Erasure - Total Pop! (Mute)

I've never really gelled with Erasure because - from the very start - they were never quite what I expected. I remember waiting through hours of ITV's Saturday morning zoo TX for them to close the show with their first ever appearance. Vince Clarke had always been so dark and techno-logical with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, and had appeared on the front of Look-In competitor Look Alive a few weeks before with wires sprouting from his head. So I was convinced I was going to see a cross between Kraftwerk and Fritz Lang. Yet I saw Erasure, something - as the duo themselves would say - was more technicolour Circus than black-and-white Metropolis.

Expectation and image aside, this compilation proves two things. One, that they have written a fair number of songs that are built to last (and would sound impressive in any format - from disco to piano/vocal), like Always, Am I Right? and Ship of Fools. And secondly, they know how to put together a compilation. The First 40 Hits is the subtitle of this double CD, but the Deluxe Edition box set is the one to go for, featuring a jam-packed DVD produced in conjunction with the BBC containing not only Top Of The Pops clips but appearances on Wogan, Going Live! and even The Tom O'Connor Roadshow!

As a footnote, while Andy Bell's fantastic Electric Blue proved he could cut it on his own, the compilation I'd really love to hear (or compile!) would be a Best Of Vince Clarke, covering not just Erasure and Depeche but one-off classics like The Assembly and his Paul Quinn collab, right up to the 00s cinematic excess of The Clarke & Ware Experiment.