Hits! The Very Best of Erasure


Hits! – The Very Best of Erasure was the second greatest hits package released by the group. Capitalizing on a resurgence of Erasure music after their successful covers album Other People's Songs, Mute Records released Hits! in 2003 to reintroduce people to Erasure's music and to give an update to their 1992 singles compilation Pop! - the First 20 Hits. In fact, Hits! seemed to be geared towards casual fans who did not already own a copy of Pop!, as twelve songs appear on both collections.
Since the release of Pop!, Erasure had released fifteen more singles, but only six of them appeared on Hits!. In addition, two additional songs from the Abba-esque EP were added to the line-up, as well as a new remix of the classic "Oh L'amour," originally found on their 1986 debut album Wonderland.
To entice Erasure completists to purchase the Hits! set, limited copies of the album contained a bonus CD containing an "Erasure Megamix," consisting of eighteen of their classic songs strung together in a DJ-mixed form. A few are the basic single mixes, but most of them consist of well known dance remixes done at the time of their respective releases; in particular, additional vocals from remixes of "Love to Hate You" and "Sometimes" were included.
Hits! was repackaged and reissued in the UK on 29 October 2007. This new version includes the same two discs as the original release, along with a DVD containing 35 Erasure music videos. These are the same videos which were released on the Hits! the Videos in 2003. According to the Erasure Official Newsletter, Hits reached the platinum certification for 300.000 copies sold in September 2013.

Track listing

Disc one

  1. "Oh L'amour"
  2. "Sometimes"
  3. "Victim of Love"
  4. "Ship of Fools"
  5. "Chains of Love"
  6. "A Little Respect"
  7. "Stop!"
  8. "Blue Savannah"
  9. "Chorus"
  10. "Love to Hate You"
  11. "Breath of Life"
  12. "Lay All Your Love on Me"
  13. "Take a Chance on Me"
  14. "Voulez-Vous"
  15. "Always"
  16. "Stay with Me"
  17. "In My Arms"
  18. "Freedom"
  19. "Solsbury Hill"
  20. "Oh L'amour"

    Disc two – "Erasure Megamix"

Remixed and reconstructed by: Mark Towns, Chicago 2003
  1. "Stay with Me"
  2. "You Surround Me"
  3. "In My Arms"
  4. "Solsbury Hill"
  5. "A Little Respect"
  6. "Chains of Love"
  7. "Take a Chance on Me"
  8. "Love to Hate You"
  9. "Stop!"
  10. "Victim of Love"
  11. "Blue Savannah"
  12. "Always"
  13. "Freedom"
  14. "Chorus"
  15. "Oh L'amour"
  16. "Breath of Life"
  17. "Sometimes"
  18. "Ship of Fools"

    Chart placings

Hits! – The Very Best of Erasure peaked at #15 in the UK. It did not chart on the Billboard 200.
"Oh L'amour " was released as a single in the UK and the US. It hit No. 13 on the UK singles chart.

10 Great Songs

Erasure – 10 Great Songs was a budget compilation released on 2 November 2009, shortly after the Total Pop! The First 40 Hits range of releases. According to the official Erasure website, the album was "part of a series of budget titles put together by EMI specifically for sale through 'non-traditional outlets'". It re-used the cover artwork from the Hits! – The Very Best of Erasure compilation, bordered by a generic sleeve design used on the packaging for other artists also featured in the series.

Track listing

  1. "Sometimes"
  2. "Victim of Love"
  3. "Ship of Fools"
  4. "Stop!"
  5. "Blue Savannah"
  6. "Chorus"
  7. "Breath of Life"
  8. "Take a Chance on Me"
  9. "Love to Hate You"
  10. "Always"