Erasure4Rum

UK Release Date
06 October 1986

7″ SINGLES:
UK & GERMANY


MUTE51 (UK) & INT 111.843 (DE)
• A – Sometimes [3:37]
• B – Sexuality (Single Mix) [3:55]

USA


Sire 7-28362
• A – Sometimes [3:37]
• B – It Doesn’t Have To Be (Single Edit) [3:41]

12″ SINGLES:

UK & GERMANY



12MUTE51 (UK) / INT 126.854 (DE)
• A1 – Sometimes (12″ Mix) [5:22]
• B1 – Sexuality (12″ Mix) [6:41]
• B2 – Say What (Remix) [7:15]

UK & GERMANY



L12MUTE51 (UK) / INT 126.855 (DE)
• A1 – Sometimes (Shiver Mix) [5:50]
• B1 – Sexuality (Private Mix) [5:56]
• B2 – Senseless (Remix) [5:07]

USA
Sire 20614-0 (USA)
• A1 – Sometimes (Extended Mix) [5:22]
• A2 – Sometimes (Shiver Mix) [7:30]
• B1 – It Doesn’t Have To Be (The Boop Oopa Doo Mix) [7:12]
• B2 – Sexuality (Private Mix) [5:56]



CASSETTE
CMUTE51 (UK)
• Sometimes [3:37]
• Sexuality (Single Mix) [3:55]
• Who Needs Love Like That [3:03]
• Heavenly Action [3:21]
• Oh L’Amour [3:04]

CD SINGLES (1993):
UK & GERMANY



CDMUTE51 (UK) & INT 826.770 (DE)
• Sometimes [3:37]
• Sexuality (Single Mix) [3:55]
• Sometimes (12″ Mix) [5:22]
• Sexuality (12″ Mix) [6:41]
• Say What (Remix) [7:15]



















Live on The Tube


Sometimes & The Circus


Solo performance from Andy

Pughie wrote: Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:43 pm USA
Sire 20614-0 (USA)
• A1 – Sometimes (Extended Mix) [5:22]
• A2 – Sometimes (Shiver Mix) [7:30]

I'm sure everybody here knows this already, but just in case, I think we should point out that these two mixes are not quite what they seem.

The so-called 'Extended Mix' on the US 12" is NOT the 'extended mix' from the UK 12", but is in fact the 'Shiver Mix'.

Perhaps confusingly then, the track the US 12" calls the 'Shiver Mix' is not the same mix from the UK 12", but is in fact a mix UNIQUE to this US 12".

I say 'unique', but it's basically a 'copy and paste' mix of the 'shiver mix' (taking parts of the shiver mix and re-arranging and duplicating them) with a bit of the 'extended mix' spliced on for good measure at the end.

It was the inspiration I'm sure for many home-gown remixes of other songs.

Basically, with modern computer technology, if you've got the UK extended mix and the original shiver mix, you can make this version yourself - and maybe sometime I will! It might be the only way we ever get it in a digitally remastered version!

Has the John Fleming Mix with the alternate lyrics "ooh baby" appeared anywhere other than the mega mix on the Hits comp? Was thinking about alternate lyrics recently, it's it's kinda weird if it's only even been there mixed in with some ship of fools lyrics.Off the top of my head I can't recall it being on any other release but I could be wrong.

opalfruit wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:38 pm Has the John Fleming Mix with the alternate lyrics "ooh baby" appeared anywhere other than the mega mix on the Hits comp?

I don't think there's an alternative John Fleming mix with those lyrics - Mark Towns who did the megamix dubbed them over the top. I can't remember now how much insight he offered about where things came from that he included - mostly he's just blending existing versions together, but he clearly also had acapellas for Chains Of Love and Ship Of Fools... and the alternative vocals for Sometimes for unknown reasons!

(There's also some spoken words by Andy just before Love To Hate You transitions into Stop, which we've since discovered appeared in an unreleased LTHY remix by Phil Harding. viewtopic.php?p=5723)

Thanks for the insight @kwerty I wasn't sure it was a John Fleming mix but discogs had it listed as such for some reason. It's always struck me as a bit strange they included alternate lyrics there with no real reasoning but it's a decent reason to own that hits variant I suppose,

I've always wanted a full version of the alt lyrics along with the child friendly ones too but I fear the time for that came and went with the 2015 release.

opalfruit wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2026 8:20 pm I wasn't sure it was a John Fleming mix but discogs had it listed as such for some reason.

It is still technically still the John Fleming mix in the Hits megamix - but it was Mark Towns who mixed the alternative vocals over the top of it. How are why he was given those vocals is a mystery though.

What I do remember learning is that the chorus of Sometimes was inspired by the vocals from... well... the track called Sometimes on Depeche's Black Celebration album. I always used to think it was curious how they both had a song with the same name, and even had the "Ooh Sometimes", and wondered if they heard it and years later was confirmed! DM's Sometimes was slower of course, but I always thought Andy's vocals on their Sometimes had that squeaky speeded-up sound, which it also turns out is what they did for the final version.

Anyway, my guess is the "Ooh baby" version of the vocals were from before they'd heard the DM song.

We've basically got Depeche Mode to thank for Erasure's breakthrough hit!

(And if Andy Bell gets a writing credit on Oh L'amour for coming up with nothing more than just the line "Oh L'Amour", then maybe Martin Gore should have got a credit on Sometimes!)