The Circus (Erasure album)

The Circus is the second studio album by the English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 30 March 1987 by Mute Records in Germany and the United Kingdom and on 7 July 1987 by Sire Records in the United States. It was Erasure's second consecutive album to be produced by Flood.

The Circus
Studio album by Erasure
Released	30 March 1987 (1987-03-30)[1]
Recorded	1986–1987
Studio	Worldwide International, The Garden, Strongroom, The Power Plant (London)
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	38:23
Label	Mute
Producer	Flood Vince Clarke
Erasure chronology
Wonderland (1986) The Circus (1987) The Innocents (1988)
Singles from The Circus
"Sometimes" Released: 6 October 1986 "It Doesn't Have to Be" Released: 16 February 1987 "Victim of Love" Released: 18 May 1987 "The Circus" Released: 21 September 1987

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Q	[3]
Record Mirror	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

The Circus became the duo's breakthrough in the UK, spawning four successful singles and reaching number six. It was an immediate success thanks to the number two UK placing of the first single "Sometimes", six months earlier. The album remains Erasure's longest-running on the UK charts.

Although mainstream success in the US did not occur with this album, it did generate two hits (including a number-one) on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also became their first record to enter the Billboard 200.

The Two Ring Circus, also released in 1987, is a double 12-inch remix album that served as a companion piece to The Circus. It includes remixes and re-recordings along with live bonus tracks on the cassette and CD versions.

Track listing

All tracks written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, except where noted.

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"It Doesn't Have to Be"	3:53
2.	"Hideaway"	3:48
3.	"Don't Dance"	3:36
4.	"If I Could"	3:52
5.	"Sexuality"	3:55

Side B

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Victim of Love"	3:40
7.	"Leave Me to Bleed"	3:21
8.	"Sometimes"	3:38
9.	"The Circus"	5:30
10.	"Spiralling"	3:10
Total length:		38:23

CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"In the Hall of the Mountain King" (new version; Edvard Grieg)	2:58
12.	"Sometimes" (12" mix)	5:22
13.	"It Doesn't Have to Be" (Boop Oopa Doo Mix)	7:12

2011 remastered repackage

On 4 July 2011, EMI re-released Erasure's first two albums in 2CD/DVD format. Both feature the original album remastered, plus another disc of tracks associated with the album, and a DVD containing promo videos and a live concert.

Disc one: Original album

No.	Title	Length
1.	"It Doesn't Have to Be"	3:56
2.	"Hideaway"	3:48
3.	"Don't Dance"	3:39
4.	"If I Could"	3:52
5.	"Sexuality"	3:53
6.	"Victim of Love"	3:42
7.	"Leave Me to Bleed"	3:22
8.	"Sometimes"	3:39
9.	"The Circus"	5:31
10.	"Spiralling"	3:10
11.	"In the Hall of the Mountain King"	2:58
12.	"Sometimes" (12" mix)	5:24
13.	"It Doesn't Have to Be" (Boop Oopa Doo Mix)	7:17

Disc two: Bonus CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sexuality" (12" Mix)	6:48
2.	"Sometimes" (Shiver Mix)	5:53
3.	"The Circus" (Bareback Rider Mix)	6:24
4.	"Who Needs Love Like That?" (Betty Boop Mix)	7:34
5.	"It Doesn't Have to Be" (Cement Mix)	5:35
6.	"The Soldier's Return" (The Return of the Radical Radcliffe Mix)	5:06
7.	"Victim of Love" (Vixen Vitesse Mix)	5:50
8.	"If I Could" (Japanese Mix)	3:45
9.	"The Circus" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)	4:42
10.	"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)	3:46
11.	"Spiralling" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)	2:25
12.	"Phantom Bride" (Radio 1 Session, 10 March 1987)	3:21

2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP

Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalogue, and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary, BMG commissioned reissues of all previously released UK editions of Erasure albums up to and including 2007's Light at the End of the World. All titles were pressed and distributed by Play It Again Sam on 180-gram vinyl and shrinkwrapped with a custom anniversary sticker.

2016 "30th anniversary edition" US remastered LP

In 2016, American boutique record label Intervention Records acquired access to Sire Records' US analogue masters of Erasure's Wonderland (1986) and The Circus (1987), as well as the rights to remaster and reissue them. Wonderland was released in December of that year, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and in a 60s-style Tip-On jacket. However, despite finalized art copy and announcing that production had completed for its Q1 2017 release, The Circus was withdrawn in February of that year.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Circus Chart (1987) Peak position Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[6] 16 Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[7] 97 Brazilian Albums (Nopem/ABPD)[8] 1 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 91 European Albums (Music & Media)[10] 16 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 24 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 16 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 40 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 12 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 9 UK Albums (OCC)[16] 6 UK Independent Albums (MRIB)[17] 1 US Billboard 200[18] 190

Year-end charts 1987 year-end chart performance for The Circus Chart (1987) Position European Albums (Music & Media)[19] 45 UK Albums (Gallup)[20] 31 1988 year-end chart performance for The Circus Chart (1988) Position UK Albums (Gallup)[21] 88

Certifications

Certifications for The Circus

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[22]	Platinum	300,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for The Circus

Region	Date	Label
Germany	30 March 1987	Mute
United Kingdom
United States	7 July 1987	Sire

References

1. Smith, Robin (28 March 1987). "News Digest". Record Mirror. p. 36. ISSN 0144-5804.
2. AllMusic review
3. Q review
4. O'Toole, Lesley (4 April 1987). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 16. ISSN 0144-5804.
5. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 230.
6. "Top 20 Albumes – Argentina". Pelo (in Spanish). No. 353. October 1989. p. 12.
7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 104. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
8. "Discos- Os Mais Vendidos Da Semana". Folha de Caixas (in Portuguese): 27. 23 September 1989. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0813". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
10. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 18. 9 May 1987. p. 21. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Erasure – The Circus" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
13. "Charts.nz – Erasure – The Circus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Erasure – The Circus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Erasure – The Circus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
17. Lazell, Barry (1997). "Erasure". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
18. "Erasure Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
19. "European Charts of the Year 1987 – Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 26 December 1987. p. 35. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
20. "Gallup Year End Charts 1987 – Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror. 23 January 1988. p. 37. ISSN 0144-5804 – via World Radio History.
21. "Top 100 Albums – Year-End Chart 1988" (PDF). Music Week Awards. Music Week. 4 March 1989. p. 8. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
22. "British album certifications – Erasure – The Circus". British Phonographic Industry. 27 November 1987. Retrieved 28 December 2021.

External links

• The Circus at Discogs (list of releases)