Because apparently retirement is just a suggestion, Andy Bell, the iconic frontman of Erasure, has decided to revisit his 2005 debut solo album, Electric Blue, and release a 21st-anniversary deluxe edition, cleverly titled Extended Blue. Because, you know, the world was just missing a deluxe edition of a 17-year-old album. Nature is healing, and another deluxe edition has appeared, much to the delight of completist fans and the accountants at Lexer Music.
The Never-Ending Story of Deluxe Editions
It seems that the music industry has finally found a way to make money from old music: re-release it with a few bonus tracks and call it a deluxe edition. And who can blame them? It’s a genius move, really. Take an album that’s already been released, add some unreleased mixes, and voilà! You have a brand new product to sell to fans who just can’t get enough of their favorite artists. Somewhere, a record label executive felt a disturbance in the royalties, and suddenly, Extended Blue was born.
The original album, Electric Blue, was a collaboration with Manhattan Clique, a production duo that dominated the pop-dance club remix world in the early 2000s. They worked with the likes of Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga, among others. The album features duets with Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and xPropaganda’s Claudia Brücken, making it a must-have for fans of 80s and 90s electronic pop.
A Vinyl Release, Because Why Not?
Extended Blue will be released on limited-edition deluxe triple multicolour blue vinyl, because, of course, it has to be on vinyl. It’s not like anyone actually listens to music on vinyl, but it’s a nice collector’s item, and it looks great on a shelf. The package includes a deluxe booklet with extensive liner notes, offering insights into the recording of the album, and the iconic sleeve artwork has been revamped by James McWilliam. A vinyl pressing plant somewhere just burst into tears, knowing they have to press thousands of copies of this album.
More Music, Because You Clearly Didn’t Have Enough
But wait, there’s more! Extended Blue features previously unreleased full-length extended mixes of all tracks from the original album, because who doesn’t love a good 10-minute remix? And, as if that’s not enough, a limited edition 12″ and maxi CD single, Love Oneself / Delicious, will be released on November 20th, featuring brand-new 2026 mixes of both tracks, with duet vocals from Claudia Brücken. The farewell tour count has officially entered scientific notation, and music historians are preparing fresh shelves for the box set.
Andy Bell commented, “Blue, blue, electric blue” is one of my favourite expressions from Bowie’s Sound and Vision. We had a blast making this album… The music is sublime space-electro-disco and would fit onto any cool playlist. Philip Larsen, one of the producers, added, “We explored so many production ideas and directions working on Electric Blue with Andy… Revisiting some of the previously-unreleased extended versions has been great fun after all these years.” Nobody truly retires in this industry; they merely wait for the 40th-anniversary edition.
Pre-Order Now, Because You Know You Want To
Extended Blue will be available on December 4th, and you can pre-order it now, along with a 4-art print set and t-shirt bundles, because who doesn’t love a good bundle? The remaster economy remains undefeated, and it seems that the music industry has finally found a way to make money from old music. So, go ahead and pre-order Extended Blue, and let’s keep the music industry alive and kicking, one deluxe edition at a time.
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
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