there were fewer treatment options for the
disease.
“In the beginning, it was really scary,” Bell
says. “Not many people survived. I had always
been a heart-on-my-sleeve kind of
person, so I just wanted to put my cards on
the table. I was expecting more of a roller
coaster, but I was quite taken aback by the
amount of love that came from it.”
On its current tour, Erasure aims to return
that love. The duo may have mellowed, but
they’re still fun to watch — and they still like to
get the crowd up and moving. “It’ll be some
theatricals and some dancing from him,”
Clarke says, “and me looking stern.”
THOMAS WYNN AND THE BELIEVERS
SUMMER 2018 | artsLife 29
really helped to bond our relationship.”
force, a kinetic presence attired in outlandish
costumes that included rubber leotards.
By comparison, Clarke looked almost expressionless,
strumming his guitar.
“Andy started trying different costumes
on from the very beginning — and I thought
it was really fantastic,” Clarke says. “There
were only four of us onstage, so we didn’t
have a guitarist leaping around. Andy was
us really well.”
Bell went public with his diagnosis as HIVpositive
in the early 1990s, at a time when
MAY 14
Thomas Wynn and the Believers have rock ‘n’ roll in their DNA. Tom Wynn, father of siblings Thomas and
Olivia Wynn, was the original drummer for Cowboy, which toured with the Allman Brothers and released
four albums on the Capricorn label. The Believers have a new album, Wade Waist Deep, recorded in
Nashville and released by Mascot Records.
Thomas Wynn and the Believers, sibling-led Southern rockers fronted by the brother-andsister
duo of Thomas and Olivia Wynn, won “Best Rock Act” and “Best Country/Folk Act”
honors for seven straight years from readers of the Orlando Weekly.
If you’ve seen them perform, you’ll know why. Their live shows are heightened by searing
guitars and soaring harmonies.
In addition, rock is in their DNA: Tom Wynn — Thomas and Olivia’s father — was the
original drummer for the rock band Cowboy, which toured with the Allman Brothers Band
throughout the 1970s and released four albums on the Capricorn label.