Andy Bell (singer)


Andrew Ivan Bell is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the synth-pop duo Erasure. The band achieved mainstream success and are popular within the LGBTQ communities, for whom he has become an icon.
His solo career includes the studio albums Electric Blue, Non-Stop, iPop, and Ten Crowns.
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Early life

Bell learned to sing aged 7 to 8, in the choir at Dogsthorpe Junior School, Peterborough. After passing his Eleven-plus, Bell's education continued at the King's School in the city.

Career

In 1985, during a period in which he worked selling women's shoes and was performing in a band called the Void, he responded to a newspaper advertisement for a singer, and was successful in his audition with Vince Clarke, and together they formed the group Erasure.
Bell sang the role of Montresor in the opera The Fall of the House of Usher by Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, released in 1991 and reissued with a new recording in 1999.
Bell's first solo studio album was announced in July 2005. He signed a worldwide solo recording contract with Sanctuary Records, and announced details of his debut album, released on 3 October 2005 and entitled Electric Blue. The album featured fourteen tracks, including three duets, with Claudia Brücken of Propaganda and Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters.
The first single, "Crazy", released on 26 September 2005, included club remixes from his Erasure partner Vince Clarke, plus Cicada, MHC and King Roc. Electric Blue was co-written and recorded throughout 2004 and 2005 with Manhattan Clique who have worked with Erasure, Moby, the B-52s, Stereophonics and Goldfrapp.
Bell released his second solo studio album, Non-Stop, on 7 June 2010. It was co-written and co-produced by Bell and Pascal Gabriel, who previously remixed "It Doesn't Have to Be" for Erasure. It also features a collaboration with Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction.
Using the pseudonym Mimó, Bell released two Pascal Gabriel-produced singles on Mute Records: "Running Out" and "Will You Be There?" prior to his second solo album. The name, used as a "tribute to good friend Tomeau Mimó", was not used on any subsequent solo releases, as a legal block was issued against Bell by another artist already using the Mimó name. Both songs appear on Non-Stop and have since been re-branded as Andy Bell.
In June 2011, he appeared on the second season of ITV series Popstar to Operastar and finished in fifth place.
On 26 July 2023, Claire Richards released a cover of the 1978 ABBA single "Summer Night City", in collaboration with Bell on co-lead vocals, as the second single from Richards' second studio album Euphoria.

Personal life

Bell is openly gay. His long-term partner, Paul M. Hickey, died on 11 April 2012 at the age of 62. In January 2013, Bell married Stephen Moss.
On 17 December 2004, Bell publicly announced that he has been HIV-positive since 1998. In a 2007 interview, he remarked that there is a complacency among gay men about HIV:
Bell has avascular necrosis. He has had both hips replaced, which keeps him from "pogoing around" in more recent performances.

Solo discography

Albums

Shelter featuring Andy Bell albums

  • 2014: iPop with Shelter – iTunes UK Pop Album Chart No. 47
  • * 2015: iPop Deluxe with Shelter

Torsten stage and music series and remixes

  • 2014: Torsten the Bareback Saint
  • 2015: Variance – The 'Torsten the Bareback Saint' Remixes
  • 2016: Torsten the Beautiful Libertine
  • 2016: Variance – 'The Torsten the Beautiful Libertine' Remixes
  • 2019: ''Torsten in Queereteria''

Singles

  • 2005: "Crazy" – UK No. 35, U.S. Dance No. 3
  • 2006: "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" – UK No. 96
  • 2009: "Running Out"
  • 2010: "Will You Be There?" – U.S. Dance No. 27
  • 2010: "Call on Me"
  • 2010: "Non-Stop"
  • 2013: "Breathing Love"
  • 2014: "Aftermath " – U.S. Dance No. 1
  • 2014: "Beautiful"
  • 2014: "I Don't Like"
  • 2014: "Friend"
  • 2014: "Fountain of Youth"
  • 2015: "Weston-Super-Mare"
  • 2016: "True Original"
  • 2016: "My Precious One"
  • 2016: "Queercore"
  • 2016: "We Were Singing Along to Liza"
  • 2017: "Runaway"
  • 2023: "Summer Night City"
  • 2025: "Don't Cha Know"
  • 2025: "Heart's a Liar"

Remixes