ASK MARTIN
[From Bong 18, April 1993.]
What was the first and last album you bought?
First – Tom Jones Last – The The
What are your bad habits?
Smoking
Do you have your own recording studio at home?
Yes
Are you interested in politics?
No
Do you sometimes get fed up with being in Depeche Mode?
Yes
Could you imagine being capable of murder?
Yes, I’ve thought about it before
Do you like touring?
Certain parts of it
Do you agree with the current British government?
No
Did you like “Twin Peaks”?
I never really watched it enough to get into it
Have you got any special fear?
Yes, dying in general
In your opinion, what’s the best song you’ve ever recorded?
I’m not sure
How is it decided who sings what?
Whoever’s voice suits the song, sings it
What were your best and worst subjects in school?
Best – German Worst – History
Which football team do you support?
Arsenal
How long did it take you to write your first song and how old were you?
About one hour when I was 13
When did you start playing the guitar?
Age 13
Is it difficult to find out who your real friends are and who takes advantage of you because of your fame?
I don’t think so
On tour on your days off, what do you do?
Sleep most of the time
What would you do if one of the other three said they were leaving?
Give up
Do you write songs for other people or yourself?
Totally for myself
Would you prefer it if the other three wrote songs as well as you?
I like being in control of the music
Would you write a theme for a James Bond film?
Not now
Are you married? If not, do you have a girlfriend?
Girlfriend
Do you have a daughter? Or is it a rumour?
We have a daughter, Viva Lee, aged 21 months
What do you wear in bed?
Nothing
How do you keep up-to-date with “Neighbours” when you’re away either touring or recording?
You fell for it
Can you cook?
Only soup
What concerts have you been to recently?
None
Do you think capital punishment should be re-introduced in Britain?
No
Do you see yourself performing / writing when you’re in your sixties?
I doubt if I’ll be alive then
Do you ever plan to perform anything from Counterfeit live? (either solo or with Depeche Mode)
No
How big is your record collection?
I have 3,000 LPs and 2000 CDs
What do you think of God?
Nice geezer
Any regrets, career-wise?
Leaving my job at the bank
What do you enjoy the most, writing, touring or recording?
Writing
Do you play any sports?
Football, table tennis, and pool
How do you react when fans recognise you in the street?
Depends on their reaction
Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes
What was your ambition when you were a child?
To be a pop star
What are your thoughts on reincarnation?
I believe in it
If you were a DM fan, would you buy bootlegs and DJ remixes?
Probably not. I don’t with any other bands I like
Which magazines do you read?
Penthouse and Club
Would you like to write a book?
No
What one thing couldn’t you live without?
Two things equally – sex and alcohol
What after shave do you wear?
Various women’s perfumes
What is your favourite Depeche Mode instrumental?
St Jarna
What musical artists inspire you?
John Lennon, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen
Do you have any plans to produce other artists?
I’ve never been interested in production
Do you plan to do another solo album?
I would like to at some point
What are your favourite colours?
Pink, green, orange and yellow
What is your favourite room in your flat?
The bedroom of course
What is your favourite food?
Indian, Japanese
What was your favourite tour?
World Violation
If you had one wish, what would it be?
To be wise
Did you go to any of the Olympic games when you were in Spain? If so, what events?
No, we were in Madrid not Barcelona
If you were not a member of DM, what do you think you’d be doing?
No idea. I’d be a tramp maybe
Have you ever gotten sick on tour?
Most mornings
What is your favourite pastime?
Video games
What would you suggest to those who are TOO obsessed with you?
Get a life
Does the word Memphisto have any meaning?
It was the name of a make believe film I invented about Elvis as the devil
What was the most embarrassing experience you have ever had?
I can’t tell you that
Has fame changed you?
Not as much as age has
If you woke up one morning and suddenly realised that one of the other members had completely shaved your head during your sleep, who would you first suspect?
It would have to be a coalition
[From Bong 18, April 1993.]
What was the first and last album you bought?
First – Tom Jones Last – The The
What are your bad habits?
Smoking
Do you have your own recording studio at home?
Yes
Are you interested in politics?
No
Do you sometimes get fed up with being in Depeche Mode?
Yes
Could you imagine being capable of murder?
Yes, I’ve thought about it before
Do you like touring?
Certain parts of it
Do you agree with the current British government?
No
Did you like “Twin Peaks”?
I never really watched it enough to get into it
Have you got any special fear?
Yes, dying in general
In your opinion, what’s the best song you’ve ever recorded?
I’m not sure
How is it decided who sings what?
Whoever’s voice suits the song, sings it
What were your best and worst subjects in school?
Best – German Worst – History
Which football team do you support?
Arsenal
How long did it take you to write your first song and how old were you?
About one hour when I was 13
When did you start playing the guitar?
Age 13
Is it difficult to find out who your real friends are and who takes advantage of you because of your fame?
I don’t think so
On tour on your days off, what do you do?
Sleep most of the time
What would you do if one of the other three said they were leaving?
Give up
Do you write songs for other people or yourself?
Totally for myself
Would you prefer it if the other three wrote songs as well as you?
I like being in control of the music
Would you write a theme for a James Bond film?
Not now
Are you married? If not, do you have a girlfriend?
Girlfriend
Do you have a daughter? Or is it a rumour?
We have a daughter, Viva Lee, aged 21 months
What do you wear in bed?
Nothing
How do you keep up-to-date with “Neighbours” when you’re away either touring or recording?
You fell for it
Can you cook?
Only soup
What concerts have you been to recently?
None
Do you think capital punishment should be re-introduced in Britain?
No
Do you see yourself performing / writing when you’re in your sixties?
I doubt if I’ll be alive then
Do you ever plan to perform anything from Counterfeit live? (either solo or with Depeche Mode)
No
How big is your record collection?
I have 3,000 LPs and 2000 CDs
What do you think of God?
Nice geezer
Any regrets, career-wise?
Leaving my job at the bank
What do you enjoy the most, writing, touring or recording?
Writing
Do you play any sports?
Football, table tennis, and pool
How do you react when fans recognise you in the street?
Depends on their reaction
Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes
What was your ambition when you were a child?
To be a pop star
What are your thoughts on reincarnation?
I believe in it
If you were a DM fan, would you buy bootlegs and DJ remixes?
Probably not. I don’t with any other bands I like
Which magazines do you read?
Penthouse and Club
Would you like to write a book?
No
What one thing couldn’t you live without?
Two things equally – sex and alcohol
What after shave do you wear?
Various women’s perfumes
What is your favourite Depeche Mode instrumental?
St Jarna
What musical artists inspire you?
John Lennon, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen
Do you have any plans to produce other artists?
I’ve never been interested in production
Do you plan to do another solo album?
I would like to at some point
What are your favourite colours?
Pink, green, orange and yellow
What is your favourite room in your flat?
The bedroom of course
What is your favourite food?
Indian, Japanese
What was your favourite tour?
World Violation
If you had one wish, what would it be?
To be wise
Did you go to any of the Olympic games when you were in Spain? If so, what events?
No, we were in Madrid not Barcelona
If you were not a member of DM, what do you think you’d be doing?
No idea. I’d be a tramp maybe
Have you ever gotten sick on tour?
Most mornings
What is your favourite pastime?
Video games
What would you suggest to those who are TOO obsessed with you?
Get a life
Does the word Memphisto have any meaning?
It was the name of a make believe film I invented about Elvis as the devil
What was the most embarrassing experience you have ever had?
I can’t tell you that
Has fame changed you?
Not as much as age has
If you woke up one morning and suddenly realised that one of the other members had completely shaved your head during your sleep, who would you first suspect?
It would have to be a coalition
CAMDEN PALACE CONVENTION 1992
[From Bong 18, April 1993. Words: Adam Lydiate / Lynn Newcombe.]
The 1992 Bong convention was planned to be a little different from those in past years. When the original idea of a two-day event had to be scrapped, it was action-stations to get everything ready in time for Camden Palace…
We arrived at 11:00 to find a couple of die-hard table grabbers already congregating for the 3:00 opening all of whom were desperately trying to find out what was in all the interestingly shaped boxes that were being carried into the venue, with rather hopeful questions such as “Is that keyboard one of the giveaways?” Well, just for the record, it wasn’t a giveaway it was part of Coercion’s live equipment, Coercion being the rather nervous band who were due to perform their first ever complete unrehearsed live set in front of a curious audience of guinea pigs. The band was set up by 1:00, just in time for the Camden Palace’s sound check. Well, that was the plan, what actually happened was the engineer rolled in at 2:45 giving us 15 minutes to sound check before the doors opened at 3:00. To the people that had been waiting patiently outside the doors for several hours, I apologise!
For the first few hours the convention seemed to run quite smoothly, but somewhat quieter than before, much to our puzzlement, it was then discovered that the bar could not open until 7:00 as the club was not granted its usual Sunday license; it has to be said that a good skinful is generally needed to really let yourself go that early on a Sunday, so it was no real surprise that thing’s didn’t liven up until after 7:00. One rather surprised guy (Nathaniel Tatam) was awarded a pair of Dave Gahan’s leather boots for being the only person brave enough to dance, (nice one Nathaniel!)
This was my first convention from the other side of the fence so I got the pleasure of throwing some of the goodies into the crowd, a good way of making friends and enemies quickly! Sorry to everyone at the back of the crowd. Paper generally doesn’t fly too far, but we tried! As you all probably noticed there were fewer giveaways this year than at previous conventions, unfortunately Mute Record’s stock of promo posters, etc. were trained as a result of the Birmingham conventions and with the band in the studio recording there was nothing in the way of new promotional items. (Jo promises to make up for this at the next Bong Convention later this year). Among the things that were given away were a strategically thrown selection of posters that were autographed by the band so the giveaways weren’t so bad after all.
No-one could have anticipated the huge response to the Mastermind competition and hundreds entered the first heat with only a handful of entrants going through to the second heat.
In fact, the questions (set by Roland Brown at Mute Records) proved to be so difficult that there were only two heats rather than three. It was finally down to only two finalists who had to answer Depeche Mode questions on stage. The ultimate winner was Simone Teeling from Holland who won a signed Music For The Masses gold disc and the runner-up was … from … who won a signed, framed poster.
As usual, there was a look-a-like competition won by 20 year-old Alex Moore from London as “Fletch”, he won a signed crew shirt from the Music For The Masses Tour. Alan was Steve Beaumont aged 25 from Stoke – Steve’s prize was a Recoil promo 12” signed by Alan. [1] Dave was Stefan Devillers from Belgium who won a large leather holdall bag signed by David, and which has travelled all over the world with him. Finally, David Roundell from Oswaldtwistle was Martin and he won a signed jacket.
Coercion were due to go on at 7:00, so I suddenly got very nervous and disappeared into the dressing room with Jon and Simon, the other two band members. We were going to perform soon – sober!
Modesty prevents me from reviewing the live set, so I’ll pass over to Lynn:
I’ve never seen three paler faces in my life – despite the smattering of make up which was applied to counteract the bright lights. I’m not surprised they were nervous, they were about to play their first-ever gig, performing a mixture of original songs and Mode covers – in front of hundreds of Mode fans – not something I personally would relish.
Jo went onto the stage and announced them and the audience looked on expectantly, after all, there’d never been a live band at a convention before. After an initial hiccup Coercion opened their set with “A Question Of Time”. We were pretty relieved when the crowd started to enjoy themselves straight-away – as someone said to us afterwards – “We (the fans) were worried that they’d spoil the DM stuff, but they were really good.” The other Mode covers performed by the band were: “Halo”, “World Full Of Nothing” (an acapella version), “Enjoy The Silence” and an encore of “Behind The Wheel” / “Route 66”.There were four original Coercion songs in the set; “Replace Your Heart”, “Reality”, “Repeat To Fade” and “Believe Me”. All in all, the idea of having a band was well received so we’ll definitely do it again in the future.
[From Bong 18, April 1993. Words: Adam Lydiate / Lynn Newcombe.]
The 1992 Bong convention was planned to be a little different from those in past years. When the original idea of a two-day event had to be scrapped, it was action-stations to get everything ready in time for Camden Palace…
We arrived at 11:00 to find a couple of die-hard table grabbers already congregating for the 3:00 opening all of whom were desperately trying to find out what was in all the interestingly shaped boxes that were being carried into the venue, with rather hopeful questions such as “Is that keyboard one of the giveaways?” Well, just for the record, it wasn’t a giveaway it was part of Coercion’s live equipment, Coercion being the rather nervous band who were due to perform their first ever complete unrehearsed live set in front of a curious audience of guinea pigs. The band was set up by 1:00, just in time for the Camden Palace’s sound check. Well, that was the plan, what actually happened was the engineer rolled in at 2:45 giving us 15 minutes to sound check before the doors opened at 3:00. To the people that had been waiting patiently outside the doors for several hours, I apologise!
For the first few hours the convention seemed to run quite smoothly, but somewhat quieter than before, much to our puzzlement, it was then discovered that the bar could not open until 7:00 as the club was not granted its usual Sunday license; it has to be said that a good skinful is generally needed to really let yourself go that early on a Sunday, so it was no real surprise that thing’s didn’t liven up until after 7:00. One rather surprised guy (Nathaniel Tatam) was awarded a pair of Dave Gahan’s leather boots for being the only person brave enough to dance, (nice one Nathaniel!)
This was my first convention from the other side of the fence so I got the pleasure of throwing some of the goodies into the crowd, a good way of making friends and enemies quickly! Sorry to everyone at the back of the crowd. Paper generally doesn’t fly too far, but we tried! As you all probably noticed there were fewer giveaways this year than at previous conventions, unfortunately Mute Record’s stock of promo posters, etc. were trained as a result of the Birmingham conventions and with the band in the studio recording there was nothing in the way of new promotional items. (Jo promises to make up for this at the next Bong Convention later this year). Among the things that were given away were a strategically thrown selection of posters that were autographed by the band so the giveaways weren’t so bad after all.
No-one could have anticipated the huge response to the Mastermind competition and hundreds entered the first heat with only a handful of entrants going through to the second heat.
In fact, the questions (set by Roland Brown at Mute Records) proved to be so difficult that there were only two heats rather than three. It was finally down to only two finalists who had to answer Depeche Mode questions on stage. The ultimate winner was Simone Teeling from Holland who won a signed Music For The Masses gold disc and the runner-up was … from … who won a signed, framed poster.
As usual, there was a look-a-like competition won by 20 year-old Alex Moore from London as “Fletch”, he won a signed crew shirt from the Music For The Masses Tour. Alan was Steve Beaumont aged 25 from Stoke – Steve’s prize was a Recoil promo 12” signed by Alan. [1] Dave was Stefan Devillers from Belgium who won a large leather holdall bag signed by David, and which has travelled all over the world with him. Finally, David Roundell from Oswaldtwistle was Martin and he won a signed jacket.
Coercion were due to go on at 7:00, so I suddenly got very nervous and disappeared into the dressing room with Jon and Simon, the other two band members. We were going to perform soon – sober!
Modesty prevents me from reviewing the live set, so I’ll pass over to Lynn:
I’ve never seen three paler faces in my life – despite the smattering of make up which was applied to counteract the bright lights. I’m not surprised they were nervous, they were about to play their first-ever gig, performing a mixture of original songs and Mode covers – in front of hundreds of Mode fans – not something I personally would relish.
Jo went onto the stage and announced them and the audience looked on expectantly, after all, there’d never been a live band at a convention before. After an initial hiccup Coercion opened their set with “A Question Of Time”. We were pretty relieved when the crowd started to enjoy themselves straight-away – as someone said to us afterwards – “We (the fans) were worried that they’d spoil the DM stuff, but they were really good.” The other Mode covers performed by the band were: “Halo”, “World Full Of Nothing” (an acapella version), “Enjoy The Silence” and an encore of “Behind The Wheel” / “Route 66”.There were four original Coercion songs in the set; “Replace Your Heart”, “Reality”, “Repeat To Fade” and “Believe Me”. All in all, the idea of having a band was well received so we’ll definitely do it again in the future.