2006
Articles,
reviews of concerts and releases, and band member interviews from
magazines and newspapers.
Singles: "Suffer Well", "John The Revelator / Lilian", "Martyr"
Album: "Best Of Depeche Mode, volume 1"
The band continue their world tour to promote 2005's "Playing The Angel" album, and embark on a project of album re-releases.
Showtime!
[Q, Febuary 2006. Words:
Johnny Davis. Pictures: Ross Halfin.]
Engaging
article following the band on tour in the USA. It covers the usual
Playing The Angel material - ie the band surmounting their
dysfunctions and Dave being allowed to write some songs - but the many
personal glimpses of each band member makes it a worthwhile
read.
[2379 words]
[Manchester Evening News, 24th March 2006. Words: Kevin Bourke. Picture: Uncredited.]
Dave chats animatedly about the impetus behind Playing The Angel in this regional newspaper piece promoting their concert in Manchester.
[473 words]
[Words: John Lewis. Picture: Anton Corbijn.]
A short piece intended for the non-fan: Ten Things You Didn't Know About Depeche Mode. Predictably the author is drawn to the legendary Devotional tour, but not too much and there's plenty of other stuff besides.
[427 words]
[Words: Neil Davenport. Picture: Anton Corbijn.]
A short piece advertising the Touring The Angel Manchester performance. The author is under no illusions about Depeche Mode's credentials and lays the 80s ghost with ringing approval.
[240 words]
[Manchester Evening News, 31st March 2006. Words: Sarah Walters. Picture: Uncredited.]
A brief yet level-headed and engaging review of the Manchester Touring The Angel show. Very evocative of the atmosphere and some pretty amusing descriptions too!
[331 words]
[Birmingham Mail, 31st March 2006. Words: Uncredited. Picture: Robin Francois.]
A short piece advertising the Touring The Angel Birmingham NEC performance. The author obviously knows his onions in terms of Depeche Mode's back catalogue and gives a crash course in the influences bubbling underneath Playing The Angel's tracklisting.
[254 words]
[Words: Dave Simpson. Picture: Uncredited.]
A brief but unstintingly rave review of the first show at Wembley Arena.
[304 words]
[London Evening Standard, 3rd April 2006. Words: Robin Smyth. Pictures: Angela Lubrano.]
A pleasantly surprised reviewer - who seems to have begun with the usual 80s misconception about Depeche Mode - comes away from the first of two Wembley shows with a glowing impression of the whole performance. A witty review and essential if you were there.
[341 words]
Veterans Power Through In Rock Mode
[The Times, 4th April 2006. Words: David Sinclair. Picture: Angela Lubrano.]
Yet another intensely positive and awed review - this time of the first Wembley concert. The writer is thorough enough to comment on the set, the refurbished venue and the assistant musicians, but if anything it's marred by the only photo I've seen where Dave actually looks 43.
[413 words]
[NME, 8th April 2006. Words: Alan Woodhouse. Picture: Uncredited.]
A retrospective view of the Violator era at the time of its collectors edition reissue. This looks at the band's propulsion to super-stardom and credibility, with comparatively little discussion of the album. Serviceable enough, but given that it's a "reissue" piece it's odd that there's nothing at all on the new content of the reissued CD.
[669 words]
[Metro, 26th April 2006. Words: Andrzej Lubowski.]
Short review of Violator for its collectors' edition re-release. Commendably the author looks beyond its two best known singles to the other tracks, but it's very disappointing that he didn't review any of the bonus material a prospective buyer would want to know about.
[150 words]
[Q, May 2006. Words: John Aizlewood. Picture: Uncredited.]
A warm and well-informed survey of the first three remastered album re-releases: Violator, Speak And Spell and Music For The Masses. If anything, the author spends less time on Violator. The result is a balanced view of the band through three snapshots of their career. Most usefully for a collector, the author does take time to discuss the bonus features and not just the music.
[1116 words]
Manchester Evening News, 2nd June 2006
[Words: Sarah Walters.]
Brief review of the "John The Revelator" / "Lilian" single. Although the reviewer is somewhat disappointed, she does pack in a fair knowledge of the band's music.
[116 words]
Touring The Angel / Angel Fire
[Metro, 6th and 10th October 2006. Words: Andrzej Lubowski / Iain Nussey.]
Here's an object lesson in the weakness of tour videos: they can never capture atmosphere and a show will never seem as good on video. The reviewer, despite some efforts at finding the good points, seems to have missed this fact. Also included is a fan's forthright reply which should put the record straight.
[223 words]
[back
to top] [back to 2005]
[on to 2007]