1986-04-10 N.E.C., Birmingham, England, UK
Notes
Hula was the support act.
Black Celebration, A Question Of Time, Blasphemous Rumours, Stripped, Something To Do, and More Than A Party from this concert were officially released across various editions of the A Question Of Time single release, the "X2" box set, the Black Celebration (album) reissue, as part of the iTunes "The Complete Depeche Mode" compilation, and the 12" Singles Box Set series.
Most versions of A Question Of Time and More Than A Party from these official releases are labeled as "Live Remix", except for More Than A Party which also appears on the "X2" box set. On the 12" singles releases, A Question Of Time's "Live Remix" is named as such because it crossfades with the "New Town Mix" of the song, and More Than A Party's "Live Remix" corrects an incorrect sound played after the first "this isn't a party, it's a whole lot more" at the beginning of the song. The "X2" box set version of the song does not have the corrective overdub. Furthermore, the "X2" box set versions seem to be mastered differently and have significantly less reverb than the other commercially released versions as well as the audio which was broadcast over FM radio.
Commercially, Blasphemous Rumours is exclusively found on the "X2" box set. The song is erroneously labeled in the artwork booklet as having been recorded by Swiss Radio DRS3 (i.e. from the 1984 Basel concert), but the audio is truly from this 1986 Birmingham concert. These audio examples of Blasphemous Rumours showcase the differences in mixing and mastering between the audio released on the "X2" box set and the radio broadcast audio:
- "X2" version:
- Radio broadcast version:
The live version of Blasphemous Rumours on the original 12" releases of A Question Of Lust and the 12" Singles Box Set is correctly from the 1984 Basel concert, albeit similarly with completely different mixing and mastering compared to the version prepared for radio broadcast.
These audio examples of Something To Do showcase the differences in mixing and mastering between the audio released on the "X2" box set and the radio broadcast audio:
- "X2" version:
Additionally, the "X2" version of Something To Do contains the distorted introduction noise at the beginning of the song. The officially released and radio broadcast variants do not have the introduction noise.
These audio examples of More Than A Party showcase the corrective overdub to the keyboard parts heard on the "Live Remix" version, as well as the differences in mixing and mastering between the audio releases:
- "X2" version:
Strangely, Stripped is missing the introduction noise on all versions except on the 2006 remaster bonus disc of Black Celebration, and the Japanese NHK radio broadcast.
Though Black Celebration, A Question Of Time, Stripped, Master And Servant, and People Are People appear on the "X2" box set, those versions are from the "101" live album release and not this 1986 Birmingham concert.
Set list
- Christmas Island
- Black Celebration
- A Question Of Time
- Fly On The Windscreen
- Shake The Disease
- Leave In Silence
- It's Called A Heart
- Everything Counts
- It Doesn't Matter Two (*)
- A Question Of Lust (*)
- Blasphemous Rumours
- New Dress
- Stripped
- Something To Do
- Master And Servant
- Photographic
- People Are People
- Boys Say Go!
- Just Can't Get Enough
- More Than A Party
Sources
- Source 1 is the most complete, best sounding FM broadcast recording, created from multiple sources. This is "Revision B" of the rework created in 2024.
- Source 2 is a DAT master recording of a 1991 Swiss radio rebroadcast which includes Shake The Disease.
- Source 3 is a 2024 remaster of a second-generation cassette copy of the 1987 NHK Japanese radio broadcast, improved with 4 better-quality songs from the "Rated PG" bootleg.
