DEPECHE MODE - THE SINGLES 1981 TO 2021 PART 6: LEAVE IN SILENCE

 

How would Depeche Mode follow two incredibly poppy singles? Could they go even poppier than The Meaning Of Love? Britain's premier synthpop band would surely only repeat the pop trick wouldn't they?

No, no they wouldn't. Welcome to the new, darker Depeche Mode. Welcome to the Depeche Mode you know and love. They were back, quite literally, with a BONG.

Welcome to Leave In Silence.

SET THE WHEELS IN MOTION - LEAVE IN SILENCE

The Single

Leave In Silence was the third single Depeche Mode had released from the still unheard A Broken Frame. That's quite a bold move really as, in the absence a fourth single, the album and subsequent fairly brief tour would be all that there was to promote A Broken Frame. There were of course cameras present at the Hammersmith Oden gig on 25th October 1982 with Mute recording the gig with a view to a future video release but that didn't come to pass. You get the impression that the band were keen to move on from A Broken Frame and Leave In Silence acts as a perfect signpost to what lay ahead.

The single was released on 16th August 1982, crawling into the charts at number 55 on the 28th of that month. It then, erm, leapt to 33 before this performance on Top Of The Pops on 2nd September 1982 saw it fly up the charts to 21.

Oddly, the single then dropped to 23 before developing new life (ho ho) and climbing back up to number 18 but that was as high as it got. The week after it fell to 19, then 22, 25, 50 and finally heading for the door at number 70 before the charts decided they didn't want to play any more. 

This was a very disappointing performance for what was a very brave choice of single. The public was perhaps unprepared for these fresh faced pop chaps suddenly sounding all mournful and sad. The reviews of the single were mixed. Paul Weller was particularly scathing in Melody Maker claiming that he had "heard more melody coming out of Kenny Wheeler's arsehole."  Charming - but I suppose That's Entertainment.

With typical contrariness, Karen Swayne said elsewhere in Melody Maker that there was "more obvious emotion" than in the band's previous singles, adding "It shows the way their sound is maturing."  Daniela Soave said the single was "A tower of glory!" adding that the song "pound(ed) with atmosphere." 

One important point to note about Leave In Silence was its catalogue number - BONG1. Depeche Mode had been granted their own catalogue numbering by Mute, further evidence that the label were very much behind the band. The song itself is glorious. Leave In Silence is a wonderful track that displays a depth and power that hadn't been present in Depeche Mode's sound before. The then very small back catalogue had its moody moments of course (Ice Machine, Photographic, Oberkorn) but this was something new altogether. From the "what the hell is going on...wait this is BRILLIANT" opening "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" to the freeform synth wig out at the end via that superb and textbook Depeche bassline, Leave In Silence is simply a superb Depeche Mode track.

It was a live favourite for many years too. The song was played live on the A Broken Frame tour but then completely dropped for Construction Time Again's tour. It rightly returned on the next two tours before disappearing like everything else from the first two albums, Just Can't Get Enough aside, when the Music For The Masses tour kicked off. A Broken Frame was named as the band's least favourite album by the band themselves in their regular brief Bong Magazine interviews so what hope did we ever have of hearing Leave In Silence again? Well, if you were in the crowd at Bercy in Paris on 23rd February 2006, you will have received a rather big surprise - Martin brought the sing back for his solo set, backed on piano only by Peter Gordeno. The song appeared a further 25 times on the tour, each appearance greeted rapturously. It's the sport of surprise you wish the band would wheel out more. Leave In Silence its 232nd and final live appearance on the Delta Machine tour with a single outing at the O2 Arena in London on 19th November 2013. Bring it back boys - this time with a full band.

The B-side to Leave In Silence is an oddly named, very odd instrumental. Excerpt From : My Secret Garden is not in fact an excerpt from that song but is instead a rather odd and fast instrumental version of it. To be honest, it's actually a fast and, if you want, faster version of the song as the B-side of the 7" can be played at either 33rpm or 45rpm. If you know why that is, do write in. You will be unsurprised to learn that it has never been played live.

At 33rpm or at 45rpm.

The Video

Alan has described the Julian Temple directed Leave In Silence video and the videos he also directed for See You and The Meaning Of Love as "a collective disaster" and it's hard not to agree with the man who would one day leave Depeche Mode much to every fans' relief.

It starts off with a shot of what would be the A Broken Frame album cover which is quite cool, but then quickly descends into something fairly terrible. Just as you're wondering "Why are those chaps pouring all that grain away?" Dave suddenly appears and he's hitting a lot of household items on a conveyor belt with a wooden spoon. The camera pans out to reveal all three bandmembers and Arthur Wolder or something all doing something similar other than Martin who has two drumsticks because he's the boss. Perhaps the band got the inspiration for Construction Time Again's bashing and sampling from this very video? They obviously didn't - I'm trying to make the best of a very bad thing here. Pipeline would certainly have sounded different if it had been comprised of the sound of Fletch hitting a lemon with a hammer and so on.

At this stage, it seems to be loosely based on the cult (i.e. dreadful but people prefer to bathe in nostalgia than face reality) UK gameshow of the time called The Generation Game. It would take half of the internet to explain what that was without sounding like I was making it up so I won't bother. All I will tell you is that one round featured a conveyor belt with things on it that, if you memorised them, you got to win the. You didn't hit them with spoons.

The conveyor belt bit ends as the chorus begins and suddenly our heroes are all dressed in white and have been painted different colours. Dave is blue, Alan green, Martin red and Fletch a fairly pale yellow. They're all holding matching coloured balls (stop laughing at the back) and each take it in turns to sing lines from the song. It's really not very good at all but, as I am legally obliged to mention at this stage, it is of course better than the Hole To Feed video. On the line "I can't stand this emotional violence" Dave throws his ball to the ground and quite literally leaves. In silence. Except he's singing. So, really, he just walks off but the song isn't called "Bounce Your Ball And Walk Away Making Some Noise Inevitably But At Least Try To Do It Quietly" so I'll stop labouring this point here.

From here on it gets daft. After Dave leaves, the other three play with their balls (I TOLD you to to stop laughing at the back) before Fletch kicks his and breaks a window only for the ball to bounce back off it. The damage he has done is more than he could have imagined however as through the broken window pain we see Depeche Mode bouncing about on Spacehoppers. For Christ's sake, I know it was 1982 and Spacehoppers were popular but this is really very bad indeed. Duran Duran, a band whose entire musical output can be summed up as "really very bad indeed" (don't @ me as the kids say) were at least tooling about on yachts in their videos. Spacehoppers? Good lord.

Anyway, for the rest of the video, it goes conveyor belt, bouncy balls, coloured DM men and so on until we reach the final low on 3 minutes 29 seconds, when the band all pretend they're angry and start waving their fists etc. Why? I don't know. I don't imagine anyone did then and I certainly don't imagine they do now.

The Formats

There were only two UK formats when the song was released. Firstly, we have the 7" (7BONG1) which you can see above. The dark sleeve matches the song's mood beautifully and the label gives a nice nod to what was to come with A Broken Frame.

The back of the sleeve (above) is really nice too, a vast improvement on the cartoon like design of the last two 7" singles. The B-side label reveals that the B-side can be played at two speeds. Remarkably, there are 11 different variations of the 7" which you can stun your friends and loved ones with should you collect the set.

The 12" (12BONG1) is a glorious thing with a simple but eye catching cover. The first pressings came in a textured sleeve such as the one above, a sleeve that was faithfully and wonderfully recreated for the 12" Singles boxset for the album. This record features three tracks. The A-side is Leave In Silence (Longer), a mix that is not only true to its word but one that is one of those quite brilliant early Depeche Mode 12" remixes that you can't help but love. It's 6 and a half minutes of sheer joy.

On the B-Side, we find two tracks, Firstly, having had a listen to the Excerpts on the 7" we get Further Excerpts From : My Secret Garden which is really just a different version of the same thing albeit only at 45 rpm. There's an additional remix of Leave In Silence (Quieter) which is an ironically named cover of the song by British Grindcore band Napalm Death. Actually, it's not - it's a really rather nice version of the song with all the noisy bits removed and an echoey vocal from Dave. I genuinely like it.

The UK CD single reissue from 1991 (CDBONG1 - above) took all five tracks and put them on one handy digital disc.

As ever, there were some nice German releases. Firstly, the red vinyl 7" single:

That features the same tracks as the UK 7"

The coloured vinyl continued with this lovely clear vinyl version of the 12" which you can currently get on Discogs for £82

Like the 7", it featured the same tracks as the UK 12"

The by now standard Intercord blue stripe CD single features four tracks but calls them odd things. They are Leave In Silence (Longer) (ok that's fine), My Secret Garden (Excerpts) (hmmmm), Leave In Silence (Quieter) (Excerpts) (what?) and Leave In Silence (7" Version). None of these are new tracks or anything - they're just mistakes.

The French made similar errors on their CD too, giving the tracks the same names as we saw above:

The single was also released in Belgium, Sweden, Australia, South Africa and various other territories around the world.

With Leave In Silence, Depeche Mode moved on to phase two of the band. The said goodbye to the world of pure pop and hello to the darker side of life. Ok, it wasn't a successful single but it was an important one. We first met the darker Depeche Mode and the BONG catalogue number. Things were going to be different from now on but, before we went to Berlin and started hitting bits of fence, we first had to formally introduce a new band member. That was done via the band's next single, a stand alone effort that had a surprising influence on house music and the band's first limited edition single.

It also had a bad video but that was predictable. 

Well, almost.

DEPECHE MODE - THE SINGLES 1981 TO 2021 PART 4: SEE YOU

 

Everything was going so well for Depeche Mode. Dreaming Of Me saw them gain a large fanbase outwith their local area, New Life sold nearly 500,000 copies and made them a household name and Just Can't Get Enough built on that, turning the band into a Top Ten band in the UK. Their debut album Speak & Spell was about to be released and the world was their oyster. What could possibly go wrong?

NME, 2nd January 1982

Ah. The news of Vince's departure first appeared in December 1981 and that appeared to be that for Depeche Mode. Jaunty instrumental Big Muff and Tora! Tora! Tora! aside, Vince had written all the band's songs. Someone needed to step up and keep Depeche Mode going and that man was Martin L Gore. Turns out he wasn't too bad a songwriter at all.

WE CAN RELIVE OUR YOUTH - SEE YOU

The Single

Picture courtesy of depmod.com

See You was released on 29th January and entered the charts on 13th February at number 40. It crawled to number 31 the following week, but the band's appearance on the 24th of February edition of Top Of The Pops saw it fire up the charts to number 10. Another Top ten hit. Who said they were finished?

As you'll notice, there was a mystery fourth person with the band. That chap was Alan Wilder and, after initially joining as a live musician only, he soon became an official member of Depeche Mode. Alan stayed with the band until 1995 before quietly leaving with very few members of the fanbase noticing, a position that remains the same to date. People regularly say "I can't even remember if Alan was in the band" when his name comes up. He's a mystery and can only be remembered by very few fans indeed.

The single continued its relentless march up the charts, moving from 10 to 8 and then to 6, the band's highest chart position to date. It was an outstanding result for them. The single dropped from 6 to 11 and then 13, 27 and 42 before a final stop at 59 and then into the eternal darkness of life beyond the Top 75.

 

Before I move onto the single itself, we have to pause to appreciate another of the band's television performances promoting See You. As we'll see later, the single was released in West Germany on red vinyl 7" and on the cover there is a sticker that says "Aus der TV-Sendung Bananas" which basically translates as "as seen on the TV show Bananas." 

There was a German pop programme called Bananas in 1982 and on the 27th of April that year, Depeche Mode appeared on the show performing See You. As you'd expect for a TV show, they just mimed to the track but they did so, and there is no easy way to say this, while holding chickens. Live chickens in fact. As you can see, the band did their best in what could only have been trying and highly troubling circumstances:

There is much to mention here from the notion of playing electronic instruments amidst bales of hay (surely a fire risk) to Fletch's "Focus on the chicken Andy FOCUS" face at 1 minute 8 seconds in while two Germans get frisky in the hay behind him. You could also embrace Martin at 1 minute 30 or so thinking "A fancy suit while holding a chicken is the limit. From now on it's leather, women's clothes and heavy make up. That'll get me taken seriously." I would heartily recommend you watch on repeat Alan at 1 minute 56 holding a prime piece of poultry, pondering his new job and thinking "What the fuck have I got myself into here?"

Whatever you do, do not forget to watch this most legendary of Depeche Mode performances. There is only seven years between this and Personal Jesus. That is remarkable.

See You is a gem of pop song and it was praised by most reviewers. Melody Maker came up with the rather catchy "Vince splits, world gasps, Depeche fade, no? No!" which I enjoy. Smash Hits claimed the single was "light years ahead of the rest," leaving Danny Baker to kill the buzz with the harsh "Their last single was trying and now this is insipid." That's Danny Baker for you - as a rule, if he likes it, it's usually bad. That means See You was therefore bound to be good.

Smash Hits 23 January 1982

See You is far poppier than any of Vince's Depeche work and it clearly has the aim of ensuring a chart smash. It's filled with glorious melodies and harmonies throughout and features some lovely bubbling electronics - what's not to love about it? For a band who were put in the position they were by Vince's departure it was a strong response.  

The song was played live 211 times between the Crocs gig on 20 January 1982 and the gig at Torwar Hall in Warsaw on 30th July 1985 which was a show that marked the last live outing for a number of early Depeche tracks as we've already seen. DM Live Wiki has you covered for all recordings that exist of See You. I particularly love the version from the wonderful recording of the 21st February show at Tiffany's in my home town of Glasgow where the band sing the vocal sample line instead of using a sample. They do bloody well too - check it out on DM Live Wiki here

The B-side is a curious track. Now, This Is Fun initially sounds like something that should have very much stayed in the studio, but on repeated listens it gets catchier and catchier ultimately forcing you to admit that it is not too bad at all. The band played it live a remarkable 86 times on the See You and Construction Time Again tours with the last live airing taking place on 2nd June 1984 in Ludwigshafen in Germany. Lie To Me has only ever been played live 77 times, nine times less than Now, This Is Fun. 

When Depeche Mode were preparing the A Broken Frame - The 12" Singles boxset, a photograph of the 12" master tape appeared on the band's Facebook page that showed the song was originally called Reason For Fun:

 

The Video

The See You video is, relatively speaking of course, on a far grander scale than Just Can't Get Enough's budget video. It opens over a smoke-filled railway platform with a bow tied Dave distracted from waiting for his train by a haunted photobooth firing out pictures of Dave and his girlfriend. The person playing the girlfriend was in fact Martin's actual girlfriend at the time, Anne Swindell.

 

As you can see, the story appears to be Dave goes out to buy a record and, while doing so, walks past his bandmates playing cash registers and stumbles upon another haunted photobooth which reveals his girlfriend has been hanging around with the other band members and mystery new man Alan Wilder. "Alan who?" you ask. I'll explain it one day. He used to be in Depeche Mode.

The video ends with Dave breaking all chart rules and actually buying his own single. He is still wanted in Essex for crimes against the Top 40 and remains an outlaw to this day.

The Formats

There were only two formats released in Britain. Firstly, we have the standard 7":

The sleeve seems to show a very short man smoking while looking through a window at a very tall woman while the label is a lovely thing with a love heart at the centre because this is very much a love song. Now, This Is Fun isn't that, but as you can see below, it still gets the love heart label:

Sadly, despite its appearance, the sleeve isn't made of wood. The 12" single has an entirely different cover:

It features two tracks being Extended Versions of See You and Now, This is Fun

Neither remix is a radical reinterpretation of the song it remixes; in fact all the really are are slightly longer versions of each song. See You's 3 minute 55 second single version becomes a whopping 4 minutes 50 seconds long and Now, This Is Fun is stretched from 3 minutes 27 all the way to 4 minutes 45 seconds. The whole 12" then takes 9 minutes 35 seconds to play. I'm sure there's a version of Hole To Feed that is at least 4 times that long or perhaps it just felt that way (see future blog).

There were a few represses of this record and one of them stands out as it has a different sleeve. On the sleeve, the girl's face on the cover leans to the left:

Other than that, there is no difference between this and the standard 12". This one is more collectable and once sold for £58 according to Discogs. No, it wasn't me. See You joined the world of digital music as part of the UK CD singles boxset in 1991 and features the 7" version of Now, This Is Fun and the two tracks from the 12":

As I mentioned earlier, there is a German red vinyl 7" version of See You. This was the first of a series of such releases that ran all the way up to and including Never Let Me Down Again. Here is the front cover with that Bananas sticker:

It features the same tracks as the UK 7" as does the German 12". As well as a black vinyl release though, that format was also released on majestic red/purple marbled vinyl. Just look at this:

How lovely is that? If you like it, here's the back of the sleeve and the B-side as a treat just for you:

There is also the German blue stripe CD which is always a lovely thing:

The French CD is a nice item too:

The later re-press of that doesn't have the greyed out centre. If you are going to collect the French CD singles, go for the ones with the greyed out centre - that seems to be the thing to do.

The single was also released in America, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan and Sweden among others. In "Formats I Don't Yet Have But Want" corner, my favourite is the Spanish 12":

An especial discoteca indeed.

See You may not be regarded by many as one of the most important Depeche Mode singles there ever has been, but it's arguably the most crucial. They needed to come out fighting after Vince left and they did that with their own Martin-written pop gem. It kept Depeche Mode firmly in the spotlight, proved the doubters wrong and landed the band their biggest hit to date.

Plus it gave us the chicken video. We'll always have the chicken video.

DEPECHE MODE LIVE IN SCOTLAND PART 3: 1982

The post Global Spirit Tour Project break is over and it's back to work both in the day job and in the blogging sense. The Live In Scotland series (part 1 here and part 2 here) took a back seat because of the tour but it's now back. This episode looks at the band's three concerts in Scotland in 1982 which includes their first ever trip to my hometown Glasgow. It would not have been possible to write this without the three contributors Robert Weir, Trevor Thomson and Raymond Perry - thank you very much to each of you. Thanks you too to Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos for the photos (all theirs unless otherwise credited) and to DM Live Wiki for the links to the live shows. 

Depeche Mode live at Tiffany's, Glasgow, October 19, 1982

In 1982, Depeche Mode played 3 concerts in Scotland, one at the start of the year and two towards the end. For the first time, the band were touring without Vince Clarke. In his place was, of course, Alan Wilder, at that point the Peter Gordeno of his time*, playing with the band while not being a member. He would of course soon join up officially and he would remain a band member until 1995. If the internet had existed in 1982, I presume there would have been as much debate about Vince leaving as there continues to be about Alan leaving now. Anyway, post Vince, Depeche were a three piece band who turned into a four piece band for live purposes. Here is the story of how they rocked or, more accurately, synthed Scotland in 1982.

(* Please note this was a joke. Don't hound me online and send me threatening emails. For the avoidance of doubt, Alan is NOT Peter Gordeno. Peter is far more talented.**)

(**Also a joke. Although Peter is a talented musician. Anyway...enough of this nonsense. One rule of DM blogging, indeed the only rule - never mention Alan. Or joke about Alan. Ok, two rules.)

21 February 1982, Tiffany's, Glasgow

The band's first post Vince tour was known as the See You tour. In case you didn't spot the cleverly hidden reason why it was called that, the band were on the road in support of their first ever Martin Gore written single, the glorious See You. It's a song that still remains the band's biggest selling U.K. single. That's right - it even outsold Soothe My Soul.  The See You tour took in Tiffany's in Glasgow, a venue that hosted many wonderful bands including Yazoo. Around the time Depeche played there, they were in a rose in a crown of punk thorns as you can see:

Tiffany's is now a Genting casino sadly, but back in 1982 it was a much more interesting place. It started life as the Locarno Ballroom in 1926, featuring a sprung dancefloor and a revolving stage among other things. No evidence exists of whether or not that stage was used for the Depeche show. 

The Locarno in 1982

From the first ever Scottish Professional Dancing Championships in 1928 via the Glasgow gang violence of the 50's and 60's, the Locarno turned into Tiffany's and, twice in 1982, it featured Depeche Mode's own professional dancer, Fletch and, thankfully, very little violence. It closed in the late 80's, turning into the casino it still is today. As you can see, while it was open, Tiffany's very much went for a Scottish feel:

At Depeche Mode's show was Robert Weir, now resident in Toronto. I asked Robert what his recollections of the gig were.

"I remember the sound of the synths. It was my first ever concert, and the power of the sound vibrating through me just reeled me in. This was the night I fell in love with electronic music. 

Blancmange were the support and they got the crowd ready for DM. I remember the anticipation in the venue as it filled with dry ice. There were empty synths and a tape machine in the middle of the stage and then the band walked on, coming on to a long intro of Shout and the crowd went nuts. Alan, the new guy, was there. They played an unreleased song, The Meaning Of Love and, in the encore, they covered a Gerry & The Pacemakers song, I Like It - I knew that from my parents record collection.

At the end of the show, I remember not wanting to leave the venue as it had been one of the best experiences of my life. It paid off as one of the bouncers told me to go to the stairs leading up to the balcony so that I could meet the band. I was fourth in line and was star struck. I told them I thought the show was amazing. Earlier. I'd bought a programme which was basically a fold out poster with dates, lyrics and an introduction to Alan. I no longer have it, but Alan and Dave signed it. I told Alan I thought he was great to which he said "thanks" and when I told Dave how much I'd enjoyed the show he said "thanks a lot mate" in a strong Essex accent.

With that, I was ushered along and left the venue a happy man."

The setlist for the Tiffany's gig was:

Shout

I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead

Boys Say Go!

Puppets

See You

Big Muff

Now, This Is Fun

Ice Machine

New Life

Tora! Tora! Tora!

The Meaning Of Love

Just Can't Get Enough

What's Your Name?

Photgraphic

Dreaming Of Me

I Like It

Happily, the concert was recorded for broadcast by Glasgow's Clyde FM. It's a superb recording which you can grab from the ever wonderful DM Live Wiki right here: Tiffany's Feb 82

Listen to it all obviously, but, in particular, listen to See You. The band's equipment clearly couldn't replicate the vocal sample lines, so the band sing them. It's quite wonderful.

The band then left Scotland, returning for...

Depeche Mode live at Tiffany's, Glasgow, 19 October 1982

19 October 1982, Tiffany's, Glasgow

Unlike the last gig at Tiffany's, the band had an album to support with the still brilliant A Broken Frame released on 27 September that year. This isn't an album review thing but never ignore the fact that this maligned Depeche album features genuine greats like Leave In Silence, My Secret Garden, Monument, Satellite, See You and The Sun And The Rainfall. This was songwriting far beyond the years of the then thrust into the spotlight Martin L Gore. Sublime electro goth music (See You aside) that pointed the way to the band they became.

Anyway, back to Scotland. The Depeche show at Tiffany's in the October was markedly different from the February show. The setlist was:

Oberkorn (It's A Small Town)

My Secret Garden

See You

Satellite

New Life

Boys Say Go!

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Leave In Silence

Nothing To Fear

Shouldn't Have Done That

Monument

The Meaning Of Love

Just Can't Get Enough

A Photograph Of You

The Sun And The Rainfall

Shout

Photographic

Dreaming Of Me

Firstly, what a setlist. Secondly - the pop nonsense of A Photograph Of You followed by the majesty of The Sun And The Rainfall and Shout? Bold and genius. I love this era of Depeche Mode.

Anyway, as I mentioned above about Tiffany's, look at this line up around the time this gig took place:

Good grief. I wasn't at any of those shows, let alone the Depeche one, but Robert Weir was. I asked him a few things about Tiffany's.

"On the A Broken Frame Tour at Tiffany's, the support was Matt Fretton. I  loved his song So High immediately. This tour seemed slicker. It had a great tour programme featuring with imagery from the album and pictures of the band. 

I remember the long intro of Oberkorn which was the b-side of The Meaning Of Love opening. Then they went into My Secret Garden before they came on stage with the familiar tape machine centre stage. 

Check shirts were the thing and Dave was dancing all over the stage, seeming more confident than earlier that year. Again, the show was amazing, and I remember being glad they didn't do any cover versions.

All the young dudes

Having shown Glasgow a good time, it was only logical Depeche Mode headed along the M8 to Edinburgh. That could only mean...

20 October 1982, Playhouse, Edinburgh

The Playhouse in Edinburgh is an institution. Opening in 1929, it has hosted Depeche Mode on no less than four occasions, the last being on 17 January 1988 when, oddly, the Music For The Masses tour ended up there. It capacity of 3,059 people makes it an unlikely place for a gig almost exactly five months to the day they'd play the Pasadena Rose Bowl but (1) Britain always had an odd relationship with the band and (2) Britain got Depeche Mode very wrong.

Anyway, here's the Playhouse:

I've genuinely no idea when that picture was taken, but whenever it was, the Playhouse still looks like that right now. And that's right now as in whenever you're reading this - 2018, 2019 or, if Depeche Mode are still a thing then, in 2099. The Playhouse will always look like this.

To the concert then. Interestingly, and no doubt to the fury of whatever passed for forums in those days, the band played the same set they'd played at Tiffany's at the Playhouse. Yes, even way back then, setlist rotation was not really a thing. There are no recordings of these two shows available as I write this. If you have them, please get in touch with me or Matthew at DM Live Wiki as they would be a great addition to the site. If you want to hear this setlist live, check out the superb soundboard recording from the London show on October 25 on DM Live Wiki right here - London, 25 October 1982.

Picture courtesy of Trevor Thomson

Trevor Thomson, whose recollections of the band's 1981 gigs we heard in Part 1, was at the Playhouse gig (see his ticket above). Once again I annoyed him enough to have him tell us a bit more about this gig:

"This was the only time I saw Depeche in 1982. The Playhouse is all seated so it was odd seeing DM in a venue like that however the audience weren't all seated for long. Matt Fretton was the support and was essentially twenty years ahead of his time, singing and dancing along to a backing track, engaging with the front rows of the stalls. 

As far as Depeche Mode were concerned, things had certainly moved on since I saw them in November 1981. They were now playing theatres rather than clubs so they knew they had to put on a show. This fell to Dave who was engaging the audience throughout the show. He'd seemed, if not aloof, then slightly nervous in 1981 but he was much more confident this time. 

Trevor's A Broken Frame programme - picture courtesy of Trevor Thomson

The thrust of Depeche Mode's songs had switched from what was essentially happy, up tempo pop to the more reflective and at times brooding sound of Martin's songs. The songs from A Broken Frame were darker in general, apart from The Meaning Of Love. Oberkorn was dark in an almost Low era Bowie way and even Just Can't Get Enough had a darker edge as they played the Schizo Mix live.

More success for the band meant a theatre, more space on stage, a sit down audience and much better and more impressive keyboards although I was pretty impressed by the machines I'd seen them play before then. There was definitely a change in mood from the 1981 shows. They presented themselves as a shiny pop band but that wasn't reflected in their performance. Dave was a confident broody singer.

I came away thoroughly entertained. I could tell they were already becoming bigger and bit more distant however. It's a massive leap from the front row of two club style gigs to the fifth row of a theatre. Success had put them on the album-tour commercial readmill. They were probably thinking "we have to take this while we can because we don't know how long it will last." They certainly have lasted!"

The badges Trevor bought at the gig - photo courtesy of Trevor Thomson

The show at the Playhouse was featured in the magazine Patches. The band looked tremendously fresh faced on the cover:

Awwwww

I wonder what if the Lacy Fashion section inspired Martin's clothing in 1983? There was also an article telling us a bit about the tour

With Trevor's story of the gig, we can account for one of the 3,059 people there that night. Because I aim to be as thorough as I can, we can also now hear from someone else, Raymond Perry. Raymond is life long DM fan and he and I managed to meet up before the Manchester gig last year. Here's what he recalls of the Playhouse show:

"I'd never been to a gig before as I was only 14, so I didn't know what to expect. The keyboard players appeared through the smoke to the tune of Oberkorn. Dave then appeared and turned on the reel to reel tape recorder, leading the band into the opening My Secret Garden. I thought to myself "these guys are fantastic." They blew me away.

It was a long show and I became a fan for life after it. I started buying their back catalogue including A Broken Frame. It's such a brilliant album - I still love it today.

I used to love the baggy clothes the band wore in those days. I even loved the patterned jumpers too. How times have changed!"

The band's schedule for the day

And that was that. Depeche Mode boarded their tourbus and headed for Newcastle for a gig on the 21st of October. They would return to both the Playhouse and Tiffany's in 1983 on the Construction Time Again tour and we will have a look at that next time.

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Thank you very much to Robert Weir, Trevor Thomson and Raymond Perry for their help putting this together. Thanks too to Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group and to DM Live Wiki