GOING BACKWARDS - DEPECHE MODE: SPIRIT - THE 12" SINGLES

 

The fourteenth Depeche Mode 12" Singles boxset was released on Friday 20th September. It features the three singles from 2017's Spirit album together with a very welcome bonus 12", more of which shortly. Spirit is an odd album really. The recording session was fraught with problems, the album is a track or two too long and it's one that isn't hugely popular with fans, yet it prompted the band's longest world tour ever and that tour was an absolute joy. I enjoyed it so much that I spent 18 months hassling fans all over the world to provide reviews of the 133 gigs and happily managed to get every single one covered - you can read all about that here - The Global Spirit Tour Project

The Spirit singles all had physical releases which was a good thing - a CD single and double 12" accompanied each. The 12" singles here, bonus 12" aside, are reproductions of those releases. As with all previous 12" singles, the release comes in a box (see above) and on the back of that, we find the photo menu thing that has come with each release. I genuinely still don't know what it is actually called. Anyway, here it is:

As with the other boxes, the boxset also comes with a reproduction promo poster, this time for Where's The Revolution:

If you are the sort of person who buys records but doesn't have a record player, the download card you find inside will allow you to listen to the remixes at your downloaded leisure:

To the records themselves then. The album's first single Where's The Revolution was initially released as a double 12" (all three singles in fact were double 12" singles) and that's what we have here.

The rear of the 12" looks like this:

It features all three band members looking like they run a Barbers and Craft Beer and Coffee/Vermouth Emporium which serves locally sourced small plates full of things people eat but secretly hate. The 2017 single came in a cellophane sleeve which had a sticker on it. This release doesn't have the cellophane but it does have the sticker. These small, incredibly pleasing details have been a real highlight of this boxset series.

As for the remixes themselves, as we have already seen, I tend to spend a lot of my free time writing far too much about Depeche Mode and, during 2021, I wrote an in-depth review of every single from Dreaming Of Me to Cover Me. I've already listened to these remixes then and so, to save you having to go through that, here's the review where you can read all about them:

Where's The Revolution Single Review

The second Spirit single was the superb album opener Going Backwards. 

The original double 12" is faithfully reproduced here. As you'll see, the band have removed their beards for the rear cover. 

The wee sticker is hiding inside the sleeve. If you want to read all about the remixes and watch the very cool video for the single, here you go:

Going Backwards Single Review

The final single from Spirit was the beautiful Cover Me, a song by Dave and one that turned out not just to be a highlight of the album but of the live shows too. Anton's video for the song was a beauty as well.

We have another double 12" here and we also have another sticker:

If you would like me to cover (ho ho) the remixes for you, have a read of this:

Cover Me Single Review

The bonuses in the boxset campaign have been wonderful, from the Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead flexi in the Speak & Spell box, to the second A Question Of Lust 12" and beyond, each have been gratefully received by collectors everywhere. That A Question Of Lust 12" really is a glorious thing you know. Here, we have another bonus 12" and it's a 5 track live affair called The Highline Sessions. The band recorded five songs in New York's Highline Studios on 3rd August 2016 assisted by Kurt Uenala and Matrixxman. This is the first time all five songs have been officially released. 

For people who care about these things (me and anyone reading this), the catalogue number given to this 12" is P12BONG48 which technically makes it the promo for Going Backwards which of course had the catalogue number 12BONG48. Well, it didn't really as it wasn't a BONG catalogue number 12" to start with but for this box, it is 12BONG48.

ARGH! Now I see that I should have mentioned this earlier. It should therefore be noted that Where's The Revolution has a catalogue number for this release of 12BONG47 and that Cover Me is 12BONG49. Basically, for anyone left awake at this point, when from Heaven onwards, Depeche Mode's singles stopped having BONG catalogue numbers, a fact much mourned by me and people who are like me (you know who you are). Actually, they only had BONG numbers from Leave In Silence onwards, stopping with Heaven but IS THAT REALLY IMPORTANT NOW? It probably is. I know that if I didn't mention this and get all my facts right. people like me albeit not me, would only contact me to tell me.

Let's just move on eh? What is on P12BONG48, a.k.a The Highline Sessions?

The first three tracks, Going Backwards, So Much Love and Poison Heart feature on Side A of the record.

All three live versions are really good. So Much Love is particularly enjoyable and it's a punchier version than the hugely enjoyable version played on the tour. Poison Heart sounds much better than it did on the tour too.

There are two tracks on the B-side. The only track that falls a bit flat on this 12"  is The Worst Crime. The version here never really takes off and that may explain why it was not played at all on the tour. The 12" ends with the band's cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" which is a faithful enough cover of the track and one that I like. Depeche don't do cover versions often (let us never speak of Dirt) so it's unusual to hear them do one but with tis track, they pay a nice tribute to Bowie.

The 12" packaging is simple but lovely. Once again, excellent work has been done here.

As I said at the outset, Spirit is an odd beast as the album is sadly not that memorable but much about the campaign was. While this box contains a number of reminders of the less memorable parts of the campaign, it also brings back many great memories and, as has been the case throughout this 12" boxset campaign, it is a well put together, well thought through set that is a joy to have. Excellent work all round.

Logic dictates that we have one more boxset to come. Once the Memento Mori box appears, will that be it or will the 12" singles thus far missing from this campaign appear? Let's see what happens.

DEPECHE MODE MUSEO PART 8 - CURIOS

 

It's been a while since I last posted and it's also been a while, nearly eight years in fact, since the Museo was last open. Eight years? There have been two Depeche Mode world tours in that time. Anyway, the Museo has been refurbished, the exhibits polished and so here we are. Rather than look at a rare release this time, I decided to have a look at a few things I have that you can't play.

As you can imagine, I've accumulated a lot of Depeche related stuff over the years and, though much of it seems fairly strange, it's nice stuff to have. Here are a few highlights. This post will feature on the usual social media places, so please feel free to add you own there. These are in date order to give the post a pleasing symmetry.

1985 - SOME GREAT REWARD US TOUR CREW T SHIRT

From the front, this looks like a perfectly ordinary Depeche Mode t-shirt from the mid 80's. However, when you turn it over....

As you'll see, it's a T-Shirt that was provided to the crew on the tour. This is the genuine article and is very rare. I've not worn, nor will I, so it stays with the other, younger DM t-shirts in the drawer they share. Yes, of course I have a specific drawer for them.

1988 - CONCERT FOR THE MASSES FLYER

This again is the genuine item. A number of flyers for the legendary Pasadena Rose Bowl gig have been kept safe fro over 30 years and I was able to get my hands on one earlier this year. It's A5 in size.

1990 - VIOLATOR HMV SHOP DISPLAY

Not a lot to say about this one really. It's from HMV and was displayed in one of their shoips.

1993 - SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION SHOP DISPLAY

You know where this one is going don't you? It's a SOFAD era cardboard display thing from a shop.

1993 - SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION CANDLE

It was the early 90's and with Depeche Mode in their Songs Of Faith And Devotion phase, promo items took on the theme of the era. The American record company released this promotional candle so that fans could recreate Dave's dressing room of the time in their own homes. The candle came wrapped in cellophane. Mine still is and I thus far resisted the urge to light it to see if it smells of as Devotional gig. Also released around this time was a roll of packing tape (France) and some Walking In My Shoes baseball boots (do you see what they did there?). There was also one other things.

1993 - SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION PROMOTIONAL INCENSE BURNER

This is another innovation by the band's American record company. The incense burner comes with a chain around it so that you can swing while performing acts of faith and devotion. There is a metal tag on it and that says Depeche Mode on one side as you can see above.

On the reverse of the tag we have the album title and the Sire and Reprise logos.

That's what it looks like when you open it up. They are near impossible to find in mint condition. If you get one of those, it should come in a box. Mine has very much been used though will polish up nicely if I ever get round to it.

1998 - THE SINGLES 86-98 PROMO CUBE

Like the shop displays, not really sure what I can add here. It's a cube and it promotes the album The Singles 86-98.

See?

2014 - DELTA MACHINE PRIVATE PLANE SEAT COVER

"What's in the package?"

"Erm..."

"Not another bloody record. Surely not. "

"NO! It isn't a record. Promise."

"It looks like one. What is it then?"

"It's really cool. It's a seat cover from the band's private plane on the Delta Machine tour. Genuine article too. There aren't too many of these. What do y....."

*other person leaves room*

2024 - MEMENTO MORI VIP GIFT BAG

For the band's Glasgow gig earlier this year, I went for VIP tickets. No idea why really as they cost money that could easily be better spent elsewhere but getting one meant I got a free gift. Exciting times. It starts with the toilet bag show above. But what is inside? 

An eye mask and a candle is the answer. 

That's the candle box there.

There's the candle tin. It says Depeche Mode on it as you can see. Thrilling.

And finally, the candle itself. It is cedar scented apparently. 

There we are then - a trip around the stranger parts of my collection. Next time, I'll go back to looking at the band's rarer releases in worrying detail. Look out for that soon.

A MEMENTO: DEPECHE MODE, LANXESS ARENA, COLOGNE, 8 APRIL 2024

 

Photo by Stuart Cowan

Normally, when I write a review it's a fairly straightforward thing - there's some chat about the setlist, some gratuitous blog t-shirt photos, my own bad gig photos and that's that. This has been a hard one to plan however given the emotion involved in last night's stunning gig in Cologne. Every fan seemed to feel it and Dave certainly did. His performance, as full of energy and as captivating as ever, had an additional emotional edge to it and that edge, as far as I can tell, sensed by everyone in the arena, gave this concert an energy all of its own. It was a truly special night.

I was in Cologne with John H, John C and Stuart. We've been friends since we were 12 and have loved Depeche Mode for almost as long as we've known each other. They are one of our bands. Seeing Depeche with them is always a special thing for me as we celebrate the band that has been a connection between us for most of our lives. You can tell the strength of that connection by the fact they willingly agree to wear blog t-shirts. Our love of Depeche Mode brought us to Cologne for the final gig of the Memento Mori world tour and countless other fans there last night were there for the same reason we were; a celebration of the band that ties their friends and everyone else in the Lanxess Arena together. That sense of love for Depeche Mode was a huge contributor to the energy I mentioned earlier.

I'll stop beating around the bush. We all wonder if last night was the last Depeche Mode gig we will ever see. Nobody could blame Martin and Dave if that turns out to be the case when you consider how long they have been doing this and what they went through in the lead up to recording the album. Of course, we all want them to keep touring and, as at the end of the previous few tours, any speculation about the end of the band is just speculation and no more than that. A few things last night made me think we might be approaching the end though that might well have been down to emotion again - both mine and Dave's.

Anyway, to the show itself. The Lanxess Arena is a good venue though the policy of allowing us standing people in without providing stamps or wristbands is odd. The tickets for our group were on my phone so I had to go out and prove that John and Stuart were genuine standing punters before they got let back in. John H ended up having to show security the picture below to prove that he was in fact entitled to be down there. A small annoying point in an otherwise well-run venue.

Depeche Mode were on tremendous and tremendously loud form. My Cosmos Is Mine was so loud in fact that the vibrations from it made my phone think I was driving. That happened a few more times during the evening - definitely a first. The first of what I have over analysed as a hint this might be the last gig happened after Wagging Tongue. I was watching the screen (the average height of a German must be at least 6 feet 6 inches) and instead of his usual "GOOD EVENING INSERT NAME OF CITY," Dave paused and took a couple of breaths. He then said "Good evening Cologne" in a very subdued way. Now, Dave had just spent two songs twirling around and doing that odd vampire meets chicken dance so he might just have been knackered, but it seemed unusual. Perhaps it's just me.

From there, we got the standard first half of the show. Walking In My Shoes and It's No Good really are two godlike songs and the arena went suitably crazy for both. Everything Counts prompted the first mass singalong of the evening with nobody showing an interest in stopping it. Dave and Martin seemed to enjoy our extended version. My Favourite Stranger was incredible. The song takes on a new power when it's played live and last night's version was a thudding, crunching belter. I had hoped that Speak To Me would feature in this slot as I've still not seen that live, but that was soon forgotten when My Favourite Stranger popped up and slapped me around the chops. Superb.

Dave departed and Martin took over with gorgeous versions of Strangelove and Somebody. I think his Somebody last night was the best one I've seen. Tremendous. God knows how many times I've sung that song since I first heard it on 101. Martin still does it better.

Every time I've seen Ghosts Again on this tour, tears have sprung to my eyes and last night it happened again. Regardless of whether or not it has anything to do with his death, this song only makes me think of Fletch and that's clearly the case for many others too. As he does in the video, when Dave raises his hand at the "Everybody says goodbye" line, I always do it too as did many other fans last night. The song brings so many thoughts to mind - how long I've loved this band, how long I've known my friends, what we've all been through together, how much Fletch is missed and so much more. I know, it's only a song and all that but one of the things Martin has always done best is write music that inspires so many different emotions. Ghosts Again may well be one of his finest in that respect.

A blistering I Feel You restored me to my normal self. Good lord that was loud. Once again, my phone thought I was driving. "That's that for the crying David you silly arse," I thought as A Pain That I'm Used To reminded me that not all remixes are better than the original versions and then World In My Eyes started. Here we go again.

You know the story by now. It's a beautiful tribute to Andy.

Talking of tributes, I was happy to be able to snap Michael Lyons' Fletch tribute flag during the song. Another lovely tribute. 

Even though this was my 7th show of the tour and fourth of this leg, I still get blown away by the one-two punch of Black Celebration and Stripped. These songs are nearly 40 years old for God's sake yet they sound as fresh as anything else. Having the ability to pull songs like this out of the bag 38 years after they first appeared really is not fair on other bands. How can they be expected to compete with this?

Given that we had already had World In My Eyes, it was wonderful and a genuine surprise to hear Behind The Wheel too. That made me wonder if World In My Eyes had been played to make sure Fletch was remembered at the last ever show, but the more rational side of me then reminded me (not sure that makes sense...) that it was also the last show of this tour, a more than sensible reason for its inclusion. Us Depeche Mode fans overthinking things? Never. Enjoy The Silence wrapped up the main set and it was a riotous version. Bloody marvellous.

Before Waiting For The Night, Dave gave a little speech. The whole arena seemed to fall silent - what was he going to say? He thanked Peter, Christian and the road crew and then said "It's been a really special tour. We've had, obviously, some challenges at the beginning. We lost our friend and Martin and I decided to carry on and make this record." Cue a huge cheer. He then thanked us for "being with us for all these years," sounding genuinely moved. It was a lovely moment. The song itself was great too with another extended crowd singalong at the end.

The usual three wrapped things up. Just Can't Get Enough did what it does and then Never Let Me Down Again blew what was left of the arena's roof right off. Personal Jesus ended the night on a massive high. The band took their time leaving the stage at the end, rightly drinking in their much deserved adulation.

And that was that - the Memento Mori tour was over and it was time to head home.

Photo by Stuart Cowan

Will we ever see them again? For no reason other than me overthinking things, I don't think we will but I of course hope that I am very, very wrong about that. If they do call it a day, they are doing so on a high and against all odds too given what they went through before the album was recorded. Once again, Depeche Mode have triumphed in the face of adversity, this time of the worst kind, and if they don't know already, I'm happy to tell them here that every single one of us thanks them for everything they have done.

This is of course the last review of this tour review project. Thanks to everyone who has written reviews, shared them and talked about them. Thanks too for coming up to me and my t-shirt models to tell me/them that you love the blog. It's mad that anyone gives this nonsense the time of day and it is genuinely incredibly moving to hear that people like it.

I want to say thanks on here too to Stuart, John H, John C, Paul, Andrew and Colin for years of Depeche friendship and for being walking advertising boards. Thanks too to Emma, Heidi and Carolyn for their debut t-shirt appearances at the Glasgow gig. 

Finally, of course, thanks to my wife Pam for putting up with me disappearing around Europe several times and, well for putting up with everything Depeche related in my life! She's a fan too by the way and thinks the gigs on this tour are the best she's seen the band play.

That'll be that then. See you next time? I hope so.

INTERVIEW: SiGNL

 

SiGNL are an act comprising MJ and Ian who this year have released they debut singles Ksor and Mathematik as well as remixing Depeche Mode. Most of you know will know SiGNL's excellent remix of Before We Drown, which was one of the highlights of that song's remix package. The band have also remixed People Are Good and that remix is currently circulating as a promo mix in clubs. Their remix of Before We Drown really is a wonderful track on the song. In the video below, SiGNL explain their thinking behind the remix.

 

Prior to becoming SiGNL, Ian and MJ recorded under the name Electronic Periodic - you may recall their excellent remixes of The Sun And The Moon And The Stars and Perfect as well as other great remixes of the likes of Chorus and Winter Kills.

Unlike Electronic Periodic however, SiGNL release their own tracks. Ksor (below) and Mathematik (see end of article) are both very much worth your time. There's no doubt at all that their future releases will also be ones to look out for.

Just like Depeche Mode, SiGNL are headed to Cologne this week where they will play their debut gig at Gewolbe in Cologne on 4th April. Chris Liebing has organised the night where he will be joined by SiGNL, Ida Engberg and Dubfire for "a night of techno, some of their favourite Depeche Mode remixes and beyond."   I asked how the gig came about.

"It came about through Chris Liebing," MJ said. "He is a massive Depeche Mode fan and he'd done a remix previously for the band. We were just talking about dates we were going to see Depeche and it turned out we were both going to Cologne for the first two. He said 'why don't we do a techno night with a Depeche feel to it' and I said why not?"

SiGNL won't be DJ'ing at the event however; instead they will be playing live. After seven weeks of rehearsals, the band are now ready to go and, as well as their own tracks, expect to hear their remixes of Before We Drown and People Are Good.

I asked SiGNL what their plans were after Cologne. 

"We have enough tracks for an album," said Ian, "but for now we will keep the momentum going by releasing a track every other month or so. We might try to get them out on vinyl too." MJ added "A limited run on vinyl would be good plus we will be looking for more gigs and support slots." 

I couldn't let SiGNL off without asking some some Depeche related nonsense. I hate being asked what my Top 3 Depeche Mode songs are as that is an impossible question, so it seemed only fair that I asked Ian and MJ.

Ian: "If I thought about this too hard I'd never give you an answer! Off the top of my head, Never Let Me Down Again, you can't go wrong with Personal Jesus..."

MJ: "We can't go too obvious with Personal Jesus and songs like Just Can't Get Enough!"

Ian: "True. Stripped is really dark and moody.

MJ: "A bit like Declan Rice, the new tracks are going to become favourites. It's hard to pick one. Ghosts Again is really appealing but there are so many tracks on the album so I need to park that to the side as I can't choose. I do think Memento Mori is one of my favourite albums."

(At the mention of Arsenal's Declan Rice, I confessed to being a Liverpool fan. We agreed to disagree on the topic of football...)

MJ: "My thing is live music so tracks from this tour like John The Revelator and A Pain That I'm Used To are real favourites of mine"

Ian: "I'll go for the singalong tracks - World In My Eyes and Stripped."

We basically all came to the conclusion that if we didn't stop, we'd just end up listing every Depeche track.

Thanks very much to Ian and MJ for speaking to me. To get tickets for what promises to be an unmissable night on 4th April, go to https://gewoelbe.ticket.io/0ztmcaz3/

Follow SiGNL:

Official Site - https://signl.co.uk/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SiGNL_HQ

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068939395917

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SiGNL_hq

A MEMENTO: DEPECHE MODE, O2 ARENA, PRAGUE, 22 FEBRUARY 2024

 

Picture courtesy of HáňaPáňa Křížová

The last time we heard from Natalia Burgos was in September 2023 when she attended two of the incredible shows Depeche Mode played at Foro Sol in Mexico City. She set off on her travels again in February this year and ended up in Prague. Here is her great review of the Depeche show there in February. All photos are Natalia's unless otherwise credited.

It was October 2023 and I did not have any clear plans to travel to Europe from my home in Colombia. I had a family trip to Spain in mind, but things only fell into place by the end of that month and of course, not many Depeche Mode concert dates fitted my travel plans by then. I made a list and started checking the gig or gigs that I would to try to target (preferably gigs in places to do some sightseeing too). The concerts that suited my timeframe were Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen, but I ditched the possibility because I had already been in those cities before, so the remaining options were Hamburg and Prague. Without thinking too much I picked Prague despite that fact that my weird travel timing would only allow me to go to the first date, the 22nd of February.

Anyway, I was absolutely thrilled with the idea of seeing DM there; after Fletcher’s passing, I had checked an article of the boys visiting Prague in 1988 and the photos that Anton took of them during that opportunity were gorgeous, immersed in such a special vibe. I said to myself, if I don’t manage to see DM on the 22nd at least I will have the wonderful chance to know a bit of a new, wonderful city, so by the end of November I managed to book a flight to the Czech capital.

I packed my mode travel kit: a brand new Almost Predictable Almost T-shirt (thanks David!), a cute DM tote bag with a beautiful print of King Dave in ETS that I bought in Mexico City and a Colombian CD edition of Ultra, just in the remote case of finding Martin Gore or Dave Gahan for an autograph (wishful thinking!).

Now, fast forward to February 2024, I am in Prague and thank goodness I have great devotee friends that helped me search for a ticket. I got it the day before, but I also had some problems with my stupid Ticketmaster account and for a while it seemed I wouldn't be able to complete the transfer process of the ticket, despite the fact I went to a pair of booths in Prague but they were closed. Finally, things straightened out on their own and I could see the ticket on my phone by the end of the day. Phew!

I also saw a group of ladies with DM hoodies at a restaurant, and during breakfast, a group of people was singing along to ETS, I was also lectured by a Turkish souvenir seller saying that I should better be listening to salsa instead of “gringo techno music” by judging my tote bag (chuckles).

So, at this point, I was going to a seated area for the very first time, for what I think might be my last opportunity to witness DM live. Sigh. Nostalgia and excitement kicks in.

I have to recognise that I’ve been extremely lucky, tons of devotees from South America and Australia had hopes of getting some Memento Mori Tour dates and things went downhill unfortunately.

In retrospect, I feel grateful for DM. They were the first band that I saw abroad with my very own savings and since then I’ve found pleasure in planning trips around concerts. I’ve had the chance to see them in marvellous places, from northern Moscow to southern Buenos Aires, it’s certainly has been a wonderful bunch of journeys with lots of cherished memories.

Now, let’s go to the 02 Arena, I arrived around 7pm and the organisation was impeccable, I went through the security check very easily, there were no queues and the entry was smooth and fast. In my eyes, it is a pretty cool venue, with lots of places to buy drinks and promotional merch too (I bought a plastic commemorative Memento Mori cup there). I loved the sweatshirt that had “MODE” printed on the front but it was rather expensive, I thought it was made in thicker cotton material like the one used for hoodies but it was more like a T-shirt fabric, so I wasn’t convinced in the end. I couldn’t get rid of my coat in the cloakroom because I didn’t have any cash, what a damn burden for my tropical self (in Prague you can pay almost everything with cards but this was not the case).

I also saw HáňaPáňa Křížová looking splendid in a wonderful King Dave costume, she has kindly provided some pictures of this show for the report.

Picture courtesy of HáňaPáňa Křížová

My seat was towards the right side of the stage, a bit far for my taste, but the view was fine. Humanist started performing around 7:45pm with a vibrant act that ended at 8:15pm in a packed venue.

At 8:45pm the Mode Machine joins the stage! The show started off with My Cosmos Is Mine and Wagging Tongue. The audience was initially timid but they got into the vibe around Walking In My Shoes. I am concerned with the fact that almost everyone around my area is sitting down except a bunch of bubbly Italians that are a few rows in front of me! I was feeling a bit desperate, but thankfully there was a man in the seat next to me that stood up and a lot of other people behind me started doing the same, so I could clap and dance finally - what a relief1 Sitting and watching DM live seems very odd to me.

In my opinion the sound inside this venue was pretty good, I didn’t hear any weird reverb, I am no sound expert though.

I loved It’s No Good with the donkey projection, personally I adore Ultra so anything from that era is such a treat. Policy Of Truth holds a place in my heart because it was the first DM song that I ever heard. It was on a TV commercial and it sort of introduced me to the band. By the end of this track, I was having a problem with a woman that was behind me, who was demanding that I had to sit down because she was with her son. I offered to exchange places with the boy and my neighbour (what an angel) exchanged places with the pissed off kid’s mum.

In Your Room and Everything Counts were well received and Dave pulled a young woman to the stage for a moment.  I had never seen this before, what a lucky lady! The white gloves projection makes you want to move your hands!

It was then the turn of Precious and after that, Before We Drown. I was looking forward to Before We Drown and it did not disappoint. It was very atmospheric and introspective with the brand new video projected on the background. I loved it. The audience was calm during these tracks, but when Martin sang Strangelove, the audience's mood changed to a cheerful one once again. He also performed Somebody and things slowed down a bit. After that Dave presented Martin and the crowd was cheering like crazy - there is no doubt that we all love Martin Lee Gore and Dave Gahan.

Then came a heart wrenching rendition of Ghosts Again followed by I Feel You. I never get tired of this groovy and exuberant track. I effing love it. Hotness is not only high temperature, it’s this fricking song too!

After A Pain That I'm Used To took its turn, Behind The Wheel certainly made people react. In my opinion they should have kept World In My Eyes in the setlist. It was such an appropriate track to remember Fletch and with BTW I felt as if the tribute was a bit diluted. After that however came Black Celebration - OMG! It’s the very first time that I get to see and hear it live! What a treat! I am blissful with this smashing industrial track. But the people next to me…not that much it seems.

Stripped is well received, gosh it is one of the very best DM tracks, that pairing with BC is superb. 

Then comes Enjoy the Silence with its glittery skulls imagery that concentrates everybody’s attention. I focus to appreciate this extraordinary techno hymn. What a delight for goodness sake! Martin and Dave seem very amused performing this brilliant track. I think I could levitate to it!

Condemnation and Just Can’t Get Enough followed and the audience was totally immersed. It was then the turn of Never Let Me Down Again. For me every time I hear this track live it’s like a spiritual experience, completely absorbing my attention, and I wave my arms as if my life depended on it. It’s lovely to be part of the wheat field wave, I make a short pause to admire the audience and it’s absolutely incredible, so uplifting, so difficult to put down in words. By the end of the song some people were throwing glowsticks, I had never seen that before, I wonder if the boys like that though.

Never Let Me Down Again

The concert ends on a high note with Personal Jesus, a tremendous classic for all of us devoted believers. Time goes by so quickly!

Once again, having the chance to experience DM live is such a privilege. To drop everything else for a pair of hours to appreciate this fantastic music that has brought so many people together, that’s the power, the magical allure of Depeche Mode.

So, if some devotee is out there and probably has the chance to go to any of the winter dates left, go for it! This is the time! They are in top shape and sounding great, if Martin and Dave decide to stop now, they leave things on an outstanding point of their careers.

I start walking towards the exit and without searching, I find a pair of devotee friends outside of the venue, just like it has happened to me in other DM concerts, it was a happy coincidence and we manage to say goodbye, I wonder if our paths will cross again. 

It has been a wonderful ride and I leave the 02 Arena with mixed feelings of nostalgia and joy. I’ve had the fortune of seeing them 11 times, will I have the opportunity to complete a dozen DM gigs? Will there be a next time? Yes? No? How? When? Where? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain, if this ever happens, I will not be seated, I will go to standing area were the action takes place, yes please!