music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Ship of Fools" is a song by British duo Erasure, released in 1988 as the lead single from their third studio album The Innocents.[2] It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, and produced by Stephen Hague and Dave Jacob.[3] The song, which reached number six on the UK Singles Chart, was the duo's eighth single overall and their fourth UK Top 10 single.[4]

"Ship of Fools"
Single by Erasure
from the album The Innocents
B-side	"When I Needed You" "River Deep, Mountain High"
Released	22 February 1988[1]
Recorded	1988
Length	4:01
Label	Mute
Songwriter(s)	Vince Clarke, Andy Bell
Producer(s)	Stephen Hague, Dave Jacob
Erasure singles chronology
"The Circus" (1987) "Ship of Fools" (1988) "Chains of Love" (1988)
Music video
"Ship of Fools" on YouTube

Critical reception

Eleanor Levy of Record Mirror described "Ship of Fools" as Erasure "at their most open, melodic and beautiful". She added, "If there's one voice guaranteed to make the old erogenous zones come over all a-quiver it's Andy Bell's when he gets all throaty and emotional like this."[5] The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith commented, "My only complaint about "Ship Of Fools" is that Andy chooses to sing in a lower register. Whenever he does this, it makes the song sound like a warped record; his voice was always as its best in the more comfortable range of falsetto."[6] Chris Gerard from Metro Weekly described it as a "dramatic ballad" that showed a completely different side of Erasure. He also noted that it featured Andy Bell's "finest vocal yet", and "showed significant artistic growth for the duo."[7]

Music video

A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Phillip Vile.[8]

Track listings

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Denmark (IFPI)[9]	7
Ireland (IRMA)[10]	6
South Africa (South African Singles Chart)[11]	11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12]	12
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[4]	6
West Germany (Media Control Charts)[13]	9

References

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