From the vault: Depeche Mode's 101

A big bet pays off

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Good Morning!

On this day in 1988, Depeche Mode’s performed the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. That performance would later be used for their seminal 101 record. To mark the occasion, we’re taking a quick look back at the record, and how it came to be.

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On the 101st stop of their tour, Depeche Mode played a sold out show in the Rose Bowl. The stop was part of an all day celebration marking local radio station KROQ’s 10th anniversary. It was an all-day affair, featuring opening acts like Wire, Thomas Dolby and O.M.D.

It was a huge gamble, and it paid off.

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When one thinks of “arena rock,” Depeche Mode rarely comes to mind. Yet here the band was, playing a packed stadium full of raucous fans. In many ways, it was arena rock just minus guitars (for the most part), and drums. And the fans may not have looked the part, but they were as loud as any you’d find at any other show. And so too was the music- the low walls of the stadium allowing the sounds to expand and escape the confines of the synthesizers & sequencers it was coming from.

For 1 day The Rose Bowl itself, usually home to what Keith Jackson famously called the “Grandaddy of ’em all,” became home to music fans not dressed in college football jerseys, but in black. They didn’t celebrate their team winning- getting together with 100k of your people is its own (black) celebration.

From the makers of the accompanying tour documentary:

Still in their twenties, the band’s youth belied years of hard-earned experience and what we heard that night was a tight band performing a unique sound — their own brand of pop music– not more variations of ’60s or ’70s rock and roll. Throw away the drums and the guitars for the most part. Playing synthesizers with haunting songs written by Martin and performed with David’s incredible energy and signature alto voice, Depeche Mode arrived to take America, and they did. The fans weren’t the typical rock band enthusiasts either — a case of beer and an afternoon of Grateful Dead songs. With rapt devotion, dressed mostly in black, with marvelous flourishes such as garters holding up thigh-high stockings, the audience almost seemed like they were conjured up especially for this band alone, and the rest of the year they stayed home studying Druid ceremonial rites. Jane Spears, the band’s lighting designer who hailed from New Zealand, created an aurora borealis on stage for every song, playing the lights on a keyboard just as if they were music. It was a big show, a fantastic show. So when this young band decided to risk all and try to fill the Rose Bowl for their final 101st concert we knew we had a band after our own hearts, and we had a film.

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For the record itself, the brilliance lies in its being both a live record and a de facto greatest hits album. It’s a fantastic snapshot of what the band had done to that point, and how they sounded.

My wife says that it’s impossible to like live records because there is no such thing. If it’s recorded, it can’t possibly be live. That’s a fair point — and a fun koan exercise — but for me, 101 goes a step further; it makes songs recorded in a studio sound better.

I wasn’t there on June 18th 1988, but listening to this sure makes me feel like I was.

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What are your thoughts on this record? Do you have any favorite tracks or memories associated with it? Where does it land on your list of DM albums? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

An earlier version of this story first appeared here.