You Surround Me

"You Surround Me" is a song by Erasure that was issued in 1989 by Mute Records as the second single from the band's fourth studio album Wild!. Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is a heavily-synthesized ballad with a dramatic chorus featuring Bell's falsetto. Clarke has stated that this song was his attempt at writing a James Bond film theme. Upon release, "You Surround Me" became Erasure's tenth consecutive Top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, peaking at #15. It reached #10 on the Irish singles chart, and became a Top 40 hit in Germany, where it reached #38. The song was not released as a single in the United States.

"You Surround Me"
Single by Erasure
from the album Wild!
B-side"Supernature", "91 Steps"
Released27 November 1989
Recorded1989
GenreSynthpop
Length3:57
LabelMute (UK)
Sire (U.S.)
Songwriter(s)Vince Clarke, Andy Bell
Producer(s)Gareth Jones, Mark Saunders, Erasure
Erasure singles chronology
"Drama!"
(1989)		 "You Surround Me"
(1989)		 "Blue Savannah"
(1990)
Alternative cover
Limited edition "Supernature" 12" single cover
Music video
"You Surround Me" on YouTube

B-sides

This release has become more notable for the B-sides that were included with "You Surround Me". First was a cover version of Cerrone's environmental anthem "Supernature". The song, also previously recorded by Lene Lovich, led to a collaboration between Erasure and Lovich for the song "Rage", which later appeared on a PETA benefit album. Erasure's recording was remixed by William Orbit and became a popular hit in dance clubs. Also included on the single as a B-side is "91 Steps", an instrumental with complex synthesizer programming and unusual time signature in which upon play, some listeners may think it is their CD player skipping. The track utilises repeating cycles in which the first seven bars use a 7/4 time signature, followed by one bar in 3/4 time.

Critical reception

Ned Raggett from AllMusic commented that "You Surround Me" "is another flat-out winner -- it's another slow ballad, but with big, echoing backing that adds a sense of extra theatricality."[1] The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith stated that it is "a techno ballad to die for and is just as intense as "Drama"." He added, "It contains a cascading melody that simply glows. File this one under Overlooked Masterpieces."[2] Chris Gerard from Metro Weekly wrote that it is "one of the duo's all-time great ballads", noting that "it has real heart and feeling; it's unabashedly sentimental, but it feels completely genuine."[3] Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic described the song as "a brooding number with Vince turning on the synths at maximum level while Andy remains in subdued restraint for the most part."[4]

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song. It features Clarke and Bell performing on a three-level circular stage set, with cityscapes superimposed at various points during the song through a mixture of chroma key and ordinary vision mixing.

Track listings

Charts
Chart (1989) Peak
position		 Total
weeks
Denmark (IFPI)[5] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 10 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] 15 9
West Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 38 10

References
  1. Raggett, Ned. "Erasure – Wild!". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  2. Smith, Michael R. (17 November 2006). "Wild! – Erasure". The Daily Vault. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. Gerard, Chris (17 September 2014). "Erasure's 40 Greatest Tracks". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  4. Smith, Christopher (16 October 2019). "REVIEW: 'WILD!' – ERASURE". TalkAboutPopMusic. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  5. Danish Singles Chart 8 December 1989
  6. Jaclyn Ward (1 October 1962). "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  7. "UK Singles & Albums Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  8. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
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