The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

“You say that you’re really sorry
But sorry don’t work when you’ve heard it
For the fifty-second time
You should be ready to say goodbye”

Keeping with the Erasure vibe, here’s one of my favourite b-sides from the band called Paradise. This song can be found on the Drama! single which was the leadoff single from Erasure’s fourth record, 1989’s Wild.  Following the massive success of their previous release, 1988’s The Innocents, it appeared that Andy and Vince decided to branch out a bit with their sound. The results were well..wild indeed. The singles introduced audiences to a more confident and daring band who realised they had been handed the baton of success and were not afraid to run with it. The b-sides, especially in the case of Paradise, showed us a more playful side of the band as well.

Paradise is simply a mini kitchen-sink drama in which blue-eyed soul and Motown collide. Vince’s melodic genius drives the car while Andy rails against a lover who takes him for granted every way possible and he’s frankly had it. What makes this song so perfect is how joyous it sounds. You can tell Vince and Andy had a ton of fun in the studio, writing and recording. So much so, the song itself sounds effortless. No muss, no fuss. Just pure unadulterated pop music. Thank heavens for Erasure. Bless their hearts.

“Paradise” by Erasure, taken from the Mute/Sire release, “Drama!”