Category:Notable concerts

This page lists concerts which were notable for some reason, for example, an extra or unexpected encore track, different arrangements of songs, a significant mistake or equipment failure, etc. This list is not necessarily comprehensive.

Notable concerts

1980-03-xx Woodlands School, Basildon, Essex, England, UK

• Composition Of Sound's first formal public performance.
• Although it wasn't a professional concert, it was a significant departure from their previous informal performances at each other's houses.

1980-06-14 Nicholas School, Basildon, England, UK

• First concert with Dave Gahan in the line-up.

1980-09-24 Bridge House, London, England, UK

• First concert played under the name Depeche Mode.
• Their irst performance at the Bridge House venue.

1980-10-30 Bridge House, London, England, UK

• This date has the earliest circulating recording of Depeche Mode.

1980-11-14 Technical College, Southend-On-Sea, Essex, England, UK

• This concert has the second of two recordings currently circulating from the 1980 Tour.
• The only circulating recording of the song "Addiction".

1981-06-11 Richard Skinner Session, BBC Radio 1, London, England, UK

• The concert with the earliest circulating soundboard recording.

1981-07-25 Zuiderpark, The Hague, The Netherlands

• Their first show outside the UK.

1981-08-02 Jenkinsons, Brighton, England, UK

• This date has a complete recording of the rarely played "metallic" intro which sounds similar to a slowed-down version of "Shout".
• "Boys Say Go!" was played twice.

1981-12-03 Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester, England, UK

• The last concert with Vince Clarke in the line-up.

1982-01-20 Crocs, Rayleigh, Essex, England, UK

• The first concert of the 1982 See You Tour.
• The first show with Alan Wilder in the line-up.

1982-01-22 The Ritz, New York, NY, USA

• Their first live performance in the United States.

1982-02-27 Bridge House, London, England, UK

• This was a secret and very successful gig played under the alias "Modepeche" in order to support the struggling Bridge House venue; despite the profitable concert, the venue closed later that year.

1982-03-30 Rainbow Club, Oberkorn, Luxembourg

• "Oberkorn (It's A Small Town)" was named after this legendary show.

1983-09-20 Tiffany's, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

• A brief snippet of the "Work Hard" backing track is heard after "Just Can't Get Enough". The song was rehearsed and was on at least one written set list (see the 1983-10-06 London page for an example), but there are no recordings of the song's live performance currently available.

1984-11-17 Olympen, Lund, Sweden

• This concert had backing tape issues and many songs were also missing samples.

1984-12-11 Sporthalle, Böblingen, Germany

• A tear gas bomb was thrown during "See You" and the concert was cut short.

1985-04-12 Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo, Japan

• "It Doesn't Matter" was performed acoustically with piano backing. It could be considered the first acoustic performance by Depeche Mode. You can listen to the entire track on that page.

1985-07-23 Volan Stadium, Budapest, Hungary

• First show behind the iron curtain. After the last song, Happy Birthday was sung for Martin who turned 24 that day.

1986-03-31 New Conference Centre, Brighton, England, UK

• One of only two dates where "Here Is The House" was performed as the full-album version; the entire track is available to listen on the song's page.

1986-08-16 Valbyparken, Copenhagen, Denmark

• This was the final concert of the 1986 Black Celebration Tour.
• Martin sung "Somebody" (for the only time on this tour) rather than "It Doesn't Matter Two".

1988-03-07 Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle, East-Berlin, East-Germany

• Their first show on the Eastern side of the Berlin Wall. The black market went crazy with people supposedly offering things like mopeds for a ticket.

1988-06-18 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, USA

• The last show of the 1987-1988 Music For The Masses Tour.
• It was released in 1989 as the band's first live-album and the feature film 101.

1990-07-21 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountainview, San Francisco, CA, USA

• The concert with the infamous lossy soundboard.

1993-05-25 Forest National Stadium, Brussels, Belgium

• This concert had the first and the only performance of "Something To Do" during the 1993 Devotional Tour, replacing "Fly On The Windscreen" in the setlist. It's also the first (since 1988) and last one to be performed to date.

1993-09-08 The Forum, Montreal, QC, Canada

• Dave lost his voice and Martin played a few more songs to end the show.

1993-10-08 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA, USA

• Dave suffered from a heart attack near the end of the set and the concert was cut short.

1993-10-17 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO, USA

• this show ended abruptly after "One Caress". Live collector Last Violator mentioned the following:

I can confirm the set-list is wrong. I have a private video from that night, show stopped after Martin's performance of 'One Caress' and not because the taper got busted. Lights were switched on because for some reasons Dave couldn't make it.

1994-04-04 Olympia, São Paulo, Brazil

• The first show with Daryl Bamonte, who replaced Andrew Fletcher for the remaining dates of the tour.

1994-07-08 Deer Creek Music Centre, Indianapolis, IN, USA

• This was the last show on the 1994 Exotic Tour.

• The last concert with Alan Wilder as a member of Depeche Mode. He did, however, return for a one-off performance of "Somebody" at 2010-02-17 Royal Albert Hall, London, England, UK's special show for charity group 'Teenage Cancer Trust' as a special guest.

1997-04-10 Adrenalin Village, London, England, UK

• the first of two "Ultra Parties"
• Dave's first major concert after his 1996 drug overdose

1998-12-02 Idaho Center, Boise, ID, USA

• soundcheck was in preparation for 1998-12-12 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, USA and several songs had new acoustic arrangements; audience recording of that soundcheck is available
• debut of "Behind The Wheel" for the 1998 Singles Tour

1998-12-12 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, USA

• acoustic arrangement for several songs
• Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins joined for lead vocals and guitar during "Never Let Me Down Again"

2001-11-05 Maimarkthalle, Mannheim, Germany

• final show of the 2001 Exciter Tour
• Martin sang "World Full Of Nothing" as an extra encore

2005-12-11 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, CA, USA

• acoustic arrangement for several songs
• backing tape crash during "I Feel You"
• first live performance of "Shake The Disease" since the 1990 World Violation Tour

2006-05-10 Starlight Amphitheater, Kansas City, MO, USA

• Dave didn't return to the stage after Martin's slot as he was suffering from an alleged stomach infection. Martin sang 4 more songs before the show was ended early

2009-07-24 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON, Canada

• first and only live-performance of "Fragile Tension"

2010-02-17 Royal Albert Hall, London, England, UK

• Depeche Mode played a show for the 'Teenage Cancer Trust'
• some additional musicians played strings for a couple of songs
• Alan Wilder joined Martin Gore on stage to perform the song "Somebody"

2013-04-26 The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA, USA

• first live performance of "But Not Tonight"

2017-10-12 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2017-10-14 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2017-10-16 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2017-10-18 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, USA

• Depeche Mode play the Hollywood Bowl four nights in a single engagement, becoming the first act to do so in the century-old venue's history

2018-07-25 Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany

• This marked the final concert featuring Andy Fletcher, who passed away on May 26th, 2022.
• Anton Corbijn was in attendance, and he filmed this concert for the live release 'Spirits In The Forest' / 'Live Spirits' on this date and the preceding night at the same venue.

2023-03-30 T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• After "Waiting For The Night", as Dave was walking back to the main stage, he saw a girl [named Addie] holding a sign. It said that it was her first concert ever and it was her 13th birthday. So Dave kneeled down and sang Happy Birthday to her
• Dave got a bit frustrated with everyone on their phones during the beginning of the encore