Canal Street Online Manchester

Andy Bell chats to Chris Park

Andy Bell chats to Chris Park

As I walk into the hotel, sat quietly at the back of the café sits an icon from my teenage years, yes the angst ones where no-one understood me and I was inventing “issues”. But there he is, Andy Bell, one of the most out and proud gay beacons of the 80s and 90s and soon to be one of the nicest people I have met whilst I’ve been doing this writing thing.

Not content with his enduring career as part of Erasure, Bell has released countless solo albums including the recent Torsten The Bareback Saint and the forthcoming Torsten The Beautiful Libertine.

Bell was in Manchester to open the Queer Contact Festival with the show of Torsten the Bareback Saint. 

“We had the first one at the Edinburgh Festival in 2014 which was really good.” he tells me “It’s a strange experience. It’s full on, really full on. When we were there it felt like they’d reached saturation point as far as shows and things go.  They’d just had the Commonwealth Games the week before; people didn’t have that much money. Unfortunately on the posters we had the back of my head, if people had seen my face, maybe more would’ve come.”

But Bell isn’t put off “It was great and fulfilled a purpose, we just wanted to get all the reviewers in there “.

So how did the idea of Torsten come about I wonder, a polysexual immortal isn’t the first character you think of  “ I met the guy who wrote the piece, Barney Ashton, who’s a playwright, about 5 years ago in London and he had this idea for the Torsten character, I was a bit dubious at first but once I’d heard the songs I thought “Wow this is really amazing”, it’s very gutter humour, lots of words, swearing , it’s medieval almost. “

Bell continues “He’s quite mad. All the people he’s been friends with, they’re quite mad as well so it’s a bit like an insane asylum really and they’re just trying to figure everything out. Torsten had to leave as he didn’t want to see their demise, but in this play (The Beautiful Libertine) he comes back. I’m not really sure whether it’s all in his mind.  He’s just thinking about everything and they’re part of his memory.  He’s reliving his experiences really.

Bell is no stranger to the North West, enjoying a residency at the Apollo with Erasure as well as other performances “I love coming to Manchester” he smiles “Even though my home’s in London I always feel that, especially with Erasure, the further north you go, the more accepting they are of us. We’ve never been really trendy I don’t think, not a hip band.  I’m not saying that people up north aren’t hip but they have less inhibition. “

So what does the future hold for the troubled Torsten? “We’re just seeing how these four weeks go in London (Bell has a residency at Above The Stag in Vauxhall London for March), we’ve had some interest from San Francisco and there’s a New York festival as well. We’re just going to take it as it comes really. It’s all on a budget, when you’ve got a few players with you it gets quite expensive, travelling around, especially if you’re going to America. There are (more recordings in the pipeline), there’s a Part 3 which we haven’t started but I know Barney’s working on the songs, he’s got this whole collection of songs, he’s working all the time so it just depends on which ones he thinks fits.” 

So how do the songs for Torsten come about which are a huge step away from the electronic synth pop of Erasure “We sit down and have quite a good bitch about the industry” he laughs.” Then we might get an idea, I might say to him “Oh I really love sea shanties” or something like that and he’ll say “Oh I’ve got a song that’s right”.  It’s not like Erasure at all, it’s like cabaret, jazz. It’s a good exercise for me to do all these different styles. When I’m not doing Erasure, Vince doesn’t want to tour this year, it’s good for me to have other things.”

Everyone remembers an Andy Bell performance complete with outlandish costumes and faultless vocals, is he a different figure when he’s behind the character of Torsten?  “I don’t think there’s that much difference really, I think Andy Bell is a bit camper than Torsten is.” He smiles “Torsten is much more serious with all the things that have happened to him.  It’s funny because even though Barney is younger than me, we have lots of similarities.  We’re both really shy and having been on the scene, we go through what every gay man goes through. The scene can be quite horrible and quite raw and it’s kind of about that.  Andy is more celebrating and having a good time really.  Torsten is a bit more serious.”

The structure of the songs for Torsten is mind blowing, each like a mini play, this must be a huge departure from remembering pop song lyrics. 

“It was quite stressful doing the show this weekend because we’re learning the new show as well.  So I fluffed a few of my lines but I don’t think they noticed.   But (the performance) was good, I was really pleased. Before, when we did it in Edinburgh, I was being full on Torsten and wasn’t saying anything in between the songs so at this show I was speaking in between, it was more friendly.”

As Bell is relaxing into his new alter ego, the whole creative process seems to be fusing better. Bell explains  “The first one probably took about two months but not all at once. I had Barney’s versions of the songs and would listen to them, then I would go in to the studio with Mike(Allison) and sketch the songs out, then go away, listen to those sketches and then go back in again and do them properly.”

“With Libertine it was quite strange, because I knew Torsten already and Barney’s flavour, it was easier the second time. I’d quite like to do Erasure vocals with Mike now. New producers seem to be less about performance, more about doing little bits. “

Speaking of Erasure and sure to make anyone reading this feel ancient but it is their 30th Anniversary this year, I wondered what would be done to mark this milestone.  

“They’ve got loads of stuff coming out. They’ve got a box set coming out with B-sides, two curated discs of Vince and I, all remixes, demoes, the usual things, maybe a live show, they hadn’t released Wild, they only had a laserdisc, so I think that’s going to be included in the pack. Then they’re going to re-release vinyl.  They’re getting ready to release the first three albums. Then I think the next three as well.”

Any live appearance as a tour seems to have been ruled out?  “They’ve asked us if we will do a party and we’ve said yes.  A lot of things have happened in the background, we’ve had management changes and things so we’re waiting for the dust to settle before we go out again, it looks a bit bad if you go out straight away.”

And the future for Erasure?  “Vince and I are writing a new Erasure album, I’m not sure if it will be finished before the end of the year but I think it will be.  I’ve got a few shows, I’ve got Henley Rewind festival in August. And another one in Denmark. “

After resting projects like Erasure or Torsten, I wondered how it feels when you pick the songs up again. 

“It’s strange, with Torsten on the first album, I was going through so much losing Paul, so some of the songs resonated with that, it wasn’t what the songs were saying it’s just even the chords, when they start, it’s so sad, it makes some bell go off and you can completely fall into character because you tap into that sadness and then that helps you with Erasure when you’re on tour, rather than seeing a song as Ship Of Fools pop song, you kind of think something else about it.

Are there some songs you just think “Oh God not again? “Yeah there are some songs like that, Sometimes is a bit like that and sometimes Oh L’Amour. “ He laughs as I jump to the defence of my school disco classic.

Torsten The Beautiful Libertine is out in March, for more information, please visit www.andybell.com

By Chris Park for Canal St Online 

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Published: 11-Feb-2016: (3557)

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