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As Depeche Mode fans will acknowledge, it’s been a sad and unsettling time over the last few months, especially for the family and friends of keyboardist and founding member Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher, who passed away suddenly in May.
We were in the process of working through the final edits of ‘Halo’ when the news emerged that week – a massive high for us, which turned very quickly into a shocking and very sad low.
The story behind Depeche Mode’s classic album Violator doesn’t change as a result of Fletch’s untimely death (in fact, many parts in our book that feature him have a certain poignancy now) but we wanted to ensure we respectively give some distance between the grieving among family, friends, the band and fans with the book’s release.
As we write this post, we are also reading proofs from our publisher and getting excited once again about its release.
‘Halo’ will be available from all the usual online retail outlets from Thursday, September 29, via Grosvenor House Publishing in paperback and e-book.
We’re expecting a final pre-order date almost any time soon and a full list of retailers, too. We’ll share that information ASAP!
The book is an oral history of the career-defining album and era for electronic pioneers Depeche Mode, stretching from August 1989 upon the release of the first single Personal Jesus to November 1990 and the end of the World Violation Tour.
Written and published by Kevin May and David McElroy in association with UK-based Grosvenor House Publishing, Halo features interviews with those who had key roles during the making of Violator and the subsequent tour.
David and Kevin also hear from those involved in the iconic artwork of the album and its single releases, videos, publicity and other figures associated with the band before, during and after Violator’s release in March 1990.
Each of the book’s eight chapters includes a first-hand account of the era from fans (“Devotees”, as they came to be known), exclusive photographs and a detailed timeline of an extraordinary period in the British band’s history.
Those sharing their stories include Francois Kevorkian, Steve Lyon, Andy Franks, Roberto Baldi, Pino Pischetola, Nils Tuxen, Paul Kendall, Richard Bell, Richard Smith, Pam Heffer, Angela Shelton, Gareth Jones, Neil Ferris, Bruce Kirkland, Billie Ray Martin and many more.
Halo will be available in paperback print and e-book formats.
Pre-order details and a list of online retail outlets where Halo will be available will be shared ahead of the August 5 publish date.
David and Kevin, commenting on the release of Halo, remark: “We’re both thrilled and excited to be releasing Halo. We’ve tracked down and interviewed a wide range of figures involved in this remarkable era for Depeche Mode, from engineers and musicians in the studio at the time, to publicists, support bands, designers and even extras from some of the videos.
“This oral history is for fans and general music lovers who are curious about how a masterpiece was created. It’s an opportunity to learn first-hand from many of those involved in the making of Violator, in their own words, how this seminal album was made, marketed, toured and the impact it had on music and fans.
“This book has been a long time in the making, delayed by life, injury, a pandemic, work and all sorts, so we’re extremely grateful to those who have given us their patience to complete proceedings!”
I got so excited with this 2nd anniversary of the legendary final shows of the GST in Berlin… that I left the last chapter escape the date itself. But dates are just numbers on a calendar. If you followed this far, I left off on July 23rd, 2018, the day we had the “hard wrap” of filming my scenes and I went off to see the first of the two concerts later that evening. Being part of that crew, even if for 4 days, I couldn’t help but share their feeling of accomplishment after a long and hard job around the world. This would be the first of two times I felt that in 3 days.
Days 1 (Jenna, eternally grateful), 2 (myself), and 3 to the power of 3 (DMK).
On July 24th, which was ironically my only “free day” between Friday, 20th and Wednesday 25th, 2018, I had to optimize my commitments all into: meeting friends from all over the world who were in town for the show in the morning, meet my co-stars as we checked in at the hotel (for logistic purposes I got to stay in a hotel in my own city; no one wanted our schedule to suffer delays because I was late to catch my U-Bahn and meet the rest of the guys and the crew), and later, a dinner with other Facebook Takeoverees at the Italian restaurant located on the same building as the Hansa Tonstudios (I ordered pizza; no Toast Hawaii for me, thanks), because later that evening there was a party inside the “Big Hall by the Wall”. If you’ve never been there, it can get very hot in the summer. The windows don’t open fully. It quickly turns into a sauna. And I was very exhausted. As much as I wanted to see and say hi to everyone, I also had a busy day ahead of me that started with meeting Anton at 10am the next morning and leaving by bus to the Waldbühne. I did what I could to at least say a few words to each friend I met that day.
Not just any Hotel Ultra, but one owned by Mo Ghandehari a DM fan that is a superb guy. He has a few cameos on the bar and at the karaoke as well.
We were all interviewed by Anton on the bus on the way to the venue. For whatever artistic reasons he found applicable, he decided to not include them, except the part where Dicken pours his heart about trying to cover “Precious” and the importance for an artist to send his or her political statements through their works in times like ours. I was actually the first one to be interviewed simply because I was sitting closer to the front of the bus. Unlike the rest of the documentary, we were not “prepped” for this interview ahead. We didn’t even know what subjects he would talk about with us. Anton may blame English not being his first language, but he is an enigmatic character and sometimes not so easy to understand right away, no matter the language. He asked if I thought that Depeche Mode changed a lot from show to show. What exactly did he mean? From one night to another? Can’t be, they usually make slow changes to the setlist as the tour progresses into several legs, but consecutive nights in different cities tend to have the same setlist. Did he mean from one tour to another? Was he talking about his own stage designs and short films (in which case I’d be in an awkward situation should I dare say anything negative about them to his face)? It was so unclear and I was so embarrassed to make Mr. Anton Corbijn repeat himself that I somehow weaseled my way out if it with a yes-no answer that probably only made sense to me.
Behind the wheels on the bus
A much easier question to which I gave the best answer possible (without previous knowledge of the setlist) was: what song I wanted to hear them play that night. Without a second thought I said: “The Things You Said”. Anton then became silent, stared ahead as if trying to making something out of my very complex answer. Maybe he was expecting “Enjoy The Silence”? I don’t know. They did play “The Things You Said” that night. It was a highlight of the last leg and the last show. Apart from the fact that I was wearing my Ray-Ban Wayfarer the entire bus trip (he said it was my choice to wear it during the interview or not, so I chose to stick to my 80-ish look), this scene would have made an incredible introduction to including even a snippet of TTYS into the documentary. But I already talk about economy before “Everything Counts”, I get to tell the importance of Bowie and “Heroes” to the band. And I recall some tough times I went through in my coming out experience with “Walking in my Shoes” as the soundtrack. So it’s more than made up for.
Right after our arrival, Anton gave us a tour of the stage and it’s unique narrow concrete corridor built full of sharp corners, so Adolf-you-know-who could have had better chances at escaping firearms shots at him (he was already aware he was not THAT popular by the time the Waldbühne was built as part of the 1936 Olympic ensemble of which the neighboring Olympiadstadion is part of). And at the end of the corridor: the stage! I confess it was cool to see the stage from up there, but not mindblowing. It’s just the stage… seen from the stage. This being my 10th concert of the tour, it’s hard to think I’d find any surprises. The gear was covered. The band wasn’t there. We got to wander around and take some picture, but that was it. Oh, and Fletch’s stand is slightly higher than Peter’s. That’s your GST trivia of the day.
Then, to summarize the rest of that afternoon: we were free to roam the venue. Dicken and his kids made a small perfomance while the first part of the audience was entering. Despite not included in our VIP pass, they did let us eat from the catering (c’mon, we were there since noon). And we got to meet the guys from DAF! This is particularly touching considering the recent loss of Gabi Delgado. I’m not sure if the crowd understood the relevance of DAF opening for Depeche Mode. DAF were on Mute Record BEFORE Depeche Mode. That says it all. It almost mirrors when Fad Gadget went back into action and opened several concerts of the Exciter Tour in 2001, and then sadly passed away the following year.
For the main feature of the night, we were escorted to our two not-so-secret little areas in the crowd so they could film us from the side. As we were not supposed to stare at the cameras either, we were split into 2 groups (Indra, Dicken and his kids on one side and Carine, Liz, Cristian and I on the exact opposite). Apart from this slightly inconvenient of having a camera on your face all the time, we did manage to not stare into them all concert long. Anton wanted authenticity. He wanted our most genuine reactions. None of those close up shots were rehearsed. We had no insider tip of the setlist. We were being surprised just like everyone else that night. I didn’t mess up any lyrics when it shows me singing “Where’s The Revolution” and “Heroes”. I passed my self-imposed test of “not being the goth girl crying in despair” during “Blasphemous Rumours” on “101”.
Thank you ALL so very much!
After the apotheotic ending of the show, that’s when the second “wrap up” feeling hit me. This crew (or a big part of it) had been traveling around the globe for more than a year. They became one family. Yet, like at the end of any concert, they have to hurry up to get everyone out and start disassembling the gear. I could almost see tears in their eyes as they were still doing their job. For whatever reason, some of us got leave on a van first, but I stayed behind. This was when I finally gave in and drank some beers with the DAF guys whose dressing container was next to ours. I had avoided all alcohol that hot day. I didn’t want to have to leave for the little boys’ room during the show. But I smuggled some 6 or 7 bottles of mineral water on my cargo shorts. You can see how my light grey shirt is already dark grey by the last song. That’s all sweat! Also real sweat, as Anton wanted. Not fake sprayed water over my sexy body for visual effects.
The next day I couldn’t do anything. I checked out of the hotel, went back home and slept the rest of the day. The entire day! Those 6 days blended together into one thing, but I got to recover and resume my life that I had put on hold since Friday, the 20th (and my husband so gracefully understood how important it was to me and freed me of some our shared shores during that period). Exhausted, but happy to have experienced all of this. Thank you, Depeche Mode!
“SPiRiTS in the Forest”/”Live Spirits” 2BD/2CD, 2DVD/2CD, and “Live Spirits Soundtrack” 2CD out on June 26th, 2020!
Order yours from the official UK or US Depeche Mode Store. Or check your favorite retailer here. As always, keep up with official information about “SPiRiTS in the Forest” from the film official website.
Since last year, Mute Records is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary. But instead of ending the celebrations on 2018, they made it into a future-driven slogan aptly named “Mute 4.0 1978→Tomorrow”. There’s a bunch of re-releases and a bunch of new releases.
One of them is both ingenious and well-hearted, but possibly disappointing. I’m talking about “STUMM433”. They managed to get 58 artists from Mute (there are even ones signed to other labels right now, disbanded or even deceased) and had each one of them do a cover of the same musical piece: American composer John Cage’s “4’33″” (sorry for the excess of quotation marks, but it’s supposed to be read “4 minutes and 33 seconds”).
But this is no ordinary song. It’s an experiment. The entire composition requires the musicians to not play their instruments. So if you think this means 4’33” of silence, you’re correct. Or at least on the right track. It’s by no means absolute silence. And it’s not supposed to last 4’33” precisely either. By what we’ve been teased so far, it’s a contemplation at musical silence, yet, at the noise around us. Pitchfork gave it a 6.3 comparing it to ambient noise you hear on your daily commute.
The list of artists is impressive: A Certain Ratio, A.C. Marias, ADULT., The Afghan Whigs, Alexander Balanescu, Barry Adamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, Cabaret Voltaire, Carter Tutti Void, Chris Carter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, Danny Briottet, Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, He Said, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T. Pearson, K Á R Y Y N, Komputer, Laibach, Land Observations, Lee Ranaldo, Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, Maps, Mark Stewart / Sonskrif / The New Banalist Orchestra, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, Miranda Sex Garden, Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, NON / Boyd Rice, Nonpareils, The Normal, onDeadWaves, Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, Richard Hawley, ShadowParty, Silicon Teens, Simon Fisher Turner and Edmund de Waal, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen and Gareth Jones.
It is rumored that Depeche Mode’s rendition was recorded at the backstage of their final show of the Global Spirit Tour, July 25th, 2018. Maybe it’s the crew just having a chat while the band plays “Enjoy The Silence” on stage? Anyway, each version will also be followed by a visual piece. So that’s a lot of material on our way. Laibach, for example, made this accompanying video that clocks a bit over 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, Mute’s boss Daniel Miller himself revived his moniker “The Normal” for the first time since the creation of the label for a piece that is exactly that: ambient noise.
This release will be available on October 4th. There is a mammoth 5-disc vinyl box that comes along with candles with the scent of silence (?!) and a certificate of authenticity signed by Daniel Miller among other extras. This is limited to 433 copies and costs £220.00 and as of the day of this post (24/08/2019) they are still available. A regular 5CD box set is also coming, along the usual non-physical means. You can check it all out here. No wonder the deluxe version may take a while to sell out. Is it something people will play more than once in their lives, as the Pitchfork reviewer said?
Net profits from the release of the STUMM433 box-set will be split between the British Tinnitus Association and Music Minds Matter, charities chosen to honour Inspiral Carpets’ founding member Craig Gill who suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of his tinnitus in the years up to his untimely death. So there’s a very good charitable side to it.
A band that often gets mentioned along with Depeche Mode is New Order. Yes, they have a lot in common, but also a completely different history and dynamics. For years they were on Mute Records’ Manchester indie counterpart, legendary Factory Records. Ironically, they’re now signed to Mute since 2015, while Depeche Mode is signed with Sony BMG/Columbia since 2013 (but still maintaining such a great relationship with Mute that they still carry their logo on their Sony-era releases).
New Order has a new live album out today. The full title can be puzzling if you missed some math classes in high school: “∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif) New Order + Liam Gillick: So it goes..” The formula simples translates into New Order plus Liam Gillick and a 12-synthesizer ensemble from the Royal Northern College of Music at the Manchester International Festival, 2017. “So it goes” was the name of the show hosted by Factory Records visionary founder, Tony Wilson, on Granada TV back in the 70’s (I’m sure you saw that on the hilarious 2002 bio-pic “24 Hour Party People”). This performance was recorded at that very same studio. Conceptual artist Liam Gillick took care of the entire visual side of this short residency (in fact, it’s a pity there isn’t a video counterpart to the album). The album was recorded live on 13 July 2017 and includes the full show and encore plus 3 additional tracks recorded over the residency to give listeners a full representation of the breadth of material performed.
If you’ve seen New Order live before when Peter Hook was still in the band (until 2006) or when the band reformed without him as a 5-piece act (from 2011 on), this is like neither. Here, the band brought back some old album deep cuts, fan favorites that hadn’t been played in ages and everything de- and reconstructed for this setup with the 12 extra musicians. For the casual listener, the track list may look odd. Don’t let that scare you. It’s a very good album that makes you wish you were there. The casual listener of today may become the die-hard fan of tomorrow. Here’s their rendition of their 1985 single “Sub-culture”.
In fact, the band has resumed touring with their regular setup (not very different from what is found on their previous live album, NOMC2015, released in late 2017) for a Summer festival tour and some extra European dates which include Berlin. I’m still thinking if I should go or not, since I saw them play in support of 2015’s “Music Complete” right here, at the same Tempodrom venue.
Along the usual digital outlets (check here), you can order the album as a 2CD set or a limited triple transparent colored vinyl set here: mute.com/mute/∑no12klg17mif. You gotta love Mute’s URL with the formula in it. In fact, Mute never lets us down when it comes to design and packaging. It’s so much more than just a record label.
You might as well head down to Mute.com because they’ve been celebrating their 40th anniversary since last year (which makes them… 41 years old), but the celebration looks from the past towards the future. That’s why the whole campaign is called “Mute 4.0, 1978 → Tomorrow”. There’s so much going on it could render a few dozen posts. This one is already a bizarre temptation at making a singularity.
I was just thinking the other day I’ve been a fan for 20 years now. I’d pin point my turning point sometime in January, 1999. I had seen the “Only When I Lose Myself” video and the 1998 Cologne show on MTV Latin to death. MTV Brazil was always late in comparison with its Spanish speaking sister – and coincidence or not, Dicken Schrader used to work for MTV Latin and VH1 at the time. Just in case you’ve arrived here out of nowhere, Dicken (and his kids) were “Day 3” on the Facebook Takeover, right after me.
There was no blue print of the takeover, so I decided to ramble about those 18 years of Depeche Mode in my life, how listening to “The Singles 86>98” on the road non-stop brainwashed me into a devotee. Well, Moby’s “Play” and Erasure’s “Pop! The first 20 hits” also helped carve Mute’s space in my musical taste.
I also misread the email with the instructions about the word count of each post. I ended up having to cut some 80% of what I wrote. I have the originals saved here, but I’ll give it some thought if I should publish them or not. In the meantime, here is my second post.