Depeche Mode fans have strong opinions about their favourite band – check any forum, Facebook post or pre-gig bar and you’ll witness endless debates about the best X or the worst Y. Violators might be universally adored by the so-called
Continue readingBest Violator single, sleeve, remix and more – what do the fans think?
Our co-author David McElroy spent a large part (well, all) of March 2020 writing about Violator, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its release. He filled the entire month with posts on his Almost Predictable Almost blog about it, in
Continue readingCollecting Depeche Mode – Violator rarities and releases
Before any big interview, writers and journalists often ask around to find out if anyone has any tips about what to expect from the interviewee. This is usually done not in the hope of learning what they are likely to
Continue readingSpending an evening with… Francois Kevorkian
Let’s face it, you will not get through this week without every Depeche Mode fan on the planet talking about a certain gig over ten years ago. And quite rightly, of course! Depeche played at the Royal Albert Hall in London
Continue readingA Policy Of Truth – Royal Albert Hall was more than just about Alan Wilder
With the Dave Gahan and Soulsavers tour in full swing (well, almost half way through six dates), a little reminder of when the frontman performed tracks from Violator in the early 2000s. His first solo album, called Paper Monsters, had an
Continue readingWhen Dave Gahan goes solo with Violator songs
Imagine you have no distractions for 47 minutes. And, then, can listen to a piece of music intensely, giving it your full attention. Yeah, quite a rare opportunity for many people. And this isn’t about plugging in an MP3 player
Continue readingTop tip – Listen to Violator in the dark, VERY loud, on a kick-ass system
The single release of Policy of Truth in May 1990 gave remix king Francois Kevorkian free reign to create a number of versions of the track. The Capitol Mix, featuring the sampled dulcet tones of disgraced ex-US president Richard Nixon, is one.
Continue readingPolicy of Truth – Beat Box without the beatboxing
Depeche Mode were notorious in the 1980s for sampling pretty much anything they could get their hands on. (Just listen to Pipeline from Construction Time Again!) The process had calmed down to some degree by the time Violator came along,
Continue readingPolicy of Truth (with sheep samples, obviously)
Depeche didn’t bring in the disgraced former-US president to replace Dave Gahan on vocals… …but a sample from Richard Nixon’s so-called Checker’s Speech does feature throughout the Capitol Mix of Policy of Truth.