The Circus (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Circus" is a song by British synthpop
duo Erasure
, released in September 1987 as the band's seventh single overall. It is also the title track on their second album, The Circus.
The album version clocks at 5.30 minutes, so the song was remixed for single release to a much more radio-friendly 3:50 minutes. Mute Records
issued it as the fourth and final single from the album.
Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke
and Andy Bell
, "The Circus" was a departure from the shiny pop of their six previous singles, creating a more down-tempo and melancholy mood. Essentially a synth pop track, the music is accentuated by acoustic guitar
and a continuous circus-like accordion
. The lyrics touch on social issues, rare for the duo, and center around the lament of "working men", whose bright futures and job securities are left shattered in the modern world of greedy corporations and technology.
The song's distinctive and unusual sound is said to have been inspired by Bell hearing a record
being played backwards.
Despite its haunting quality and dark lyrical content, "The Circus" became Erasure's third UK Top 10 hit, peaking at number six.
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
duo Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
, released in September 1987 as the band's seventh single overall. It is also the title track on their second album, The Circus.
The album version clocks at 5.30 minutes, so the song was remixed for single release to a much more radio-friendly 3:50 minutes. Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
issued it as the fourth and final single from the album.
Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
and Andy Bell
Andy Bell (singer)
Andrew Ivan "Andy" Bell is the lead singer of the English synthpop duo Erasure. He also has a solo career, with the albums Non-Stop and Electric Blue.-Early life:Andy Bell originates from the Dogsthorpe area in Peterborough...
, "The Circus" was a departure from the shiny pop of their six previous singles, creating a more down-tempo and melancholy mood. Essentially a synth pop track, the music is accentuated by acoustic guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and a continuous circus-like accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
. The lyrics touch on social issues, rare for the duo, and center around the lament of "working men", whose bright futures and job securities are left shattered in the modern world of greedy corporations and technology.
The song's distinctive and unusual sound is said to have been inspired by Bell hearing a record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
being played backwards.
Despite its haunting quality and dark lyrical content, "The Circus" became Erasure's third UK Top 10 hit, peaking at number six.
12" single #1 (1-12MUTE66)
- "Victim of Love" (Live)
- "If I Could" (Live)
- "The Circus" (Live)
- "Spiralling" (Live)
12" single #2 (2-12MUTE66)
- "It Doesn't Have To Be" (Live)
- "Who Needs Love Like That" (Live)
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (Live)
- "The Circus" (Bareback Rider Mix)
12" single #3 (3-12MUTE66)
- "Sometimes" (Live)
- "Say What" (Live)
- "Oh L'amour" (Live)
- "The Circus" (Gladiator Mix)
CD single (CDMUTE66)
- "The Circus" (Remix)
- "The Circus" (Decay Mix)
- "If I Could" (Live)
- "It Doesn't Have To Be" (Live)
- "Say What" (Live)
- "The Circus" (Live)
Chart performance
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
30 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
6 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
6 |