BIOGRAPHY2005 and 2006
Overview: Released these years were the single Precious / Free, the album Playing The Angel, the further single releases A Pain That I'm Used To / Newborn, Suffer Well / Better Days and John The Revelator / Lilian, the concert video Touring The Angel: Live In Milan, the single Martyr and a Best-Of-album.
On January 17 in Santa Barbara the recordings to
Playing The Angel began, and like already at Exciter, they noticed
once again that they got along with other much better now.
Dave: "The strangest thing that's happened is that we're all getting
on pretty well. With the last album, it all felt a bit dead. This time we're
all pulling together a lot more."[1]
But in the end there weren't so many changes ...
Dave: "Pain And Suffering In Various Tempos was the
original title of the album. During the first recording
session someone of our record company dropped by, wanted to
know whether we already had a title. Of course we hadn't.
I joked then: As usual it's all about pain and suffering.
And the bloke completes: Presumable in different tempi.
And now we let this print on the back of the album."
... except that Dave contributed three songs to the album.
"It's about that I still can't allow any feelings.
There is this side in me that is a bit strange. I could never
write a song about the euphoric beginning of a relationship.
It's difficult for me to handle the love that is given to
me whether of my family or of my friends.
Perhaps I have been
disappointed once too often in my life. I have actually
everything. I feel loved but I often don't use this wonderful
supply because it's hard for me to let anyone get close to me.
I'm afraid of opening my soul and give myself completely to
someone else. Through this my life is more difficult than it
has to be. Maybe the reason for it lies in any debt in my
subconscious, deep dug in my childhood. I don't know.
My wife tries to cheer me up then. We are very similar
in this regard. It's not by chance that you surround yourself
with people with whom you can share such feelings."[2]
... and that they had a new producer, Ben Hillier, a choice that parts
of the fan-base didn't like really, especially the music-fans weren't
that happy. The band had – of course – a different view to this.
Martin: "Going into the studio and making another record together
when you've done so much together, though, I think you really have to strive
to find something new. When we first sat down together, even though we
didn't actually really talk about it, I think we all felt that if we were
going to make another record together, we had to challenge ourselves. The
key to that was the producer Ben Hillier, because he came to the table not
really even being a fan of our music. He knew a few songs and we had to
actually get him the whole catalogue for him to listen to. But he really
had an idea of how he wanted to approach this and he was aggressive with
that and I think we needed that."[3]
(Playing The Angel - with friendly permission of © Paolo Gobbo)
On October 3 the single Precious / Free was released and
on October 17 the album Playing The Angel followed.
For this DM won the MTV European Award in the category best group.
Precious was a big success although an early version of the video
(with unfinished rendering and many sketch placeholders) was leaked to the
internet long before the song was even out, so most fans were able to listen
to it about two months ahead of the release.
The media didn't really believe in the sudden harmony
that's why the previous "bitch alarm" was picked up again.
Dave: "I find a quarrel very healthy and beneficial if
it's about ideas. But not if it's about ego. This was my
problem in the past. I have never said clearly enough: Here,
I have some ideas, I want you to help me. I simply couldn't
say it. For this album I formulated it for the first time and
was greeted with open arms."[4]
But still there were some tensions. At the video to Precious e.g.
Martin: "The director was just going through the concept of the video,
and that he wanted us to be playing in this futuristic ballroom. And Dave
said, 'Well if it's a ballroom, Andy, I think you should play a piano,' and
Andy said, 'Well if it's a futuristic ballroom maybe it would look better if
I play an old synth.' Suddenly Dave's shouting, 'Well I only want what's
best for the band!' and he's stormed out."[5]
Very amusing interview with Martin and Fletch
that was published on aol.de shortly before DM's appearance at
TOTP on September 08th and which unfortunately
can't be found anymore. The name of the journalist who met
the two for a wheat beer can't be reconstructed therefore either.
Martin: "The beer was my condition for this interview."
Fletch: "He's been drinking non-stop now already for 14 hours."
Martin: "A new journalist drops in here every half hour
and I get a new beer every half hour. This is the deal. ...
I must be fit tomorrow, though, because we appear at TOTP.
We have the show alone for us. We are even a bit angry about,
that we don't meet Nena this time."
Journalist: "Do you like her?"
Martin: "She was quite cute 20 years ago."
Fletch: "She has four children, one more than you,
Martin. And she's shaving her armpits now."
[...]
Martin: "Every journalist who comes in here says:
I like the album. In the past times there used to be real
discussions with the rock journalists, heated discussions
about what the songs are worth. This was extremely more fun.
To take the cassette recorder from a journalist and throw
it out of the window was fun, too. In the 80s rock music was
very big and electronic music wasn't really taken seriously,
there would have been almost a brawl during interviews
sometimes. Good old days."
Fletch: "Yes, nowadays even the rock journalists like us."
Martin: "In the 80s we were at least hated. Now everybody
accepts electronic music and we are in the pop shelves. We're
terrible mainstream. We wouldn't make any albums anymore if
we weren't sure they're important and relevant also beyond
their time. It would be really sad to be like the Rolling
Stones. Everybody wants to see them but then they only want to hear
Paint It Black or Satisfaction."
Fletch: "But, Martin, people also come to us because of
Just Can't Get Enough."[6]
Once a German radio station published a stream - which
can't be found anymore - with the following conversation:
Journalist: "As often as you are in Germany you probably
speak a little German, don't you?"
Martin: "Ich habe Deutsch in der Schule gelernt. Und ich habe
eine Weile in Berlin gelebt. Ich hatte eine deutsche Freundin."
(laughed) "Ja, ich spreche nicht gut Deutsch, aber ich
spreche okay Deutsch."
(I learned German at school. And I lived in Berlin for a while.
I had a German girlfriend. I don't speak German well but
I speak German okay.)
Journalist: "And you, Dave?"
Dave: "Spiegelei mit Bratkartoffeln - ohne Toast." (laughed)[7]
(Fried egg with fried potatoes - without toast.)
In another interview the DM members were asked to say, separated from each other,
what they like at the other two.
Fletch: "Martin, I've known him since the age of 11, and he's one of
the nicest men I've ever met. Dave, he staggers me with his performance
every night."
Martin: "Dave is extremely disciplined. And Andy's excessively
organised."
Dave (apparently caught unprepared): "Um ... tell you something great?
Oh, that's much harder than I thought. I couldn't tell you something great
about myself. Well, Martin ... You know what? That's a really difficult
question. You just landed that one on me. ... Well, Fletch is, um ... I can't
think of anything. Do I get to hear what they said?"[8]
(with friendly permission of © Jérôme Pouille)
On October 28 "Touring The Angel" began in
New York. The American leg included 26 concerts and ended on
December 11.
The next day - on December 12 - the single A Pain That I'm
Used To / Newborn was released.
On January 13 the second leg of the tour started in Dresden.
The European leg had 52 concerts and ended on April 3 in London.
In between, on March 27, the single Suffer Well / Better Days
was released.
Dave (about the line where were you when I fell from grace in
Suffer Well): "It was definitely a little dig at them. I didn't
write it like that but when I sang it, I did picture Martin. It was, What
didn't you understand that I needed you the most then. Where was the f***
answers when I needed them most? When I finally hit a wall, of crawling
across the floor of that apartment in Santa Monica, I felt myself dying.
I felt my soul had gone and inside I was screaming, Where the f*** are you?!"
(I suppose this is one of those statements about which Martin said he'd
think 'What?!' - see 2003/04. And I don't think Dave meant it as he said it.
He just jumped on a suggestive question because it sounded so nice in
that moment.)
Martin: "I've been accused of being closed, emotionally, and it's
true up to a point. Sometimes I find it difficult, dealing with life in
general. Music helps me there. It's some kind of therapy. There are obviously
things I feel guilty about in my life. I'm in the middle of my divorce at
the moment. I've got three children." - That's what the lyrics of Precious
deal with. - "I feel like I've failed in my marriage. I feel guilty about
that because of the children. Maybe the marriage was partly a charade for a
while anyway. Maybe I felt guilty about that for ... I don't know how many
years. We're a very non-talkative band. I think, deep down, we all want the
same thing, but it only takes one person to say something slightly off the
beaten track for someone to take it wrongly and for it all to go off. But
why not look at it another way? We've been together 25 years, so we must
be doing something right."[9]
(The Darkest Star - with friendly permission of ©
Justin Lim
Origin title of the picture was: Sister Of Night))
From April 27 till May 21 the band returned for 12 concerts
to the US, Canada and Mexico.
On June 2 the second European leg started. It included 33 concerts
- with many festivals - and ended on August 1 in Athens.
In between, on June 5, the single John The Revelator / Lilian
was released.
On September 25 the concert video Touring The
Angel: Live In Milan was published.
On October 30 the single
Martyr. It was connected to Best Of Depeche Mode Volume One
that was released on November 13. The song, originally titled
Martyr for Love, is a missing track from the Playing the Angel
sessions. It was considered as the first single but it did not make on the album.
Fletch (about the Best Of): "It isn't a publication for the big fan.
This one has the songs anyway. The record is more aimed
to people who have only a few records of DM or also none at all.
We discussed a lot about the selection of the songs. It was difficult.
Every big DM fan probably has a completely other list with
favourite songs. I connect many memories with every song,
for example how we recorded it and whether we had good or
bad times."[10]
All in all Playing The Angel and the tour were a great success.
Many fans liked the more lively and "edgier" Playing The
Angel better than Exciter, and it brought many new fans to the
band. The internet helped, too, or the fact, that in 2006 many more people had
internet than in 2001. Many fans are in networks now to talk
about their collections and interests, to make appointments
for parties and concerts. The "devoted community" came alive a second
time, although in a different way than in the 1980's.
Sometimes this doesn't work at all because many "old" fans, who still hang on
to "their" band but have increasing problems with what DM do today, get into
trouble with "new" fans. And the difference gets bigger so there are
almost two communities today - "the-old-fans-who-want-Alan-back-moaner-community"
and the "I-like-most-what-they-do-who-the-f***-is-Alan-community".
Every album of the "post-Alan-era" had its critics (although critics of the
critics say that even an album like Violator had had bad critiques)
and these critics get louder from album to album. The highpoint was reached
lately at Sounds Of The Universe that divided the fans much stronger
than before Exciter.
Of course, the fans are still devoted - and there are many new fans -
but it's noticeable that in the survey on this website most answers (34%)
applied to "the former days" and there are 24%, saying that "the sound (without Alan)
is no longer that complex / rich / bombastic / atmospheric / orchestral".
And 24% - applying to "today" - said that the "quality isn't so high anymore".
Noticeable also that 77% of the answers applying to former times are positive,
while there are only 54% positive answers applying to today.
That they "lost their typical sound" is one of central points in the endless
"Alan-discussion". To this I found a very interesting statement of Bruce
Dickinson (Iron Maiden): "I think that fans are very old fashioned in general -
whatever they are fans of. In that very moment you discover something you like
you want to keep this for you. If you like a painter who tells you one day that
he won't paint anymore but works as a sculptor, you'll be disappointed. It is
the same with the music business. Musicians are always trying to find something
new to not getting bored. But fans are only entertained by songs they really
like. They don't want completely new things but constancy. Maiden-fans want a
typical Maiden-album."[11] (And DM-Fans a typical DM-album ...)
References:
[1] In the Studio: Depeche Mode, Q, July 2005. Words: Uncredited
[2] The Dark Side of the Mode, Kulturnews, October 2005. Words: Stefan Woldach
[3] Mode Turn Angelic, Manchester Evening News, 24th March 2006. Words: Kevin Bourke
[4] The Dark Side of the Mode, Kulturnews, October 2005. Words: Stefan Woldach
[5] Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mojo, November 2005. Words: Danny Eccleston
[6] Interview on aol.de. Source can't be found anymore
[7] German radio. Source can't be found anymore
[8] Showtime! Q, February 2006. Words: Johny Davis
[9] Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mojo, November 2005. Words: Danny Eccleston
[10] DM: Das haben wir uns verdient, ZEIT Online, Tagesspiegel, 06th November, 2006, Words: Nadine Emmerich
[11] Metal Hammer, April 2002, words: Matthias Mineur
To the
Message-board.
About DM in general & News, questions,
discussions and feedback.
Review to Playing The Angel.
(You don't need to become a member to reply to topics in public forums.)