It was quite disorientating, being a Doctor Who fan, when it came back and was a massive, land-sliding, all-consuming success. Because, well, us fans had always believed that the show should be brought back, and that if it was done right, with a good writer, good lead and a decent budget, it’d be a huge success. We just didn’t expect it to be quite so huge.
But we believed. Even during the late 80’s, when the show was well down the list of the BBC’s priorities, we fans believed. Not because we liked the way the show looked, but because we could see beyond the ropey production values to the potential of what the show could be, what it had been during the 1960’s and 1970’s and what it could be again.
And then we were all proved right. Which is... strange. It’s like having your favourite football club win the FA Cup – and then the European Cup and then the World Cup. Or having your girlfriend become a supermodel. Or having your favourite pop group go from obscurity to number one.
Which is where I arrive at my point. I’m also an Erasure fan. I’ve always felt, very strongly, they are massively under-rated. Kind of like Abba were during the 80’s; maybe some of their songs are too much of their time and it’ll take a while for people to see past the sequins. But I believe that one day they will get the recognition they deserve. Sometimes, A Little Respect, Ship of Fools, Blue Savannah, Love To Hate You... these are all phenomenal examples of songwriting craft. Their 90s albums are all fantastic yet always get overlooked. They’re one the greatest bands there’s ever been.
And one day, it won’t be just the fans who know that.
