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

Notes

This date has the earliest genuine recording of Depeche Mode performing live, and is also the earliest of two recordings currently circulating from the 1980 Tour. The other recording is from two weeks later at 1980-11-14 Essex.

The band performed at the Bridge House at least 11 times between September 1980 and February 1982, with 7 of these concerts being in 1980. Terry Murphy, the owner of the Bridge House venue, gave Depeche Mode the opportunity to play often at the Bridge House. This concert was:

• the 17th concert of Depeche Mode / Composition Of Sound
• the 13th concert with Dave Gahan being a part of the band
• the 5th concert under the name "Depeche Mode"
• their 4th concert at the Bridge House

In the setlist, two tracks that were exclusively performed during Depeche Mode's 1980 tour are included: Tomorrow's Dance and Reason Man. It is presumed that Vince wrote these tracks, although this has not been confirmed. DM Live reached out to Deb Danahay, Vince Clarke's former girlfriend, to inquire about any details regarding these songs, but she is not familiar with them.

Lyrics for Tomorrow's Dance and Reason Man can be found by clicking on their respective song titles.

The track Television Set was written by Jason Knott (a friend of Vince Clarke), and was a part of Depeche Mode's live setlist between 1980 until the US leg of the 1982 See You Tour.

For this song, we have provided lyrics, examples of live performances, and a short snippet of Vince's original demo. These are available on the main page for this song. Deb Danahay has confirmed that the track does not appear on "Speak & Spell" or any single release, as it was not written by Vince or Martin. Despite this, I share the sentiment that it is a great song and would have appreciated its inclusion, even if only as a B-side.

The song The Price Of Love was also featured during the 1980 and 1981 tours. This track was written by The Everly Brothers. For more information and live examples, click on the song title.

Dave introduces the final song of the setlist, Dreaming Of Me, as "Dreams Of Me," as early setlist photos also referred to it. This song later became Depeche Mode's first single, released on February 20, 1981.

Zeitgeist was the support act.

Depeche Mode's final performance at the Bridge House was a secret gig under the alias "Modepeche", during their 1982 See You Tour. More details, along with a stream and download of a very good audience recording from that night, can be found here.

Set list

1. New Life
2. Television Set
3. Tomorrow's Dance
4. Reason Man
5. Photographic
6. Tora! Tora! Tora!
7. Big Muff
8. Ice Machine
9. The Price Of Love
10. Dreaming Of Me

Sources

• Source 1 is a decent audience recording. It represents the most complete version available, created by combining a transfer from a mono recording with a rip of the common 'Bridgehouse' vinyl bootleg.