1984-06-02 Suedwest Stadium, Ludwigshafen, Germany

Notes

This concert had the live debut of People Are People. Depeche Mode were the support act, which explains the shortened set list. This was the last time Now, This Is Fun, Get The Balance Right, and And Then... were played live.

Elton John, the main slot for the Open-Air Festival, chatted with the band in the afternoon. In a report by German 'Bravo' magazine about this gig, Elton allegedly said (re-translated): “'People are People' is my absolute favourite hit...” Elton also recalled on his podcast 'Rocket Hour' in July 2020:

"I did a concert once in Ludwigshafen at the football stadium to 40,000 people on a very sunny day, and there were three people on the bill. It was Joan Baez, with an acoustic guitar, Depeche Mode at their finest, and me, and it was just an eclectic bill, and everyone went down so well, I'll never forget it. And that’s the first time I'd seen Depeche Mode live and they were amazing."

Martin Gore commented on meeting Elton John during this day in the October 1984 issue of German 'Soundcheck' magazine (re-translated):

"He said that he thought our productions were simply great, and that the same goes for our compositions. It really made me blush. Maybe that is what [the song 'Somebody'] is - some kind of tribute to Elton John. But, man, you really don't have to write that down..."

Set list

1. Everything Counts
2. Now, This Is Fun
3. Two Minute Warning
4. Shame
5. Get The Balance Right
6. People Are People
7. And Then...
8. Photographic
9. Told You So
10. New Life
11. More Than A Party

Sources

• Source 1 is a very good sounding FM broadcast sourced from a first-generation cassette.
• Source 2 is a decent sounding FM broadcast recording of seven tracks which were broadcast on the French FM radio station "Europe 1" during the program "Feedback", presented by DJ Bernard Lenoir.