The Circus is the second album by Erasure, originally released in March 1987 on Mute Records in the UK and by Sire Records in July 1987 in the U.S. It was Erasure's second consecutive album to be produced by Flood.
The Circus became the duo's breakthrough in the UK, spawning four hit singles and reaching number six. It was an immediate success thanks to the number two UK placing of the first single &Sometimes&, six months earlier. The album remains Erasure's longest-running on the UK charts.
Although mainstream success in the U.S. did not occur with this album, it did generate two hits (including a number-one) on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also became their first record to enter into the Billboard 200.
The Two Ring Circus, also released in 1987, is a double 12& remix album that served as a companion piece to The Circus. It includes remixes and re-recordings along with live bonus tracks on the cassette and CD versions.