Song · Erasure
“Sometimes” by Erasure
From the album The Circus (1987)
“Sometimes” by Erasure appears on 16 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1987 and 2022. It was first released in 1987 on the album The Circus. Its best result is #27 on the Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #59 alternative song of 1987, #2,560 alternative song of all time and #343 of the '80s.
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"Sometimes" came out in October 1986 as Erasure's fourth single, and the synth-pop duo turned it into an international hit, reaching number two in the UK and West Germany and going all the way to the top in South Africa. Vince Clarke and Andy Bell wrote it together, and it's the pair's formula in full bloom: Clarke's phase distortion and analogue synths bubbling along at a dancefloor clip while Bell pours his heart out about being in love, with a trumpet solo from Guy Barker cutting a bright streak through the middle.
Flood is credited as producer. Six months after the single, it turned up on the duo's second album, The Circus, in March 1987.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 74 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 | 107 |
| 1987 | 65 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987 | 91 |
| 1987 | 77 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 | 105 |
| 1987 | 27 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1987 | 29 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 139 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s | 200 |
| 1988 | 267 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1989 | 255 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1990 | 233 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) | 299 |
| 1991 | 296 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1992 | 306 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 459 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1996 | 400 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 408 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 2002 | 1974 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1455 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2022 | 473 | X96 | X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time | 500 |
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