Editing Erasure (duo) (section)

===First recordings and international success: 1985–1994===
[[Image:Erasure-andy-vince-wolfgangs-np.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Andy Bell and Vince Clarke in 1986]]
Erasure's first three singles were commercial failures in the UK, although the third, "[[Oh l'amour]]", charted well in Australia, South Africa and a few European countries (especially in France, where it still remains Erasure's only hit to date, and Germany where it was a Top 16 success). Their debut studio album, ''[[Wonderland (Erasure album)|Wonderland]]'', was mostly recorded in 1985 and released in June 1986. Although it only made the UK top 75, it made a sizeable mark in Germany, making the top 20.

It was the release of their fourth single, "[[Sometimes (Erasure song)|Sometimes]]", which finally received recognition in the UK in late 1986. The song peaked at number 2 in the UK and Germany and spent many weeks in the UK top 40, marking the beginning of a long string of major hits for the duo. The single's parent album, ''[[The Circus (Erasure album)|The Circus]]'', was released in March 1987 and reached number 6 and turned platinum in the UK with three additional hit singles: "[[It Doesn't Have To Be]]", "[[Victim of Love (Erasure song)|Victim of Love]]", and "[[The Circus (song)|The Circus]]". The album remained on the charts for over a year.

Erasure's third studio album, ''[[The Innocents (Erasure album)|The Innocents]]'', was released in April 1988. Preceded by the top 10 single "[[Ship of Fools (Erasure song)|Ship of Fools]]", the album hit number one in the UK on its initial release and returned to the summit a year later, eventually going double platinum. It also turned platinum in the U.S., generating two top 20 hits in "[[Chains of Love (Erasure song)|Chains of Love]]" and "[[A Little Respect]]". 
[[Image:Erasure_logo.webp|200px|thumb|right|Erasure's logo in 1991, 1992 and 2009]]
''The Innocents'' was the first of five consecutive number one albums for Erasure in the UK, including the greatest hits compilation ''[[Pop! The First 20 Hits]]''.
In November 1988, the ''[[Crackers International]]'' EP, hit number 2 in the UK. The albums ''[[Wild!]]'' (1989) and ''[[Chorus (Erasure album)|Chorus]]'' (1991) both contained four top 20 singles and were major sellers.

''[[Crackers International]]'' was bettered in 1992 by another EP, ''[[Abba-esque]]'', (covering 4 [[ABBA]] hits), which became Erasure's first (and to-date only) number one on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name=MTV>{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|title=Erasure Bio|url=http://www.mtv.com/artists/erasure/biography/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111054127/http://www.mtv.com/artists/erasure/biography/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 November 2014|website=MTV Artists|access-date=25 January 2016}}</ref> It featured a video of the duo dressed in ABBA outfits, and was one of the principal drivers of the ABBA revival scene in the 1990s.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}

Also in 1990, Erasure contributed the song "[[Too Darn Hot]]" to the [[Cole Porter]] tribute album ''[[Red Hot + Blue]]'' produced by the [[Red Hot Organization]]. In 1992, a singles compilation, ''[[Pop! The First 20 Hits]]'', also hit number one and went triple platinum, featuring all the band's singles released from 1985 to 1992.
[[Image:19920908 erasure andybell magdeburg.jpg|200px|thumb|Bell performing live in [[Magdeburg]], Germany, 1992]]
In 1994, Erasure released ''[[I Say I Say I Say]]'', their fifth consecutive number one on the [[UK Albums Chart]]. Its first single, "[[Always (Erasure song)|Always]]", became the band's third top 20 hit in the United States. A second single, "[[Run to the Sun]]", was released in July and became their final UK top 10 hit until 2003. "[[I Love Saturday]]" was released in November and was the third and final single from the album.