BOOK REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE LIVE

 

Authors Dennis Burmeister and Sascha Lange set the benchmark for Depeche Mode books with 2013's Monument, a celebration of Dennis' remarkable Depeche collection. The book is a work of art basically, full to the brim of incredible Depeche Mode items that inspire jealously in even the most fervent collectors. Their next book Behind The Wall was a fascinating exploration of the band's East German fanbase. News that Dennis and Sascha were working on another book was rightly greeted with delight among the Depeche fanbase and that book, Depeche Mode Live, is a wonderful companion to Monument, showing the other side of Depeche Mode obsession - watching the band play live.

Depeche Mode Live covers the band's entire live career, starting with Martin's first band Norman & The Worms and ending with the band's most recent tour in support of Memento Mori. Between those two points, there book is crammed with things that will make every Depeche Mode fan happy. There are more photographs than it's possible to count from every single live era and when you buy the book, you will see many of these photos for the first time. Fans all over the world contributed to the book and the results are incredible. We are all very familiar with concert photos from the last three or four tours given the prevalence of smartphones and while the pictures from those tours are great to see, it's the early photos that really grab the attention. Seeing the band on the Construction Time Again tour for example is incredible. This was the point where they moved from pop to something more interesting altogether and the photos bear that out. The stark stage set-up, the near all black dress code, Martin looking very different to the Martin we first met - it's all there. Wonderful.

There are pictures of tour passes, adverts, backstage pictures and, of course, lots and lots of live photographs. The progression the band make from innocent pop stars to their stadium phase is laid before you and it's a joy reliving that journey. Was it really only 11 years from The Meaning Of Love to Devotional? It was quite a trip and Depeche Mode Live helps you relive that in a fascinating way.

There are interviews in the book too with people like the band's former booking agent Dan Silver and Peter Illmann the former host of Peter's Pop-Show, one of the show's responsible for the band's success in Germany. All the interviews (there are six in total) are fascinating. I must confess that I've already read them several times.

The best way to sum this book up is to simply tell you to buy it. It is an absolute triumph and a must for Depeche Mode fans everywhere.

I caught with Dennis and Sascha to ask them about the book and of course ask a few daft Depeche Mode questions:

APA: Why did you decide to write this book and what was the inspiration for it?

Dennis: Depeche Mode's success is based on the band's artistic output in the studio, their worldwide loyal fanbase and, above all, their impressive concert and tour history. With Monument and Behind The Wall, we dealt with the first two of those topics. With Live, we now shed some light on the history of Depeche Mode as a unique live band.

APA: Monument was a wonderful book, full of fascinating pictures from the band's history. How does this book compare to that?

Dennis: The concept is nearly the same. Of course, we used many live pictures, but we also used pictures from my personal collection - backstage passes, posters, ticket stubs, flyers, set lists and all that kind of stuff. 

Dennis

APA: How did you gather together so many live pictures? How many of those belong to you two?

Dennis: Most of the live pictures are from friends and fans or different photographers. Lots of people asked us if we wanted to use their pictures in our book and said they would be proud to be able to contribute to it. In Germany, concert photos were often sold or exchanged at Depeche Mode parties, so we have been unable to identify who took a number of the photos that appear in the book.

APA: How did you decide who to interview for the book?

Dennis: Sascha and I agreed instantly on how to approach this. We made a list of of as many people as we could who witnessed the band's live progress and got in touch with them.

APA: Is this a book that will appeal to both long term and new Depeche Mode fans?

Dennis: Absolutely. Every Depeche Mode fan, regardless of their age, can re-live or discover new memories from the band's rich history.

APA: And now the quick fire round. What was the first Depeche Mode gig you saw:

Dennis: At the beginning of 1990, my grandfather who I lived with, passed away. I therefore didn't see any of the World Violation tour. My first Depeche Mode concert was on June 16th 1993 - the Devotional gig at Berlin Waldbuhne. It was magical. Dave was in a great mood but it was strange to see him with long hair, Nothing went right at all during the concert. The heavy rain made the stage curtain so heavy it kept falling down and every time that happened the fans cheered like it was a football match. Dave slid barefoot across the stage while stagehands mopped the stage around him. Everything during the 1993 tour was unpredictable including of course Dave himself. What that meant though was that every concert was different. Dave stagediving into the crowd at Frankfurt during In Your Room was one of the many legendary things he did on the tour.

Sascha: East Berlin, 1988. Dennis and I live in East Germany where the band had not previously performed. I've been a fan since December 1984 and would loved to have gone to a concert then, I was very luck to be at the lengendary performance in East Berlin on 7th March 1988 at the Werner Seelenbinder Hall. That was Depeche Mode's first and only concert in the GDR and it remains my favourite concert of all time. Suddenly that evening, musicians who were previously unreachable to me stepped out of the posters on my wall and into my world. The setlist was slightly shorter than on other concerts on that tour but that didn't matter to me or the other 6,000 fans. Even if they'd only played two playback songs that night it would not have mattered! To see them live in the GDR? Absurd! It was like aliens had landed.

Sascha

APA: Favourite Depeche Mode gig?

Dennis: Berlin 1993, Leipzig 1998, Oberhausen 2001 and, of course, the last show with Fletch at the Waldbuhne in 2018.

Sascha: East Berlin 1988 of course.

APA: Favourite live Depeche Mode song?

Dennis: I love Music For The Masses so I'd say Behind The Wheel, Strangelove and Never Let Me Down Again are my all time favourites.

Sascha: Strangelove

APA: Pick one song you would like the band to play live that they don't usually play

Dennis: Comatose - "Take a light, start the flame" and watch thousands of lighters burning,

Sascha: Strangelove

STRANGE HIGHS - DEPECHE MODE: STRANGE AND STRANGE TOO DVD REISSUE

 

For those of us who still remember the video age, DVD versions of Strange and Strange Too, Depeche Mode's classic video compilations have long been in demand. The original versions, the first released in 1988 and the second in 1990, captured the band at their artistic highpoint. Strange compiled their first videos with Anton Corbijn from A Question Of Time to, curiously but brilliantly, Pimpf and Strange Too featured the six videos made for songs from Violator namely the four singles, Halo and Clean.

Finally, both are reissued on DVD in the one package just in time for Christmas.

The package is sealed in cellophane when it arrives and once opened you find one of these increasingly prevalent Japanese OBI style things wrapped around the DVD case. It's pictured at the top of the article. Once removed and set aside to inevitably be lost any day now, the cover above reveals itself. Just look at how cool they look there. This is only five years after The Meaning Of Love for goodness' sake. I won't start bleating on again about how they accomplished so much in such a short space of time but Strange really does speak to the rapid progression of Depeche Mode both musically and artistically. Anton's involvement was crucial to this artistic reinvention and the air of European cool he added to the very European sounding Music For The Masses songs fitted perfectly. At this point, Depeche were a band who had no idea they were about to become stadium gobbling megastars. The two films on this DVD catch them on either side of that precipice and, when watched together (as I have done several times already), the staggering leap they made from 1987 to 1990 is readily apparent.

I've reviewed every Depeche Mode single in worrying depth previously, so rather than go through the videos again, here is a link to each review where the videos are all discussed:

A Question Of Time: man steals baby, delivers it to Alan, Martin gets his hair pulled

Strangelove : world record for most leather in a video ever, Alan gets his horn out, the band laugh

Never Let Me Down Again : Band holiday in Denmark, Martin's Accordion, Dave's two yellow cards

Behind The Wheel : Depeche Mode's Wandering Minstrels, Dave's moustache, the number 69

The version of Never Let Me Down Again on Strange is the Split Mix version of the track so the video is longer than the single version. Unlike the remix itself which is nothing less than a Godlike act of genius, the extended video doesn't add much really. There's some animated boot action and some dancing but that's that.

Pimpf features despite not being a single. The video is great is however. Martin sits, half naked naturally, in the Depeche Mode Museo pictured on the DVD cover playing along to Pimpf on a piano while the rest of the band wander around angrily trying to find him. The three of them pause and start singing along to the OHHH EEEE bit looking like three distressed leather penguins indulging in a terrifying mating call. The discover Martin's Museo when a direction sign saying PIMPF is found, a sign that Dave very weakly kicks over. Andy, Alan and Dave then descend on the Museo either very limply hitting it (Dave and Alan) or headbutting it (Fletch naturally) all while OHHing and EEEing. The combined force of the three leather penguins sees the Museo explode and collapse. OH MY GOD THEY HAVE KILLED MARTIN! Wait...what's that? It's a fully clothed Martin. He's alive and he's rescued the Music For The Masses horn. Thank goodness for that.

Between the songs, we get the same odd videos that featured on the original release featuring Rebecca Thornton (from Strangelove), Valdemar Christensen (Never Let Me Down Again) and Ippolita Santarelli (Behind The Wheel) all of whom have a lot of quite nasty things to say about Dave.

There are some extras on the DVD in the shape of Outtake Vignettes. The Strange three show some previously unseen footage from Strangelove and Behind The Wheel, the latter in two parts, the second of which is soundtracked by the Shep Pettibone Mix of the song. It's really lovely to see these vignettes as any unseen Depeche footage is always a treat, especially these days when the internet seems to have everything you could want or not want. Look out for Dave really getting into his eyebrow raising, Terry Thomas role in the Behind The Wheel section.

The DVD package comes with a two sided fold-out leaflet with pictures on it as you can see above.

Finally, Little 15 doesn't feature on here, no doubt because it wasn't an Anton video and also because it's very bad compared to the great videos here. 

As regular readers of this blog know, along with Kevin May, I have written a book about Violator called Halo which, as well is being available via all good online retailers, is also the ideal Christmas present for any Depeche Mode fan. In addition to that, I own more copies of Violator than could be called healthy and I have bored many people for many years, talking about Violator and the fact it is the greatest work of art ever.

It won't surprise you to learn then that Strange Too is something I am very much a huge fan of. Everything the band did in 1990 was perfect and that includes the videos. I have of course droned on about the videos in earlier blogs so here are the four reviews if you really want to read them:

Personal Jesus : Cowboy Mode, Fletch's toy horse

Enjoy The Silence : Dave eats his fellow band members and heads for the North of Scotland

Policy Of Truth : Depeche Mode mocked by two women

World In My Eyes : Dave takes a date to the movies, specifically a movie that features him and his mates

In addition to the four singles, Strange Too also features videos for Halo and Clean. When writing Halo, the book not the song, Kevin and I spoke to Pam Heffler (Halo) and Angela Sheldon (Clean) about their roles in the videos. 

Of Halo which features the band dressed as clowns, Dave pretending to be strong, a donkey and much more, Pam said:

"I auditioned for the video and I suppose it was not long before we shot it. I was dancing with a choreographer named Sarah Elgart in her dance company at the time and she recommended me to the director since she was choreographing the video. I probably didn't know much about Depeche Mode.. just their name!  I believe we only shot for 1 day and 1 evening ( it could have been two but I don't remember exactly) and as I recall,  don't believe much was discussed about the concept of the video just how we would participate.  We did hang out with the band and I remember everyone being super cool. I am actually surprised by the video. I didn't know it was going to be so unusual. What we did was super goofy and pretty straight forward and the video is rather eclectic, creative and unusual in a great way!"

Clean is very much a Martin solo video and he spends most of it getting off with Angela Sheldon while World Violation video footage plays ominously on the wall of the flat he's in. Here's the Q&A with Angela that formed the basis of her section in Halo:

1. Were you a Depeche Mode fan before you starred in the Clean video? If so, how long had you been a fan?
I was most definitely a fan of DM before I got to be in the Clean video. I had been a fan since People are People and I was a huge Black Celebration fan.

2. How did you get the role in the Clean video?
I went to a massive casting call full of models. I was sitting on the floor reading a book (I think Henry Miller) and the casting director thought I stood out more than the others due to that fact and spent more time with me.

3. The video is very simple - was there much of a production set-up required?
We shot at the house in the hills for the pool and then shot on a sound stage for the sofa scene. There was more production of that required because of the video playing in the background.

4. Did you realise at the time that the location was actually the rented apartment belonging to the production team (Anton and Richard Bell) as they were in LA doing other work for the band?
I knew they were staying there but I didn't know it was their rented apartment.

5. How long did the shoot take?
I think it was two days.

6. Was Martin the only band member present?
Yes, Martin was the only band member present. He was not there during the pool scene but obviously there on the sofa.

7. What was your reaction when you were told about what the video would entail?
I was thrilled. I was actually dating an extremely jealous guy who flipped out when I told him, so I broke up with him to do the video.

8. Was it fun getting to make out with Martin for the video?
I was a huge fan of Martin Gore and was more than happy to make out with him, but we did the "Hollywood" version where you don't actually touch tongues. Believe me, I tried. He was very professional and kind.

9. It's a fairly intense video, in terms of what it is portraying, so how did it seem between yourself, Martin and the crew when the camera wasn't rolling?
Anton was wonderful and everyone was very professional and kind. It was not like the horror stories you hear. In fact, I was the one who was lamenting the fact we weren't actually making out. (I love Martin Gore)

10. Did you see the World Violation Tour at all? If so, what did you think?
I was invited to see the tour after we filmed the video and got VIP backstage passes. It was fantastic.

As with Strange, the between song films featuring Dave and a toy car, the band going to the drive-in etc are all there. The reverse side of the leaflet (above) features pictures from the era.

There are additional Outtake Vignettes with Strange Too which are a joy. The Personal Jesus section soundtracked by Personal Jesus (Acoustic) shows outtakes from the video where all four band members are having a lot of fun which is cool. That is followed by two Policy Of Truth outtakes. The first is exceptionally moving as it is entirely comprised of shots of Fletch not used in the video. It is of course really hard not to think of Andy when Depeche Mode comes up. This short film is a lovely tribute to the great man. The final outtake shows Dave driving around New York soundtracked by Policy Of Truth (Trancentral Mix).

Ultimately, this DVD is a wonderful release. It shows Depeche Mode at their creative highpoint and adds a few extra touches to make the whole package one every Depeche fan will want to have. Now all we need is a reissue of Live In Hamburg and we can finally thrown away our VCRs.

DEPECHE MODE - THE SINGLES 1981 TO 2021 PART 22 : EVERYTHING COUNTS (LIVE)

 

On 13th February 1989, Depeche Mode released their first ever live single. Everything Counts was chosen as the best track to promote the forthcoming live release and that was a very good decision indeed.

This release saw Depeche Mode release not one but two new formats and easily their most bizarre official release ever. Until Hole To Feed that is.

Let's then grab all we can of Everything Counts (Live).

FUN PACKED - EVERYTHING COUNTS (LIVE)

The Single

In BONG4, the Depeche Mode fan club magazine, the new single and album were announced. It was confirmed that Everything Counts would be released as a live version in "mid January" on 7", 7" collectors pack, 12", remix 12", a 10" 2 track single, 3" filofax CD and 3" remix filofax CD. We'll arrive at Format Corner soon enough so let's leave an analysis of that for now other than to pause and wonder what was envisaged with the 7" Collectors Pack? We'll never know. 

The single, BONG16,  was in fact released on 13th February 1989. Smash Hits liked it:

A "perfectly agreeable tune" indeed. I presume other music magazines reviewed the single but I can find no trace of those. Smash Hits helpfully provided the lyrics too:

That photo has always amused me with Martin stoically refusing to act the clown unlike the other three. You just can't picture Martin doing what they're doing can you? The lyrics are helpful as they allow you to sing along with all Dave's ad-libs and, as this was the first Depeche Mode song that attracted my attention, I remember doing just that with my copy of Smash Hits to hand, although does Dave actually say "Oh you're marvellous" at the end? Also - did I really just ask that question? Finally, 20 of those t-shirts were given away. Given what you need to pay for them these days, the competition winners were very lucky indeed.

The single didn't do that well in Britain but we've come to expect that by now. Despite the numerous formats, It entered the charts at number 34 and then climbed to 23, edged up to 22, then dropped to 24. From there it tumbled to 38, 38 and finally 74 before departing the chart graph (on the wall).

There was no Top Of The Pops appearance other than a showing of the video and that's no doubt because it would be daft to turn up and mime to a live track. Who would actually do that? Well, Depeche Mode would.

This is comedy gold. On 25th February 1989, Depeche Mode appeared at the annual San Remo music festival and mimed their way through a live track in front of an audience who aren't the audience you can hear singing along at the end. Dave starts enthusiastically enough but when he attempts to start a crowd arm waving session at the first chorus, he clearly realises what is going on and quickly stops. He does his best though, miming along to his ad-libs missing a few here and there and even mimes to a couple of lines that he doesn't actually sing. What a remarkably odd but hugely enjoyable thing. You can see them turning into Violator era Depeche too with Dave developing his full 1990 look. The leatherometer has recorded a band wide leather percentage of 75.4% too with points deducted from Alan for wearing normal trousers. Sort it out Alan.

The live version of Everything Counts is of course an absolute joy and, for me, this is the definitive version of the track. The Devotional era version was nice and rowdy and the Global Spirit version had that superb intro (as well as those horrendous tom tom fills - arghhhhhhhhh) but this version is the one for me. The single edit is nice of course but it's the full album version that is the star. The B-Side is the 101 version of Nothing which is a decent version of the song. I'm not a particular fan of the album version, but the live version is enjoyable, especially with the metal pad bashing. 

The Video

Curiously, the video starts at the end of the Rose Bowl show. We see the stadium façade and then the crowd as Dave says goodnight. Even now, the size of that crowd is striking - only 6 years after the See You/chicken incident, Depeche Mode were playing a stadium show. 

We switch from that to a caravan of very happy looking money men and Jonathan Kessler famously says "We're getting a load of money...a lot of money...a load of money...tons of money" no doubt dreaming of all the reissues and box sets he saw far off in the future. Dave is equally happy. As the song starts, he star jumps with excitement.

We then embark on a preview of 101 with various elements of the film peppered throughout the live version of Everything Counts. The stage set is fantastic, all grey and stark, and it's nice to see Martin getting back to not wearing any clothes, or least very few and just the odd bondage chain here or there. Before the first verse starts, we see someone counting bundles of dollars. This shot was actually inserted in the video earlier this year as it shows the takings from the sale of just one copy of the limited edition version of Anton's book.

We get a lot of the live version early on which is good amid snippets of the band collecting gold discs and Dave enjoying a spot of tea. As this is a Depeche Mode video, a visual metaphor is never too far away and as the Basildon Boyzone start their chorus, we see lots of hands literally grabbing t-shirts. Do. You. See. What. They. Did. There.

Some hot dressing room action follows where we see the band milling around and Martin in a pair of his "are you really going out in those?" shorts while Andy Franks goons around and Fletch waves his hips around for some reason. Darryl, Dave and Martin are seen in their Beatles moment from the film before we return to stage for a moment of peak Wilder. As he sings "the graph" you note that, despite standing under stage lights for two hours wearing a leather jacket a presumably leather everything else, he hasn't got a hair out of place. There is of course the famous "keyboard players don't sweat" line from the film, but Martin says that and he's usually basically nude so no wonder. Wilder sweats for no man,

The continuity issues are fairly obvious during the second verse. Either it's filmed from a selection of gigs or Fletch is able to change his clothes at lightning speed and Martin somehow has a hairdresser hidden under his keyboard who applies the fastest acting hair dye known to man. It is of course, footage taken from several shows. If they'd wanted to avoid continuity issues, the should just have filmed Alan - as far as I can tell he put on one set of clothes on the first gig of the tour and didn't get out of them again until the end of the Rose Bowl show.

There are more dressing room shots and then a crowd shot. As you see it, you think "Why on earth would anyone make an admittedly good drawing of Depeche Mode on a huge piece of card and take it to a concert?" How did they even get it in? What if it had rained? What is actually going on there? It's bad enough when people wear rucksacks or hats at gigs. Imagine standing behind someone holding up a huge drawing of the band you were attempting to see?

We hurtle towards the final choruses of the song, Alan still without a hair out of place, Martin ready to play his melodica and Fletch a slicked back but sweaty man. Keyboard players do sweat you see, especially if they wander around clapping and moving their mic stand. This and thinking of 101 generally reminds me of just how much of a hero Fletch is. God bless you Andy.

The crowd appear, all dressed in that strange and really rather stripey way the American "kids" did then and we get a glimpse of the Nashville guitar shop scene from 101. Dave, who by now seems to have put his jacket on and gone back to the start of the gig (I know, I know), demands we all sing along and that's what happens. Dave's face as the crowd sing along is wonderful and the wide angle shot of the stadium breath-taking. The band make for their plane, Dave falls asleep and Alan, still wearing his one set of clothes, uses his hand to ask us to leave him alone.

Thank you, we'll see you next time. 

The Formats

I will say this now and try not to repeat it several times in this section - the artwork on these formats and the labels are all wonderful. Take that as read from now on. BONG16 features the two live tracks I mentioned earlier. The A-Side and front artwork is above. The three girls on the front attempted to sue Depeche Mode because their image was used without their permission. I don't think they succeeded.

There's the back and the B-side. I don't know if the colour black's legal team got in touch with the band about the use of its image on the back there. On the topic of 7" singles, there is a UK 7" promo, BONG16R. It looks just the same as the 7" but has the Radio Edit of Everything Counts (Live) on the A-side and the full version on the B-side. Unless a copy has a Ferret & Spanner or similar sticker on it, the only way to tell that you have the promo is by looking at the labels in the record. I don't have this promo and if you're one of the people who I contact on EBay asking for a photo of the labels of the record you are trying to sell, I'm sorry for being an oddball. (Edit Feb 2025 - I now have this. I can stop hassling people)

The cover of 12BONG16 features the same three litigation hungry girls. There are two tracks on each side of the record, with the Single Version of Everything Counts (the version from the video) keeping Nothing company on Side A.

The rear sleeve is a work of genius. Those four Anton taken photos are outstanding and quite beautiful. Sacred and A Question Of Lust, both from the Rose Bowl of course, feature here. Those two tracks and Nothing were left off the original vinyl release of 101.

L12BONG16 gave us three new remixes. On the A-Side there is the rather nice Tim Simenon/Mark Saunders remix of Everything Counts which is also known as the Bomb The Bass Mix.

On the B-Side, we get the Justin Strauss remix of Nothing which also goes by the name of the Zip Hop Mix. A dreadful alternative name and an equally dreadful remix. The Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders remix of Strangelove (a.k.a the Highjack Mix) is much better.

There were two promo 12" singles. P12BONG16 features the Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders Remix of Everything Counts and the Alan Moulder remix of the same track which featured on a format we've not yet come to.

PP12BONG16 (promo promo?) features the Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders remix of Strangelove which is called the Hijack Mix on the label and the Remix Edit (a.k.a US 7" Remix) of Nothing.

Here's a first. The single was released on a new format for Depeche Mode - a 10" single. 10BONG16 is a limited edition numbered affair which comes in a lovely all black sleeve.

It's a precariously put together envelope package. You need to be very careful when opening the back of it as the bit of cardboard that hooks into the sleeve is a bit thin.

There are gifts inside too - two postcards and a window sticker. It is still possible to find a complete set if you are looking for one. Do check that everything is present however. There is of course a record too. On the A-Side there is a new remix called the Absolut Remix and it is a cracker.

The B-Side sort of contains three tracks. Firstly, the classic In Larger Amounts remix of Everything Counts and thirdly, the Reprise version of the track which is that lovely final track on Construction Time Again. Sandwiched in between the two is the grim U.S. 7" Mix  of Nothing which is an insult to the track it attempts to remix. I'm listening to it as I type this. Good grief.

We had seen 3" CD singles for American and German releases before but this was the first time the format had been used in the UK. CDBONG16 should come with a black 5" adapter (mine doesn't) and it contains the same four tracks as 12BONG16.

LCDBONG16 comes in the oddest format Depeche Mode have released anything in, including the entirely pointless cube the entirely pointless MODE came in. In what will come as a surprise to nobody, I've written a full blog about this format already so head to this link - A Filofax? - and read a longer version of this paragraph there. 

People who used filofaxes were busy and important so they needed to be able to carry both 3" CD formats of a single in one place rather than drag another thing jewel box around with them. 

"Nigel - why are you late for this important meeting of people who make obscene amounts of money thanks to Margaret Thatcher's government deregulating everything to the benefit of only a tiny proportion of the country?"

"Well Rupert, I would have been on time but I couldn't fit CDBONG16 into my briefcase"

"For God's sake Nigel, buy LCDBONG16. That was you can put it in your filofax along with the name of your cocaine dealer and the man who sells you red braces. It allows you to carry BOTH formats at the one time. Honestly Nigel, you are a shambles."

Or something like that anyway. As mad as this format is, it is rather nice, though the slots to fit the CD singles into are essentially the same size as the CD itself so getting LCDBONG16 out is tricky.

It can be done though. It features the same three tracks as L12BONG16.

This single got a 1992 reissue too and it features the seven tracks from both the 12/L12 and CD/LCD releases. Don't try and stick it in your filofax however.

The 2004 boxset reissue takes those seven tracks and adds the tracks from 10BONG16.

There is a German 3" CD single that is the same as CDBONG16

There is also a 1992 reissue. The single appeared on 7" and 12" in Germany but there was no 10" or Filofax pack. 

The US 12" is a 6 track affair, taking the 4 live tracks from 12BONG16 and adding the Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders and Absolut remixes of Everything Counts.

Finally, the US promo CD contains the Radio Edit of Everything Counts and the same two additional remixes featured on the US 12". I took the photo like that because if I did it in the normal way you could see me in it and no-one wants that.

101 would soon follow and many late in the day newcomers like me would suddenly discover just how good Depeche Mode were. 

Come the end of the Music For The Masses tour then, the band had reached new heights. What would come next? Could they follow that?

Of course they could. If you think my posts in this series so far have been of the drooling fan boy variety, next time we start on the Violator singles. 

DEPECHE MODE - THE SINGLES 1981 TO 2021 PART LITTLE15 - LITTLE 15

The official website says this single was released in the UK, Alan Wilder says it was released in France only, yet there are UK versions, German versions, Belgian versions, Spanish, Italian and Dutch versions. Does anyone actually know where it was released?

Was it even released at all? Does it exist? Well, yes it does of course and there are a few formats to look at. There is also a video too remarkably. 

Here then is a briefer than usual blog looking at the single that possibly never was or maybe is in fact Little 15.

LITTLE INTRIGUES - LITTLE 15

The Single

Martin told BONG37 that the band's French label thought the single was a great one for the French market and, despite the band saying that Little 15 was in no way a single, it was released on 16 May 1988. Almost predictably (ho ho), it was a flop in France.

Due to the hardcore Depeche Mode fanbase at home, no doubt enraged that Depeche product was being made available in some European countries, the single actually charted in the UK. It entered the UK charts at number 61 and zoomed up the charts the following week to number 60, before disappearing.

There is much that is odd about this. Firstly, it came out just as the Music For The Masses tour was winding up in America. As we saw with Strangelove, the end of the tour didn't stop Sire re-releasing that single in 1988 after the tour ended as they wanted to grab a music award. There doesn't seem to have been any similar aim on the part of the French record company however - they just seemed to think it would be a hit. 

In France, the single got what one might call the normal catalogue number, in this case 90420 on the Virgin 7". The copies that you could buy in Britain however had a unique catalogue number - LITTLE15. Instead of a BONG number then, we had 7LITTLE15 and 12LITTLE15. That does tend to suggest that it was released in Britain albeit in a catalogue confusing way.  All very odd.

The band seem convinced that it was not released in Britain but the official site and the unique British catalogue number say otherwise. The 12" of course appears in the Music For The Masses 12" boxset but as those boxsets have thus far failed to reproduce some 12" singles that were officially very much released in Britain, the appearance on Little 15 in the 12" boxset doesn't tell us much. It also appears on the The Singles 86>98 where it is tacked on at the end after Only When I Lose Myself, perhaps indicating that it wasn't released in Britain.

BUT, when you look at the tracklist of that compilation, you see that Everything Counts (Live) is then added after Little 15 despite the fact that it was released in the UK. What on earth is going on?

Now, you may already think that I've spent too much time on this and lord knows I do too, but I have spent a few days wondering whether or not to even include Little 15 in this increasingly time consuming blog series and I concluded that I should. All the evidence would suggest that it was officially released in Britain and that it was done so by accident. Perhaps the band were desperate to get the wonderful B-side Stjarna out to a wider world and they only way they could do that was by releasing this single? Does anyone actually know the answer? The two tracks on the single have been basically ignored since the thing came out. Little 15 has been played live on three occasions, all acoustically by Martin on the World Violation tour at the gigs at Radio City Music Hall gig on 18th June 1990, San Diego Sports Arena on 31st July 1990 and finally, and French record company pleasingly at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris on 23rd October 1990.

It's a lovely song of course and really quite different to the rest of Music For The Masses, feeling a bit more Black Celebration like than anything else. An odd single then and a baffling release. Not as baffling as the decision to actually officially release Hole To Feed of course, but there is little more baffling than that in the band's career.

The Video

The video was filmed at Trellick Tower in London near where Fletch was living at the time and filming took place between the European and Japanese legs of the Music For The Masses tour. It was directed by Martyn Atkins.

The budget for this one clearly wasn't huge. We open on Alan in full Wilder Mode winding up an alarm clock. I don't mean that he's taunting it, calling its alarm stupid or anything, he's just standing there, winding the hands round. A coffee gets stirred, a 14 gets pulled off a calendar revealing a 15 (do you see what they did there?) and then Dave appears, leather clad and singing along.

We are then taken down some grim looking stairs before being bundled into a grim looking, filthy car just in time for the "and if you could drive" line - again clever stuff. In the video for A Question Of Time there was another odd kidnap type thing but that was only the open roads of America with Alan enjoying the sunshine on the porch of a large house. Here, it's someone bundled into a grim car on a grey day in a grey part of London. I blame Margaret Thatcher.

We return to the stairwell, see someone showing us their watch and are then trapped in a lift before we finally break free. We are on the streets of London and watch as groups of seemingly miserable people walk past us looking miserable. Lordy, this is no Leave In Silence.

It gets confusing from here really. We see the long haired boy who was running down the stairs kicking a pillar in a car park, so he seems to have got away from the kidnapper. A coffee cup appears again, this time empty, so perhaps he's perked himself up. All of a sudden though, we are back in the lift before Dave finally, mercifully appears and starts singing again.

Alan returns, clock in hand (stop that) as the grim car once again drives away though. Fear not however, as one of our best agents is on the case. Fletch makes his first appearance and he's keeping an eye on the kidnapper, staring at him through binoculars. I presume this made sense when they were planning the video. Alan, annoyed at not having binoculars to look through, gets his clock out again (I warned you) and starts winding the hands around. 

More London street scenes lead us to the middle instrumental section and we see Martin for the first time, lying on the floor, playing a mini piano. Halfway through his piano section, he looks up at the camera, quite clearly seeking praise for his great piano work. Before we can give him that however, Alan's clock takes over (...unbelievable) and Martin looks away and continues tinkling.

We thunder towards the last verse literally behind the wheel of the grim car which turns out to be a more sinister than you imagined it would be Land Rover. It approaches the long haired boy. A woman gets out and the two of them wander off. Fletch is still tracking them though through the binoculars that remain pressed to his eyes. Martin returns, this time behind Dave as the two of them sing along together while we see the 15 torn from the calendar fall to the ground in front of a creepy man, before the Land Rover drives over the calendar page and heads off. The luckless piece of paper then gets kicked down a drain and ends up in a sewer. Poor thing.

Just when you think our man with the binoculars will save the day and sort all this out, Fletch removes them and somehow makes a complete arse of telling the time as his watch comes loose and, instead of keeping an eye on the bad people or just even checking the time, he starts laughing.

Oh, Fletch.

The Formats

Did I mention that there is confusion about this single?  Here is the not officially/actually released (delete as applicable) UK 7" single, 7LITTLE15. Our luckless calendar friend appears on the front and, as you'll see, the label is rather lovely. The single cover is a blueish sort of colour.

The rear sleeve gives a nod to the Bong Megaphone, revealing it to also be part of the calendar conspiracy. The label is less attractive tham the A-side and the track that appears here is of course Stjarna.

For a single that was only possibly released, the existence of a second format, 12LITTLE15, would appear to indicate that it was at least intended for semi-official release if nothing else. The green cover sees the calendar page attacking the Bong Megaphone and, if nothing else, it's nice to see it start taking the fight to someone rather than just getting kicked around. The label is lovely again. There is only one track and that's Little 15. 

The B-side features two tracks - Stjarna and yet another B-side cover version, Sonata No.14 in C#m (Moonight Sonata), a Beethoven piece played by Flet....Alan. Apparently, Martin secretly recorded Alan playing this and as they'd clearly used up all the spare Music For The Masses material, it appeared on the 12".

The 1991 CD Single boxset brought all three tracks together in one digital place.

In Germany, as well the 7" and 12" there were not one but two CD singles. The blue stripe CD features all three tracks from 12LITTLE15.

There is also a lovely 3" CD that features the two 7LITTLE15 tracks and uses the same cover.

As this whole was it or wasn't it a single business started because of the French record company, it's only fair to see one of their formats. Here is the 12".

It features the same three tracks as 12LITTLE15. The single is also available on 7"and CD from France. 

It's hard to draw any conclusion from this release really. It's never been clear what was intended by it other than a French smash hit and that certainly didn't work. The band and label obviously took it seriously enough but it will forever be viewed as an odd relative in the Depeche Mode family, one you see occasionally but can never remember how they're related to you in the first place.

When the single came out, Depeche Mode were busy playing shows in America including a little known one in Pasadena. Apparently it was recorded and a single featuring one of the tracks from that hugely unimportant gig was released as the band's next single. 

If I can find out any more, I'll cover that next time.