well, Vince does get mildly annoyed when Andy stumbles into the studio at 2pm after staying up all night dancing and drinking, while Vince had been working diligently since early in the morning)--some pairings simply get along much better than others. A young Alison might have teased or prodded Vince for being so closed off, which seriously got on his nerves, while Andy would never do that. Similarly, Andy was never annoyed or offended by anything Vince did or didn't do, and he eventually got through to Vince by being a very different and far more compatible person, that is all.
Vince is the Rachmaninoff of electronic music. Una explosión de claroscuros.
The ARP-2600 *IS* the master of analogue synthisizers, just what and listen what Jarre does with it. It's extreme.
One that would be very interesting is if you could find Mr Eric Radcliffe and interview him.
Great video but why cinemas dont make a film about VC?