Dave Gahan sits in a conference room at the Knights Bridge Hotel, elbows resting on the table. His elastic wrists sprout from the sleeves of his biker jacket and bend like two thin trees in the wind. He has silver chains, a black marketer's hairstyle, a look drained of all sorts of chemicals that he has been using for years, and a sharp, irritable smile. Under his shirt is a giant tattoo of angel wings, it took him ten hours to get it. His piercings are almost invisible. Once he pierced his crotch, and then said: there are so many holes in his “apparatus” that he urinates like a garden watering can. Gahan almost died three times. For the first time heart attack caught up with him right on stage in 1993. He was carried out on a stretcher, and the group performed an encore without a leader.

Two days before our meeting, Gahan, tanned as if he had just come from a solarium, wearing a leather vest over his bare torso, gives a concert in Glasgow. Out of habit, he scans the front row for a loyal fan, one of those he bumps into about fifty times a year on his European tours.

- My vision! - Gahan laments. — I was prescribed sunglasses. I can look at the stars at night - that's all. My house is far away from here, on Long Island, and when you lie on the lawn in the summer, the stars are like - bam! — his fingers imitate a flash.

He thinks and speaks at a faster pace, like all former drug addicts, his Essex accent mixed with an American one. His bandmates Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher are being interviewed in another hotel. Because Depeche Mode They don't get along with Dave Gahan. Gore and Gahan live in different parts of America. They meet only when there is a need for it: they get close to go around with grand shows the whole world, performing in front of stadiums where sixty thousand people gather at a time.

Fans Depeche Mode not the same as yours Coldplay. They managed to become a separate race, a diaspora: a gothic mass, watching their idols with gratitude and awe. It seems like there are more people wanting to see the band live than ever before. And no one understands why.

A successful group is a life sentence. A person of 18 or 25 is different from a person of forty or seventy, but rock stars spend their lives with their fans, in a sense signing a pledge not to change. I ask Gahan, 55, married three times and died three times, if he thinks the problem with the group is that all the members went to different schools?

- Without a doubt! - Dave answers. — Fletcher and Gore have some kind of pact of their own, which I constantly tried to wedge into. — He waves to imaginary colleagues. - Hey, I’m here too, with you! But now I stopped bothering: a lot of time has passed, and I realized where my place is.

Gore, the writer of most of the songs, and Fletcher, the keyboard player, studied together in Basildon. Gahan went to a different school and occasionally visited Romford Correctional Center for petty theft and car theft. He eventually gained a diploma from Southend Technical College as a window decorator. Gore and Fletcher noticed him while he was performing Heroes David Bowie at a jam session and Gahan joined the band.

- Because nothing f***ing else happened in my life at all!

In 1992, Gahan went to Spain, where he, Gore and Fletcher were going to record an album. Two years earlier, he moved to Los Angeles, leaving his wife and child in England, grew a beard and got piercings all over his body. Gahan constantly talked about American music, O Jane's Addiction And Alice in Chains. He weighed 57 kilograms and became addicted to drugs.

Gahan remembers this time well:

“Even though I was burning, I felt real strength!” I was filled with confidence. Our manager looked at me and said, “Great! That's what we need!" When I think back to those days, I think I probably shocked everyone else a little. I was constantly showing off.

In America, Dave no longer remembered his native Basildon. Depeche Mode were no longer boys from the provinces: in 1988 they played in front of a crowd of 60 thousand at a stadium in Los Angeles. They had armies of goth fans and clubbers from Detroit.

The renewed and skinny Gahan destroyed the cozy little world of the Spanish villa, where the group arrived to work on the album Songs of Faith and Devotion. He imprisoned himself in a room. Photographer Anton Corbijn, whom the group invited to shoot the new image, periodically visited Dave to check if he was okay. When Gahan wasn't using drugs, he was creating something other than music.

“I started painting in oils,” Dave recalls. - Mostly portraits or something like that. One day Anton came into my room, and I was sitting, painting a portrait of my cat. The cat flew in space. And Anton said that he only takes photographs because he doesn’t know how to draw. He liked my paintings. He kept repeating: “You’ve been sitting here for several days. The guys want you to come down and sing a little.” I think they hated me back then, but I didn't care.

For a whole generation, the new Dave Gahan became an idol. On television, a depressed character with black circles for eyes twisted his arms in deserts and followed shady women down dark corridors. The teenagers had the feeling that everything was so: that the person who wrote Personal Jesus, engages in self-flagellation. Small news line on the channel ITV Chart Show Posted by: Vocalist Depeche Mode was taken to hospital last week after attempting suicide.

Suddenly, the music press, who love to see lyrics come to life, were absolutely delighted with Dave. All the magazines that criticized him wrote about him Depeche Mode at the beginning of the journey, and Gahan gave interviews to everyone. Lots of interviews.

In a 1997 article entitled "Talking to a Dead Man," he recounted NME that drug abuse was part of his strategy:

“I decided there were no more fucking rock stars.” No one is ready to follow their path to the very end. And I created a monster... And I dragged my body through the mud.

But there was one problem: he could not control the process. One of popular stories those years - like during the 1993 tour (magazine Rolling Stone called it the craziest tour of all time) Gahan bit British journalist Andrew Perry on the neck like a vampire. Gahan later admitted to him: “You are the only one who thought to ask if I was okay.”

In 1994, Gahan's mother and son Jack visited him from England and found Dave on the bathroom floor. He told them he was injecting steroids. In August 1995, he called his mother from Los Angeles and cut his wrists during the conversation. Two years later, an overdose caused his heart to stop for two minutes.

Before the interview, I was warned that memories of those times were painful for him, but Gahan picks up any topic almost immediately.

“I had fun in Los Angeles,” his eyes sparkle. “With my second wife Teresa, whom I married there, we had a great time.” We had no problems with her - only I had one. I behaved disgracefully. And she divorced me.

After clinical death he moved to New York, where his girlfriend, actress Jennifer Skliaz, lived. They have been married for twenty years.

“She didn’t love me, but Billie Holiday and John Coltrane.” And I realized that I needed to be with people who didn't give a damn that they were hanging out with Dave Gahan.

Gahan saw his father only once: when he was ten years old, returning from school, he found a stranger at home, whom his mother introduced as his father. The man took him and his sister for a walk, “bought us gifts: a sweater, I think,” and then disappeared forever.

Malaysian bus driver Len Kelcott left the family when Dave was six months old. Gahan later learned that Len was constantly calling their neighbor, one of the few who had a phone, and wanted to talk to his son. But his mother did not tell him about this.

“It would be nice to know that I have a father,” Gahan laughs. - But almost everyone has such stories. My mother was raised by her aunt, whom she considered her own mother. Horus had something similar.

Martin Gore was thirty when he learned that his father was a black US serviceman.

“The only thing that Gore and his father have in common,” says Gahan, “is their love for David Bowie and peas.”

Your latest album Spirit Depeche Mode recorded in a tense environment. Producer James Ford had to come up with psychological training: Gore and Gahan expressed to each other at the table everything that was boiling.

All their quarrels began when Gahan decided that he would write the songs himself.

“I said: “Martin, I should be your partner in the studio. I can't be the guy who just sings and gets an unreasonably high salary anymore." Gahan co-wrote the song Cover Me from the new album. He gets excited when he talks about her. This song is about a man who discovered new planet, flew to it and realized that it was exactly the same as the previous one.

“This song is about the desire to be loved,” says Gahan. — Most I've spent my life trying to understand this.

When he showed the song to Horus, he did not understand all his metaphors.

“And I tell him: “B***, what do you even understand? I never criticize your songs, Martin, I just sing them!”

When you see Gahan on stage, you wonder: why is he doing this? He's too arrogant. His arms are open, like Jesus', the holes in them have closed and become scars. A pout worthy of Freddie Mercury; his ass is wilder than Mick Jagger's, and his strong, deep baritone contrasts with his lean figure.

“When I imagine how I will stand on stage at seventy, I am overcome with horror,” says Gahan. - It's really scary. When I think about the future, I imagine walking on a deserted beach with Jennifer and a couple of dogs - and me with a beard up to my balls.

“Martin and I have had a strange relationship for many, many years…” he says. — Scene — the only place, where I don’t feel my age... We have so many songs, I look at them in separate blocks, I break it down by era, they are all different for me. They're all in different colors. I think that’s how people perceive music, right?

It took years before he became the singer he dreamed of in the early 1990s:

“I wanted to reach such a level that even other people’s songs become mine if I sing them. And Gore always felt satisfied because he fully expressed himself through our songs.

“I’ve been married three times,” says Gahan. “I’m one of those people who gets up and leaves.” But Depeche Mode- the only place I don’t leave.

“I didn’t fully understand this.” And I will probably never understand.

Does Martin Gore understand this?

- I think yes. I think he understands everything very well.

I ask him if there are any bands in which the musicians get along with each other?

“If someone says that such groups exist, I don’t think they are sincere,” Gahan concludes. - Each of us has an inflated ego. The trick is that it is impossible to understand where the ego destroys everything beautiful, and where, on the contrary, it helps to create.

When the interview ends, Gahan stands up, his silver chains jingling, and hugs me. I can smell it leather jacket. As I leave, he calls me and hugs me again:

- Sorry, that's just me. ≠

On VE Day, the one and only Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, one of the best frontmen of our time, celebrates his 50th birthday - and that's a victory too. Over drugs and weaknesses, over envious people and failures.

What gives him strength, makes his heart beat faster? What forces you to return to the studio again and again, record your thirteenth album, and then go on stage for the billionth time, sing “I feel you, your sun it shines,” dance to “Personal Jesus,” lead a forest of thousands of fans’ hands to “ Never Let Me Down" around the world?

Our tribute to the hero of the day - a few words about the life values ​​of the leader of one of the the most important groups planets.

Music

In 1980, Vince Clarke heard 18-year-old tomboy Dave sing David Bowie's "Heroes." Since then Gahan has been permanent leader Depeche Mode - charisma, attractiveness, dark side, the drive of this cult group.

For a long time, Martin Gore remained the main songwriter for DM; Dave only had to sing. But sooner or later, the author’s personal ambitions had to take over - in 2003 Dave released his first solo album “Paper Monsters”, gathered musicians, went on tour, and even came to Kyiv for a concert.

Only after this did songs written by Dave appear in the Dispatches repertoire, including the hits “Suffer Well” and “Hole to Feed.” In his second solo disc, “Hourglass,” Gahan is already an accomplished writer.

Well, even though Dave is only a performer in the vast majority of the group’s compositions. For viewers and listeners, he is the key to the DM Universe. This image, this voice, these movements, this look... Depeche Mode is his life. Depeche Mode is our life.

“We in Depeche Mode have never gotten rid of our teenage absurdity towards each other. We are still like this: we seem to be comrades, but we seem not. This awkwardness is still present, only now we have families and children.” By the way, about family.

Family

Dave has lived in New York since 1997. Currently it home is kept by his third wife Jennifer (Greek by birth), their common daughter Stella Rose and Jennifer’s son from her first marriage, Jimmy.

Jennifer can be seen in Depeche Mode's video for the song "Suffer Well", where she appears as an angel and then as herself.

Here's what Dave told The Guardian in October 2007: "I'm excited about all these things I've been ignorant about for so many years: being with the kids, being a better husband, listening to my wife."

And one more thing: “Everything major quarrels with my wife start with dishwasher. Knives and forks should be loaded with the sharp end facing down. You can fit more if everything is placed as it should be. But if Jen leaves the room, I have a chance to cheat.”

Complementing the family theme, the left photo shows Dave with his older sister Sue and younger brothers Peter and Phil, and the right photo with his mother Sylvia.

NY

Dave has lived in New York since 1997 and would not trade this city for any other. He likes to have lunch at Joe's Pizzeria on Sixth Avenue and Carmine, or take a leisurely stroll through Central Park, especially when everything is in bloom there.

“New York is the first place in my life where I felt at home,” Gahan admitted in an interview with the New York Post. “Like any New Yorker, I have a love-hate relationship with this city. There are times when he pushes, but when I'm away even for a short time, I can't wait to get home. I'm a New Yorker."

It’s funny that in 2003, Dave wandered around Kiev without security, looked around, calmly signed autographs (for example, near the Znannya bookstore), and when journalists at a press conference asked in surprise, “So, wasn’t it scary?” : "Of course not! Guys, I live in New York - it’s unlikely that anything can scare me.”

Sex

Dave Gahan is one of the most coveted musicians in the world. Like any sane man, he loves sex.

“It’s like in sex: the more you give, the better you get. Everything only gets worse with age. The more comfortable you feel, the better you know your body, the more you can show in bed.”

Heroin and chocolate

Heroin is a thing of the past, but one cannot help but remember it. After the success of the albums "Music For The Masses" (1987) and "Violator" (1990) Dave was blown away. Alcohol, tons of heroin, parties until you completely pass out - this does not pass without a trace.

The worst times for vocalist DM came in 1993 - unsuccessful attempts to get off the needle, withdrawal, almost leading to schizophrenia. The paramedics gave Dave the nickname “Cat”, because, as it turned out, he also had nine lives.

Gahan suffered a heart attack at a concert in New Orleans - his bandmates had to improvise an encore without him. The doctors insisted that the vocalist stop touring, but he refused.

In August 1995, Dave, tormented by addiction, tried to commit suicide and cut his wrists. “It was a suicide attempt, but also a cry for help. I was sure that they would find me." 1996 - overdose with a mixture of cocaine and heroin or morphine (experienced people call this cocktail “redrum” - that is, “ovtsyib”) and clinical death.

“When I died, there was only darkness. In those two minutes when my heart stopped, some deep voice inside me said: “This is wrong.” It's like it's not up to me to decide when it all ends. It scared the crap out of me.”

This was the last straw. The musician got out. Already in 1997, Depeche Mode released their next album, “Ultra”. Since then, the musician has even avoided wine, realizing that any such temptation could start a snowball again. Today, as Dave himself claims, the heroin addiction I became addicted to dark chocolate. “The fans know this, so I always get a lot of chocolate on tour.”

Drawing

In numerous interviews, the DM leader mentions a variety of hobbies that help him relax: fishing, cars, swimming, skydiving, drawing...

As for the latter, Dave has been passionate about this all his life. The only school lessons in which he did not fall asleep were drawing and drawing. As a teenager, he often “bombed” his native Basildon with primitive graffiti. In 1977, the guy even entered Southend College of Art.

In the early nineties, during a time of turbulent addictions, Gahan found an outlet in drawing. At his villa in Los Angeles, he could spend hours drawing not only on paper and canvas, but also directly on the floor, walls, ceiling - grotesque images everywhere. This was his psychotherapy, an opportunity to escape from reality.

In '93, Dave outlined every inch of the room and brought Martin Gore there. It was only then that Martin learned for the first time that his bandmate also had artistic talent.

They say that almost all the paintings painted by Gahan during that period are irretrievably lost - they were stolen by fellow needleworkers while the musician was lying around in rehabilitation clinics.

In one interview, Dave was asked what kind of skin he was wearing historical figure he would like to visit. The musician named Hieronymus Bosch, one of the most mysterious artists of all times. By the way, it was Bosch who inspired photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn to create the “Walking In My Shoes” video, which Gahan considers his favorite from DM.

One day, thinking about the future, the DM leader said: “Perhaps in retirement I could sit at home on Long Island and draw like Captain Beefheart all the time. Crazy hermit - I love that idea."

Until this happens, we will wait for the Soulsavers album with Gahan's vocals and lyrics (release May 21, 2012), and in 2013 - a new Depeche Mode album and tour. Happy Birthday Dave!

Sergey KANE ,

09.05.2012

David Gahan(David Gahan; born May 9, 1962, Epping, England) - English musician, has been a member of Depeche Mode since its formation in 1980. Q magazine ranked Gahan number 73 on its "100 Greatest Singers" list and number 27 on its "100 Greatest Frontmen" list.

David, or Dave as he is more commonly known, is the frontman and main vocalist of Depeche Mode and co-writer three songs from the band's album Playing the Angel(2005) - “Suffer Well”, “I Want It All” and “Nothing’s Impossible” - three songs from the album Sounds of the Universe(2009) - “Come Back”, “Hole To Feed”, “Miles Away/The Truth Is”, and three songs from the album Delta Machine(2013) - “Secret to the End", "Broken", "Should Be Higher". In addition to singing, he occasionally plays piano and guitar (in the studio). While touring in support of his first solo album Paper Monsters played the harmonica.

In addition to participating in Depeche Mode, Dave periodically takes part in third party projects, and since 2003 he has been doing solo musical career, within which he recorded two albums - Paper Monsters(2003) and Hourglass(2007). The album was released on May 21, 2012 The Light The Dead See, recorded with English electronic musicians The Soulsavers (English).

Early biography

David Gahan (born David Calcott) was born on May 9, 1962 in the village of North Weald, near the city of Epping, Essex, UK in the family of bus driver Lyn Calcott and conductor Sylvia Root. The family also had eldest daughter Sue (born 1960). Dave's mother and grandmother worked in the Salvation Army, and the family was religious. When Dave was six months old, his father left the family, and two years later the Calcotts officially divorced. Soon after, Sylvia married Royal Dutch Shell employee Jack Gahan, who adopted David and his sister. After this the family moved to Basildon. Sylvia and Jack subsequently had two children, Gahan's half-brothers, Peter (1966) and Phil (1968).

Dave Gahan's adoptive father died in 1972. This shocked him deeply. After Jack's death, she came to Sylvia's house ex-husband Lin Calcott. The musician would later say about his meeting with his biological father:

While attending school (:en:Barstable School), Gahan often played truant. He began to have problems with the law, Gahan painted graffiti on the walls of the school, smoked, listened to The Clash and Sex Pistols. Eventually, Dave's street disorderly behavior landed him in police custody and then in juvenile court. Gahan was fond of stealing and setting fire to cars. Dave himself said that he liked being chased by the police, he was turned on by the feeling of being chased, that he was “really wild.” While in his last year at school, Gahan tried to get a job as an assistant mechanic at North Thames Gas, but at the request of his supervising officer he was forced to talk about his criminal past at the interview. As a result, he was not hired for the job, which prompted Gahan to trash his supervisor's office. As punishment, Dave was sentenced to prison at the Youth Correctional Center in Romford. Dave had to serve his sentence every weekend for a year.

Consequence of Sound discussed with David Gahan working on the album "The Light" the Dead See" and questions regarding Depeche Mode, including rumors of a return Alan Wilder. However, as a journalist, he did not try to get Mr. Gahan talking about the new Depeche Mode album - he preferred not to spoil the surprise.

Have you worked in the studio recently?

Yes, everything went well. We spent most of the year writing the album. I was also busy with the project. I kind of promised myself to take a break after the last tour Depeche Mode[laughs] but became even busier. It's always like this.

Actually, writing songs with Rich was amazingly enjoyable. I wasn't puffing away in the studio or anything like that. Rich sent me new material once every few weeks, and when I was in the mood, I worked with him.

Was this album recorded over the internet, or did you actually work in the studio?

No, we never went to the studio together [laughs]. Rich walked. We rarely discussed what we were doing and never discussed my contribution to the project. He would send me some raw ideas, recorded on an electric organ or guitar and so on, and I would start writing. Once I had a picture in place, I went into the studio with my friend Kurt ( Kurt Uenala, kap10kurt), with whom we also write songs here in New York. I wrote a lot of stuff with him for the album. Depeche Mode, but everything has its time. We recorded the vocals, and once I was sure it was what we needed, I sent the demo to Rich and he did the arrangements. We actually first met in person about this project only when we started promoting the album.

Dave Gahan, Rich Machin. Soulsavers

We were introduced by our mutual friend Martin Lenoble ( Martin Lenoble), he played bass on my tour "Paper Monsters". I've been friends with him since I lived in Los Angeles. He wrote the bass guitar on the album "Broken", and I called him about some other matter. He said: “And I’m here in the studio with Soulsavers.”. I answered: "Is it true? I really like this group". And Rich was shouting in the background: “Well, take us as a warm-up, damn.”[laughs].

You gave one-off concerts. Was the possibility of a tour discussed with?

We were planning several concerts. We played a concert in the building Capitol studios, That was great. Small hall for 150 people. The concert was filmed and recorded, I hope it will be shown on some TV show someday.

New album Depeche Mode– did you come up with a name?

No. Options for the album title and songs are being considered but are constantly changing. For now I won’t disclose anything.

I'm pleased with how the work on the album went. I also discussed a lot of things with Anton Corbijn. Anton did several photo sessions and, I think, will again make a video for one of the songs, we haven’t decided which one yet.

We recorded about 20 songs. About two thirds are Martin's songs, and a third are mine. It remains to be decided which of them will be included in the album. Ben Hiller ( Ben Hillier) produces. Flood ( Flood) reduces. Our team has changed a little. Chris Berg ( Chris Berg), you may know him from working with Fever Ray, made an excellent contribution to the recording. The album sounds a little more minimalist. It's more precise than the previous album in terms of... it's more direct. We believe that if a song has a good melody, it should be audible, and the arrangement should be as minimalistic as possible. Not too many frills, not too much production in terms of... it's hard to say. We just try not to over-produce the record. It seems that it is easy, but in reality it is not. You can kind of start chasing your tail. But for now we are coping.

You said the word “minimalistic.” Martin's work on his and Vince's album influenced the sound of the new album Depeche Mode?

I would say no - as far as the actual sound of the album is concerned. We use a lot of modular synthesizers, yes. But there is also a lot of live performance in the studio. We are trying to work less in music editors. It definitely sounds more emotional this way. And it definitely inspired Martin.

He and I are often colors of different spectrums, but that’s what’s interesting about Depeche Mode. There is some kind of reaction between us when we work in the studio together. This is not an easy process. But that's cool. We don't rest on our laurels. We always try to challenge ourselves, what we do and each song individually.

What do you say about the rumors that Alan Wilder with you again?

This is completely untrue. I wish him all the best. It was nice to hang out with him for a couple of days and play at the Royal Albert Hall. It was magical evening. That was great. We also made a lot of money for Roger Daltrey's Teenage Cancer Foundation. It was great to see Alan on stage again... He was part of the picture and is still in everything we've done together. Alan played a decisive role in where we were going then.

Martin said that at the beginning of your career you believed that conquering America was a hopeless endeavor and there was no chance for you there. And a year later (1984), album "Some Great Reward" burst into the charts, and within a few years you had, one might say, conquered the world. It's amazing how much can change in a year.

Well, “Don’t say ‘gop’...” [laughs].

Having squeezed through a crowd of fans near a hotel in the old part of the city, I introduced myself to the hotel security guards and was asked to wait a little. Then they invited us into the room of our stereo guest.

The action takes place in Italy, in the city of Milan, at the 4 Seasons Hotel. Depeche Mode fans from all over the world are on duty around the hotel around the clock.
Therefore, understandably, at first they look at me with professional suspicion in the lobby.

A few minutes later I say hello to Dave Gahan.

To hell with shyness - this is really the first audio-video interview with the Ukrainian media of the frontman of one of the main musical groups planets.

AUDIO version of the interview:

Stereoigor:

Dave, at the press conference where we met, Andy Fletcher joked that the sound of the upcoming Mode record “Spirit” was “sex”. What words would you use to describe the sound and mood of the upcoming album?

Dave Gahan:

It was funny...
Well yeah, he's sexy. And this is movement. Movement towards energy. I would like to think that in musical and lyrically it makes you think. He asks us to be heard. Accept what is happening around us in the world. Nudge to action. And I think this will be a very important record.

To produce a new recordingDepeche Mode you chose James Ford. Which of the “incarnations” did you like the most: James’s own project – Simian Mobile Disco, work with Florence & the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Foals, Last Shadow Puppets? What exactly?

All of this. Because these are all very different musicians. And that’s why I was interested in James Ford, his diversity. The way he can switch from Simian Mobile Disco to Arctic Monkeys or Florence & the Machine.

Every record he's worked on for a certain artist has a great sound and is well produced. From start to finish, these are complete, complete albums, not just a bunch of songs.

He was my main candidate among people for such cooperation. And he was also Daniel Miller's top choice.

Can you tell me who else was on the list of such candidates?

There were a lot of people on that list, including Atticus (Ross), who worked with Trent Raznor. Again - Flood, of course, and he is always on my mind. A lot of different people– Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois.
I was thinking about different producers who could present Depeche Mode's music from a new angle. Who can handle bringing all the ideas together and keeping Depeche Mode together: that's me, Martin and Fletch in the studio, plus the whole team of programmers and sound engineers.

There are a lot of people involved in the creation of the record, but James's work with the group was very effective. He had ideas about how something should sound, and he allowed the songs to be designed very well: for me to sing the best way, immersing me in an environment where I will be comfortable; Martin - to play the guitar, Fletcher - to operate the synthesizers, and so on. Thus, the atmosphere turned out to be very creative.

Live versions of Depeche Mode songs always sound great. With old compositions everything is clear - you take them and adapt them to modern sound. What do you do with new songs? Do you write them keeping in mind how it will all sound live?

Right now I'm doing it, yeah! I have already started thinking about how to start the show and how to end it later. What should happen, what songs should Martin sing, and how to do it all. Which song will work better when I leave the stage, which songs will work better when I come back again. What is better to perform if we are lucky enough to get an encore?

I think about all this, and when I go through some old songs to perform, I compare how it will work together with the new material.

Can we count on something unexpected from Global Spirit Tour? Maybe some early songs? I remember you once said that you joked about the idea of ​​playing “Lie to Me” on tour a few years ago. Maybe you could add that or, say, “Stories of Old”?

It's actually quite difficult to choose songs. Certain songs sound very good recorded and work well on the album. But they don't work well enough live. Sometimes it happens that some fans say, "Oh, I'd like to hear this song or that song," but you can't play All.

Each should work in rhythm and feel in conjunction with the current material. Therefore, you need to transfer all songs to the current context.

Some songs that I performed on our recordings - the same “Stories of Old”
or “And Then” from the album “Construction Time Again” - perhaps Martin could have performed it.

Or the songs that Martin sang, perhaps I could perform live. And there are some songs that I already feel will go well with our new material, like “Everything Counts”, “Barrel of A Gun”, “In Your Room”.

You perform “Just Can’t Get Enough” on almost every tour - what’s so special about it? Is this a tribute and homage to author and former Depeche Mode co-founder Vince Clarke?

No, that's not the point. We just have fun playing it. It's been a long time since it's been hard to get it to work within a set, and it's suitable for an encore or as a, you know, extra song. This is because it is difficult to fit it into our new material. But you know, it's fun to play live, like we did on our last tour.

More than 10 years ago, Martin Gore went through a painful divorce and this served as a definite impetus for recording the album “Playing the Angel” , which you yourself are on its coveronname: “pain and suffering at different rates.” You're making an impression happy person in their family relationships. What motivates you to write new songs?

Well, similar things. You know - life. Relationship. World. Something that affects you every day. What penetrates your soul, inspires you and finds its way out in songs.

And quite often, when I write a song, I am not aware of it, I do not fully understand its meaning, but later, for example, when I perform it at concerts, I suddenly begin to feel something in its words - something that I never imagined. I think music and songs can convey to you how you really feel.

How many of your songs are likely to be included on the upcoming Depeche Mode album “Spirit”?

- I think four, including one that I wrote with Martin, will appear on the album.

According to rumors, during the recording sessions for your album “Black Celebration” in 1986, you had this half-joke side project Toast Hawaii: you seemed to be recording cover versions of songs by other bands and musicians. Is this true, and where might this recording be located now?

This legendary Toast Hawaii!
In fact, there was one day or one night where Fletch performed some cover songs and someone recorded it, with terrible sounding instruments.

So, who exactly sang there?

It was Fletch. This tape is out there somewhere and I'm sure it's terrible.

Founder record labelMuteDaniel Miller admitted after the release of Delta Machine: “I think about three latest albums Depeche Mode that there's one record that I'm probably least happy with: Sounds of the Universe is definitely good job, but I don't think it's as good as Playing the Angel or Delta Machine."
Which Depeche Mode record or your solo work are you least satisfied with? Is there anything you'd like to re-record?

I probably agree with you. I think "Sounds of the Universe" has good moments. But, in my opinion, “Delta Machine” turned out better.

I think after every album there is always a feeling that something could have been done differently in the recording. But you do what you can at the moment you record. Some albums are the work that needs to be done before you record something that might be great. You know, you need to constantly continue to work on things, and at a certain point some musical works take you where you need to go. You need to work hard for this. Everyone has their own opinion, what they like and what they don’t like, but we just do our own thing. Some people like the material, some don't.

Depeche Mode is, without a doubt, the absolute world champion in the number of remixes, both official and unofficial. , and he admitted to me that you also sometimes listen to amateur, bootleg versions of your songs that appear on the Internet, and you even like some of them. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think you have enough time or desire to listen to every new remix, even the official ones. Who is responsible for this? Maybe Martin is the most interested in this, maybe Dani el Does Miller help with this?

I don't know. You'd better ask them about it. This doesn't interest me at all. I just don't have time for this.

Even the official remixes?

- Official ones are a different matter. But there are so many bootlegs, if we listen to it all, we simply won’t have time to create new things.

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