Andy Bell, famed as the frontman for synth dance duo Erasure, recently sang and twirled the night away in the first of two DC appearances at the Lincoln Theatre.
On his first-ever solo North American tour, the English chanteur ostensibly promoted Ten Crowns, his third solo album, released earlier this year. But as witnessed by a very happy crowd, Andy delivered a big dose of Erasure songs also.
First, let’s talk about that new album! Andy played most of it at the Lincoln Theatre on Oct. 17. He opened with “Breaking Through the Interstellar,” a fast-paced track that gave Andy an opportunity to dance across the stage right away. Although unfamiliar with the song, the audience also began grooving. Andy capitalized on the high spirits of the number by promptly going into two Erasure songs — “Blue Savannah” and “Sometimes” !! — but more about that in a bit.
Soon, Andy called upon his very good backing singer Chelsea King to sing with him on another new track from the album, “Heart’s a Liar,” which was recorded with Debbie Harry of Blondie. Chelsea would fill in for Debbie, Andy announced, and away they went into a nicely chill but memorable duet. Andy and his bandmate caught the ear of the audience with the catchy lyric: “You said I’d always be in your heart/ Your heart’s a liar, liar, liar…”
Watch the official music video for “Heart’s a Liar” by Andy Bell featuring Debbie Harry on YouTube:
Toward the end of the show, Andy sang a few more of Ten Crown’s dance tunes, including “Put Your Empathy on Ice,” a snappy tune with big disco overtures. He opened his two-song encore with “Thank You,” a very dramatic narrative that made great use of his tenor voice. It was a bit like a rock opera!
And as I mentioned above, these Ten Crowns songs were sprinkled across a big offering of Erasure tunes, which truly made the room come alive. As I mingled with folks prior to the show, people were truly excited to see Andy perform as Erasure have not played in DC since 2018. There was a genuine buzz in the room before Andy sang his first note! But when he burst into “Blue Savannah” from 1990’s Wild!, everyone totally lost all composure and danced as if no one was watching.
Throughout the show, Andy dug into the big Erasure numbers, including “Chains of Love” from the 1988 seminal album The Innocents. He would come back to that album to close the encore with “A Little Respect,” the highest point of a night of high points!
Along the way, Andy sang “Love to Hate You,” the vampy hi-NRG number from 1991’s Chorus. Andy then took a well-deserved break and left Chelsea and guitarist Jerry Fuentes to sing Erasure’s “Breathe,” a more recent selection from 2005’s Nightbird.
Andy returned refreshed and throttled back into full gear with Erasure’s “Always,” a perennial crowd-pleaser from 1994’s Europop-flavored I Say I Say I Say. He then surprised with a cover of ELO’s “Xanadu.” I say surprised but the song fit him very well, and it seemed like quite a natural selection for him to sing.
Watch the official music video for “Always” by Erasure on YouTube:
Andy kept the energy high for the rest of the show, adding the title track to Chorus and thankfully “Oh L’amour” to the setlist. That classic Erasure track, which appears on their debut album Wonderland (1986), is representative of the inventive and evocative songwriting that appears on Andy’s Ten Crowns album, so there was great connective content across the set at the Lincoln Theatre that night. And “Oh L’amour” was a perfectly rousing selection to close the set (prior to encore) for a night of incredibly infectious dance music.
In strong voice and great spirits, Andy Bell was a total charmer! He makes you feel like more than the audience — more like you’re a confidante who is in on a shared joke. He’s in fine form, and he is sure to please.
Here are some photos of Andy Bell performing live at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on Oct. 17, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
