Latest news with #TenCrowns
Leader Live
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Erasure's Andy Bell says Blondie's Debbie Harry helped him come out
Bell is best known for being half of the synth‑pop duo Erasure, the group behind the hit songs A Little Respect, Sometimes and Always. The singer, 61, now shares a song with Harry titled Heart's A Liar which features in his newly released studio album, Ten Crowns. Bell told PA news agency: 'She was my teenage idol. 'I was smitten. When I saw her on TV, she had the big hair with the light behind the hair, it was like a halo. 'And so I bought a packet of hair bleach and bleached my hair and then went to school proudly with my Blondie t-shirt. 'She kind of helped me come out before I was gay kind of thing so that just stuck with me. 'I was one of those kids that was in their bedroom listening to the music all day. 'I had the record player in my wardrobe to make it sound bigger.' The singer started his Ten Crowns tour in May 2025 with concerts scheduled across the UK throughout the summer along with performances in Ireland, Denmark and Germany. A post shared by Andy Bell (@officialandybell) Speaking about Harry and new track, Heart's A Liar, Bell added that the song took about a year to be finalised with Harry's vocals. He said: 'She's a great mentor and her songs are amazing. You know, the way she uses her voice. 'It took about a year for it to come back, but it came back on the same day we were in New York City doing Gay Pride festivals last year, and the vocals arrived on that day. And I just thought, that's such a Debbie thing, you know, where her timing is always divine. 'I never would have believed it when I was a teenager listening to her music. I would never would have believed that I would be on a song with her. The industry still has 'a way to go' in order for it to be more inclusive, says Bell. He added: 'I know everybody gets one chance. 'And you can have a huge hit and that's fine but the minute it starts to go askew you're dropped, like completely, it's almost like you're ignored. 'And that would be my advice to young gay people in the industry, is you have to have really thick skin. 'And also, don't believe the hype when you're a success, all the stuff that people are telling you, don't believe it, because it's too ingratiating, and too over the top praise, you need to keep your essence. 'I think people become more damaged, not that their fame is instant, but because you're either so huge, or you're nothing. 'I'm not saying it's an overnight thing, because they work really hard, but it's almost like I want to pre-warn them just in case.' Erasure, made up of Bell and the musician and songwriter Vince Clarke, won the Brit Award for Best British Group in 1989, and saw multiple number one albums including Wild!, Chorus and I Say I Say I Say.
South Wales Guardian
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Erasure's Andy Bell says Blondie's Debbie Harry helped him come out
Bell is best known for being half of the synth‑pop duo Erasure, the group behind the hit songs A Little Respect, Sometimes and Always. The singer, 61, now shares a song with Harry titled Heart's A Liar which features in his newly released studio album, Ten Crowns. Bell told PA news agency: 'She was my teenage idol. 'I was smitten. When I saw her on TV, she had the big hair with the light behind the hair, it was like a halo. 'And so I bought a packet of hair bleach and bleached my hair and then went to school proudly with my Blondie t-shirt. 'She kind of helped me come out before I was gay kind of thing so that just stuck with me. 'I was one of those kids that was in their bedroom listening to the music all day. 'I had the record player in my wardrobe to make it sound bigger.' The singer started his Ten Crowns tour in May 2025 with concerts scheduled across the UK throughout the summer along with performances in Ireland, Denmark and Germany. A post shared by Andy Bell (@officialandybell) Speaking about Harry and new track, Heart's A Liar, Bell added that the song took about a year to be finalised with Harry's vocals. He said: 'She's a great mentor and her songs are amazing. You know, the way she uses her voice. 'It took about a year for it to come back, but it came back on the same day we were in New York City doing Gay Pride festivals last year, and the vocals arrived on that day. And I just thought, that's such a Debbie thing, you know, where her timing is always divine. 'I never would have believed it when I was a teenager listening to her music. I would never would have believed that I would be on a song with her. The industry still has 'a way to go' in order for it to be more inclusive, says Bell. He added: 'I know everybody gets one chance. 'And you can have a huge hit and that's fine but the minute it starts to go askew you're dropped, like completely, it's almost like you're ignored. 'And that would be my advice to young gay people in the industry, is you have to have really thick skin. 'And also, don't believe the hype when you're a success, all the stuff that people are telling you, don't believe it, because it's too ingratiating, and too over the top praise, you need to keep your essence. 'I think people become more damaged, not that their fame is instant, but because you're either so huge, or you're nothing. 'I'm not saying it's an overnight thing, because they work really hard, but it's almost like I want to pre-warn them just in case.' Erasure, made up of Bell and the musician and songwriter Vince Clarke, won the Brit Award for Best British Group in 1989, and saw multiple number one albums including Wild!, Chorus and I Say I Say I Say.
RTÉ News
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Erasure's Andy Bell says Blondie's Debbie Harry helped him come out
Erasure star Andy Bell has said Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry helped him come out as a teenager. Bell is best known for being half of the synth‑pop duo Erasure, the group behind the hit songs A Little Respect, Sometimes and Always. The singer, 61, has duetted with Harry on new song Heart's A Liar, which features in his newly released studio album, Ten Crowns. Bell told PA news agency: "She was my teenage idol. "I was smitten. When I saw her on TV, she had the big hair with the light behind the hair, it was like a halo. "And so, I bought a packet of hair bleach and bleached my hair and then went to school proudly with my Blondie t-shirt. "She kind of helped me come out before I was gay kind of thing so that just stuck with me. "I was one of those kids that was in their bedroom listening to the music all day. "I had the record player in my wardrobe to make it sound bigger." The singer has started his Ten Crowns tour, with concerts scheduled across the UK throughout the summer along with performances in Ireland, Denmark and Germany. Speaking about Harry and new track, Heart's A Liar, Bell added that the song took about a year to be finalised with Harry's vocals. He said: "She's a great mentor and her songs are amazing. You know, the way she uses her voice. "It took about a year for it to come back, but it came back on the same day we were in New York City doing Gay Pride festivals last year, and the vocals arrived on that day. And I just thought, that's such a Debbie thing, you know, where her timing is always divine. "I never would have believed it when I was a teenager listening to her music. I would never would have believed that I would be on a song with her. The industry still has "a way to go" in order for it to be more inclusive, says Bell. He added: "I know everybody gets one chance. "And you can have a huge hit and that's fine but the minute it starts to go askew you're dropped, like completely, it's almost like you're ignored. "And that would be my advice to young gay people in the industry, is you have to have really thick skin. "And also, don't believe the hype when you're a success, all the stuff that people are telling you, don't believe it, because it's too ingratiating, and too over the top praise, you need to keep your essence. "I think people become more damaged, not that their fame is instant, but because you're either so huge, or you're nothing. "I'm not saying it's an overnight thing, because they work really hard, but it's almost like I want to pre-warn them just in case." Erasure, made up of Bell and the musician and songwriter Vince Clarke, had multiple UK number one albums including Wild!, Chorus and I Say I Say I Say.
Wales Online
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Erasure's Andy Bell says Blondie's Debbie Harry helped him come out
Erasure's Andy Bell says Blondie's Debbie Harry helped him come out Bell is best known for being half of the synth‐pop duo Erasure, the group behind the hit songs A Little Respect, Sometimes and Always Erasure perform at Terminal 5 in New York City (Image: Getty Images North America ) Erasure star Andy Bell has said the lead singer from Blondie, Debbie Harry, helped him come out as a teenager. Bell is best known for being half of the synth‐pop duo Erasure, the group behind the hit songs A Little Respect, Sometimes and Always. The singer, 61, now shares a song with Harry titled Heart's A Liar which features in his newly released studio album, Ten Crowns. Bell told PA news agency: "She was my teenage idol. "I was smitten. When I saw her on TV, she had the big hair with the light behind the hair, it was like a halo. "And so I bought a packet of hair bleach and bleached my hair and then went to school proudly with my Blondie t-shirt. Article continues below "She kind of helped me come out before I was gay kind of thing so that just stuck with me. "I was one of those kids that was in their bedroom listening to the music all day. "I had the record player in my wardrobe to make it sound bigger." The singer started his Ten Crowns tour in May 2025 with concerts scheduled across the UK throughout the summer along with performances in Ireland, Denmark and Germany. The North American leg of the tour will start from October through to December with concerts in New York City, Washington D.C. and Toronto. Speaking about Harry and new track, Heart's A Liar, Bell added that the song took about a year to be finalised with Harry's vocals. He said: "She's a great mentor and her songs are amazing. You know, the way she uses her voice. "It took about a year for it to come back, but it came back on the same day we were in New York City doing Gay Pride festivals last year, and the vocals arrived on that day. And I just thought, that's such a Debbie thing, you know, where her timing is always divine. "I never would have believed it when I was a teenager listening to her music. I would never would have believed that I would be on a song with her. The industry still has "a way to go" in order for it to be more inclusive, says Bell. He added: "I know everybody gets one chance. "And you can have a huge hit and that's fine but the minute it starts to go askew you're dropped, like completely, it's almost like you're ignored. "And that would be my advice to young gay people in the industry, is you have to have really thick skin. "And also, don't believe the hype when you're a success, all the stuff that people are telling you, don't believe it, because it's too ingratiating, and too over the top praise, you need to keep your essence. "I think people become more damaged, not that their fame is instant, but because you're either so huge, or you're nothing. Article continues below "I'm not saying it's an overnight thing, because they work really hard, but it's almost like I want to pre-warn them just in case." Erasure, made up of Bell and the musician and songwriter Vince Clarke, won the Brit Award for Best British Group in 1989, and saw multiple number one albums including Wild!, Chorus and I Say I Say I Say.
Perth Now
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Erasure's Andy Bell reveals how his 'superstitious' nature inspired the title of his new album
Andy Bell's "superstitious" nature inspired the title of his new album. The 61-year-old musician is best known as part of synth-pop duo synth-pop duo Erasure alongside Vince Clarke but is back with his third solo album 'Ten Crows' and explained that the name came from the term's connection to Tarot reading. He told Blitzed magazine: "I just love it because I've always been quite superstitious. My nan was really superstitious like 'don't put your new shoes on the table'. We're not from a travelling family or anything like that, but I just love things like reading tea leaves, so Tarot was a natural thing to go towards. Every time when we get stopped at the airport it's always my Tarot cards in my bag. I take them out and they say, 'Oh can you do me one?'" The 'A Little Respect' hitmaker is currently on tour to promote the album but admitted that he "still gets nervous" to go on stage even after all his years in the industry. He said: "It's kind of different because we haven't done this material before. Dave [Audé, producer] will be there, we've got our whole band that we've been using for a while. Vince has seen us, we played in San Diego and he was there. It's kind of tricky picking which Erasure songs to put together with the new ones. It's a bit nerve wracking, I still get nervous, I can't help it. I don't really like playing in such big, huge venues because I like to see people. I like the smaller intimate gigs. We're doing a combination of tracks, a fair amount from the new album and one or two surprises. Ten Crowns was just about finished when Vince and I started working together on the new Erasure album and it's completely different. Erasure is much more personal, being with Vince. Although to me it's good just to see him and be with him and make sure he's safe. That's what's nice."
