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. The Innocents was the third proper studio release from Erasure, released in 1988. This album, produced by Stephen Hague and released by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the U.S., was the release that catapulted Erasure to super-stardom in their home country and gave them their long-awaited breakthrough in the U.S. The Innocents became the first in a string of number one albums by Erasure in the UK, turning double platinum, with sales over 600,000. Thanks to heavy exposure on MTV, it also spawned two major Billboard Hot 100 hits, a Top 50 placing on the Billboard 200 and Platinum album certification in the U.S. According To Nielsen Sound scan 23 years after its release the Album Sales Total worldwide selling 5 million copies. is their best selling album to date. The album was remastered and re-released on 26 October 2009 to celebrate its 21st anniversary.