SPIRITED AWAY
IF THE PREVIOUS TWO DECADES WERE ABOUT TURMOIL AND TENTATIVE RECOVERY, RECENT YEARS HAVE SEEN DEPECHE MODE RE-ESTABLISH THEIR SUPERIORITY WITH TWO FINE ALBUMS AND FINDING OUT ABOUT LIFE AT BRITISH FESTIVALS. IS THEIR FUTURE FINALLY NOW AS SECURE AS THEIR PAST? CLASSIC POP INVESTIGATES THE STATE OF DEPECHE’S TEAM SPIRIT…
JOHN EARLS
For Depeche Mode, the 2010s began in the same way the previous decade ended: on tour, pushing through. Accompanying Sounds Of The Universe, the nine-month Tour Of The Universe was relatively brief by their standards but was beset by bad luck throughout, mainly involving Dave Gahan. Between July and August 2009, shows had been cancelled due to Gahan tearing his calf on stage in Spain; on top of that, he strained his vocal cords so much that he burst a blood vessel in Seattle. Most serious, of course, was Gahan’s cancer diagnosis in May. The fact that the singer had been able to tour at all afterwards was testament to his determination.
Depeche only took 20 days off for Christmas and New Year on Tour Of The Universe, resuming work on January 9, 2010 at Berlin’s O2 World arena. The trip climaxed at the end of February with two shows in Düsseldorf, by which point they were talking ominously about no longer being able to cope with the rigours of a lengthy world tour. The shows themselves were far from downbeat, and had included the joyous reunion with Alan Wilder in February. Playing for the Teenage Cancer Trust at the (relatively) intimate Royal Albert Hall was a worthy cause to get Wilder back on stage, and his piano playing on Somebody was ecstatically received.
The tour was captured on the 25-song Tour Of The Universe album, not released until 2010, almost exactly a year after it was recorded at the Palau Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona. In the accompanying documentary Inside The Universe, Gahan admitted: “I have that same feeling of being charged, but what comes from me shortly afterwards is the feeling of a complete drain. The best I can do is sit in the shower: I’ll start standing, but after five minutes all I can do is sit in the corner. I’m discovering over the last couple of tours – and this one more so – that I’m hitting a point where I can’t do this much longer. I’m going to have to figure out something different.”
Even during the chaos of Songs Of Faith And Devotion and Ultra, Depeche had hardly ever cancelled shows. Gahan revealed to The Guardian that he’d thought about quitting when he was diagnosed, as he’d been enjoying rare domestic bliss with his family in the wake of the news. “I was noticing a lot of stuff in my life that I liked. I was afraid to leave it, in case I didn’t get the chance to come back to it,” he said.
“I DON’T KNOW IF PEOPLE EXPECT US TO BE GLOOMY BASTARDS, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN IN THE STUDIO. WE’RE ACTUALLY STARTING TO FEEL QUIETLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS RECORD [DELTA MACHINE]. I THINK, AFTER 33 YEARS, WE SHOULD STOP WORRYING” MARTIN GORE
Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andrew Fletcher taking Depeche Mode to London’s O2 Arena on 20 February 2010
DM FACTOR
GORE VS COWELL
Despite their spectacular record sales and any number of previously turbulent personal demons, it’s rare to see Depeche Mode embroiled in the tabloid headlines. An exception came in 2012, when Martin Gore joked to Music Week that Simon Cowell should be shot for crimes against music. With The X-Factor still dominating the front pages back then, Gore’s comment was deemed a national scandal, especially when Simon Cowell responded. He tweeted twice about the barb, writing: “I read Martin Gore wants to shoot me. He was in Depeche Mode. Do you realise how weird and stupid that makes you? Go and watch the news.” Cowell’s second tweet read: “Why I am angry about weirdo Gore is a ton of people have got shot this year, and people like weirdo Gore encourage this.”
Leaving aside that Cowell appears to have mistaken Gore for former member Alan Wilder, it was an over-reaction of epic proportions. Gore was delighted at Cowell’s response, telling The Guardian: “I’ve never tried to be anything other than a weirdo. That’s the sad thing today – most people who get involved in music are so normal. It’s supposed to be full of weirdos.”