Andy Bell is best known as the frontman for the enduring electropop duo Erasure. In addition he has released two solo albums under his own name, a further two as offshoots of his one-man theatre project Torsten The Bareback Saint, and has collaborated with artists as diverse as British Electric Foundation, Jake Shears, Claudia Brücken, Perry Farrell, Shelter and Dave Audé.
As a young adult, Andy moved to London to pursue a career in music. After brief stints with The Void, Baume and Dinger, he auditioned for former Depeche Mode and Yazoo mainman Vince Clarke. Together, they formed the synthpop duo Erasure, which quickly became an equal songwriting partnership, featuring Clarke on keyboards and Bell on lead vocals. They released their debut single, Who Needs Love Like That, in 1985, followed by their debut album, Wonderland. Their fourth single, Sometimes, became their first big hit, peaking at number two on the UK charts, and in the top five of America’s Billboard Hot Dance Music chart.
An openly gay man, Andy has become an icon within the LGBT community for his honesty, compassion and support. Among his tireless support of various LGBT causes Andy has served as an ambassador for New York’s Hetrick-Martin Institute and is currently a patron of the Cambridge-based charity Dhiverse, and for Above The Stag, London’s only LGBTQ theatre.