A Brick 'N' A Promise
[Sounds, 1st October 1983. Words: Dave Massey. Picture: Simon Archer.]
A better than average all-round review of the show in Bristol on the Construction Time Again Tour. The author has given the support act Matt Fretton his due, and manages intelligent comment on the band's style as well as a convincing feel for the night.
“ No longer are they just candyfloss and thump, there’s now an edge to the slicing slabs of synthesiser and a move towards digging their own souls a bit deeper. ”
Summary: A better than average all-round review of the show in Bristol on the Construction Time Again Tour. The author has given the support act Matt Fretton his due, and manages intelligent comment on the band's style as well as a convincing feel for the night. [475 words]
A BRICK 'N' A PROMISE
Depeche Mode / Matt Fretton
Bristol
To the land of Teeny-Bop, with an audience which was a cross-breed from the pages of Jackie and Smash Hits. The school term may be starting soon, but the kids here wanted to forget about that prospect and put their hopes and dreams in the direction of the stage.
But first, in true show-biz tradition, there was the opening act. Matt Fretton played the part to perfection, a clean-cut, blonde, blue-eyed boy, all bouncing enthusiasm and smiles, sporting a daring light maroon suit. The girls loved him, those swaying hips suggesting something naughty as he skipped between the two white screens used as a back-drop, singing over some surprisingly tough soundtracks.
The music ran through haunting safari trips, Caribbean calypso and rock-the boat funk frolics, with ‘[It's] So High’ (secretly one of my favourite pop singles of the year) bringing out the best response. The kids had warmed to Matt and he’d carried out his ‘warm up the audience’ function to a ‘T’.
Screams of anticipation, the opening bars of ‘Everything Counts’, on came the stage lights and Depeche Mode were visible! A crescendo of screams and cheers as a thousand herds galloped out of control.
It was a good policy to start with the current hit single. Straight away, a mass of bodies performed their own version of the Electro Jerk, with Dave Gahan urging them on with his unique bum-wriggling dance. But Depeche Mode were clever, gave one hit single for every two LP tracks – be they from ‘Construction Time Again’ (usually) or from their other two albums – reflecting that the group have toughened up the contents of the package. No longer are they just candyfloss and thump, there’s now an edge to the slicing slabs of synthesiser and a move towards digging their own souls a bit deeper.
‘Two Minute Warning’, ‘The Landscape Is Changing’ and ‘And Then’ are important examples of that change, all received with the appropriate amount of attention. There was a special cheer, too, when Martin Gore took over the vocal honours on ‘Pipeline’ which, with its Gregorian chants, Japanese chimes and thumping tubs, might have left a few of the numerous pig-tails in the audience on end.
The solemnity was brief, though. It was the Love Songs for the Hi-Tech Age that were the centrepiece and they were what counted: ‘See You’ (cheers), ‘Get The Balance Right’ (more cheers)’, ‘Bright Lights, Dark Room’ (big cheers and frenzied clapping) and the re-vamped ‘New Life’.
For the encore, more demands were satisfied by ‘The Meaning Of Love’ and ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, rounding off a show that was professional in the best sense of the word. Depeche Mode had made every boy and girl feel that they’d had the group’s personal attention, making that poster on the bedroom wall seem that much more real.
[Sounds, 1st October 1983. Words: Dave Massey. Picture: Simon Archer.]
A better than average all-round review of the show in Bristol on the Construction Time Again Tour. The author has given the support act Matt Fretton his due, and manages intelligent comment on the band's style as well as a convincing feel for the night.
“ No longer are they just candyfloss and thump, there’s now an edge to the slicing slabs of synthesiser and a move towards digging their own souls a bit deeper. ”
Summary: A better than average all-round review of the show in Bristol on the Construction Time Again Tour. The author has given the support act Matt Fretton his due, and manages intelligent comment on the band's style as well as a convincing feel for the night. [475 words]
A BRICK 'N' A PROMISE
Depeche Mode / Matt Fretton
Bristol
To the land of Teeny-Bop, with an audience which was a cross-breed from the pages of Jackie and Smash Hits. The school term may be starting soon, but the kids here wanted to forget about that prospect and put their hopes and dreams in the direction of the stage.
But first, in true show-biz tradition, there was the opening act. Matt Fretton played the part to perfection, a clean-cut, blonde, blue-eyed boy, all bouncing enthusiasm and smiles, sporting a daring light maroon suit. The girls loved him, those swaying hips suggesting something naughty as he skipped between the two white screens used as a back-drop, singing over some surprisingly tough soundtracks.
The music ran through haunting safari trips, Caribbean calypso and rock-the boat funk frolics, with ‘[It's] So High’ (secretly one of my favourite pop singles of the year) bringing out the best response. The kids had warmed to Matt and he’d carried out his ‘warm up the audience’ function to a ‘T’.
Screams of anticipation, the opening bars of ‘Everything Counts’, on came the stage lights and Depeche Mode were visible! A crescendo of screams and cheers as a thousand herds galloped out of control.
It was a good policy to start with the current hit single. Straight away, a mass of bodies performed their own version of the Electro Jerk, with Dave Gahan urging them on with his unique bum-wriggling dance. But Depeche Mode were clever, gave one hit single for every two LP tracks – be they from ‘Construction Time Again’ (usually) or from their other two albums – reflecting that the group have toughened up the contents of the package. No longer are they just candyfloss and thump, there’s now an edge to the slicing slabs of synthesiser and a move towards digging their own souls a bit deeper.
‘Two Minute Warning’, ‘The Landscape Is Changing’ and ‘And Then’ are important examples of that change, all received with the appropriate amount of attention. There was a special cheer, too, when Martin Gore took over the vocal honours on ‘Pipeline’ which, with its Gregorian chants, Japanese chimes and thumping tubs, might have left a few of the numerous pig-tails in the audience on end.
The solemnity was brief, though. It was the Love Songs for the Hi-Tech Age that were the centrepiece and they were what counted: ‘See You’ (cheers), ‘Get The Balance Right’ (more cheers)’, ‘Bright Lights, Dark Room’ (big cheers and frenzied clapping) and the re-vamped ‘New Life’.
For the encore, more demands were satisfied by ‘The Meaning Of Love’ and ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, rounding off a show that was professional in the best sense of the word. Depeche Mode had made every boy and girl feel that they’d had the group’s personal attention, making that poster on the bedroom wall seem that much more real.