Depeche Mode

Trivia question for all of you. Who is British second biggest music export after The Rolling Stones? If you answer Coldplay, then you are wrong, as Coldplay has only been around for 6 years. If you answer U2, then you are wrong, as U2 are Irish not British. If you answer Oasis, well we all know the Gallagher brothers are unable to crack the USA. Same for Robbie Williams. So who could it be?

The answer is Depeche Mode. It might sound unlikely, but the fact is that they have been around for 25 years, have released 11 albums, and they can sell out a concert anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. That's pretty amazing!

I always thought of Depeche Mode as another 80s electro-pop band. Just like Pet Shop Boys and Erasure (actually, Erasure is a spin off of Depeche Mode). However, Dave Gahan's notoriety somehow does not fit in the image of an electro-popper. He officially died for 2 minutes from drugs overdose. He's tattooed and acts more like a rock star. And somehow the band kept on going.

Yesterday Depeche Mode was in town. I knew about it the week before and tickets have been sold out. So I just went to the arena yesterday with the intent of buying a cheap ticket outside. I managed to get a ticket from a desperate person but because I was late I only saw the two last songs of the opening act The Bravery. I like them and I wished I saw more.

Then Depeche Mode came out. Dave Gahan on vocals, Martin Gore - dressed in bum flaps, feather wings on his back and a mohican hood - on guitar, Andrew Fletcher behind a pod that looks like it's stolen from Starship Enterprise, and two other guys - one on keyboards and one on the drums. And boy do they rock!

I only know a handful of their songs, the famous ones like Personal Jesus, I Feel You, Enjoy The Silence and Just Can't Get Enough. And even though most of their songs do fall in the category electro-pop, the concert is not. Dave Gahan is an entertainer, he knows how to move and make the crowd go wild. Martin Gore is entertaining as well and he can sing too. Fletch, well he looks like the band's accountant (in fact, he is the band's accountant).

Around me I see lots of different people. Middle aged people who must have adored Depeche Mode back in the 80s. Some goths who are attracted by Dave's dark side. Guys who drank beer a lot. A bunch of girls staring intensively at Dave. Almost any kind of concertgoer basically. And me.

Depeche Mode rocked for 2 hours. I never thought it was this good. Oh well, maybe I should get some Depeche Mode albums now.

"Words are very unneccesary, they can only do harm"