Erasure at the Royal Albert Hall

Another five-star review for this poptastic duo. We last saw them in London in April 2006 (see here), and just as there is a marked contrast in fortunes for Blues (although they won 2-1 that night, they were ultimately relegated), there was a marked contrast in the style of this performance.

Don't worry, the concert wasn't as forced as that metaphor. Whereas Erasure toured with an acoustic set last time (and very good it was too - so good in fact I'd switched to listening to these versions of their songs for the past 18 months), last night they were back to their traditional synth-led pop arrangements. Although the new stuff doesn't grab me (probably due to a lack of listening time), all the old classics - Sometimes, Victim of Love, A Little Respect, Stop!, Blue Savannah and Chorus among others - were as welcome as ever. It was refreshing to see the venue practically packed out, and a special note goes to their support act, onetwo (click here), who were also superb.

Travel was - as always from Colchester to London - refreshingly stress-free and a timely reminder of just how close the capital is on this side of the country. I picked up an Oyster leaflet for future reference - it's cheaper to travel on the Tube using that than purchasing a Travelcard. But the night belonged to Andy Bell and Vince Clarke - another superb live set from a superb pop duo.