présentation

L'album 'Construction Time Again' constitue sans doute la première rupture dans l'univers sonore de Depeche Mode, et la tournée qui s'en suit commence à être assez conséquente. Le Programme est néanmoins assez semblable au précédent, avec une maquette quasiment identique. Les photos du groupe sont toujours aussi figées, même s'ils gagnent, semblent-ils quelque assurance. On a également droit au classique melting-pot de photographies prises vraissemblablement par Daniel Miller ou Andy Franks lors des tournées, et à la discographie encore minimale de l'époque. Côté texte, il s'agit d'un journal sur les activités du groupe, vraissemblablement écrit par Daniel Miller ou Andrew Fletcher. C'est un peu naïf, mais le texte reflète bien l'émerveillement de ces 4 gamins qui découvrent le monde grâce à leur musique. Enfin, les éléments graphiques et stylistiques de l'album sont ici rappelés en grand format.

texte du tourbook

Hello everybody - and welcome to the Depeche Mode tour, the first in England and Europe since the autumn of last year. Just to let you know that we have not been lying around in the sun all year. I'll take a couple of minutes and fill you in on the details of what we've been up to.

We spent the first couple of months in the studio recording a new single which turned out to be 'Get The Balance Right', and writing songs for a new LP which was to be recorded in April and May. Then it was time to pack our bags once again, this time heading East. It was the first time any of us had been to the far East, and we were all looking forward to it intensely.

First * of call was North America where we played concerts in New York, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Then it was overnight on the plane to Japan. We spent seven days in Tokyo, doing lots of interviews, T.V. shows, and three concerts, all of which were sold out in advance. It was our first visit, and we were surprised how well known we'd become.

Then it was off to Hong Kong. We wandered out into the airport, pushing our bags on trolleys, when suddenly we were surrounded by hundred of people who had come out to the airport, to meet us. It was very frightening but also very flattering. They had to call the police to clear the airport, and we finally made it safely to the hotel.

After two more sold out shows, it was to Bangkok where we played two gigs and spent several days wandering around the temples and generally sooking up the atmosphere. Then we drove seventy miles south to lie on the beach for five days in a place called *Pottya ?*. It was like paradise, pure white sandy beaches and clear blue seas, with the temperatures in the thirties day and night... enough said !

Then it was back home and straight into the dark of the studios for two months to record our new album 'Construction Time Again'. We ended up taking the tapes to Berlin to mix the album and to film the video for 'Everything Counts'. Enough of what we've been up to, now it's down to you to enjoy the concert, and hope you like the new album.