Have you ever heard or played early DM tracks such as 'Tomorrow's Dance' and 'TV Set'?

I have had the dubious pleasure of actually performing 'TV Set' which was part of the Mode live set when I first joined the group. I'm also familiar with 'Tomorrow's Dance' although I've never played or heard an actual performance of the song. Dave's rendition / impersonation of the embryonic DM performances were enough to have left an indelible imprint on my musical memory.

Do you understand the song text of 'New Life' or 'Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead'? What does it mean?

"I stand still stepping on a shady street and I watch that man to a stranger"

Mere mortals like you and I don't understand it - It's pretty deep stuff.

I just got through reading a chapter in the book 'Some Great Reward'. Were you that pissed off when Martin told you that they did not need you in the studio for 'A Broken Frame'? All those quotes in the book are just made up, right? Like "I thought we'd got over that! You've only just asked me to join the band - are you kicking me out again already?"

Is that really a quote from the book? I can't believe that. Total fabrication. As I've said, I would have liked to have been involved in the studio for that album but was told by Daniel Miller (the band have never spoken to me about it) that I wouldn't be needed.

Do you know if a 'New Life' video was ever made? I think I've seen a bit of it on TV...

Not that I'm aware of.

Are there any DM songs you would prefer to never hear again? Does playing a song several hundred times live make you grow weary of it?

My least favourite DM song is 'It's Called A Heart'. There are some other very poppy ones like 'But Not Tonight', 'Meaning Of Love' and 'Photograph Of You' which all come pretty low down on my list. It's unfortunate but it is true that playing the same thing over and over again makes you tired of it.

Which of the following DM instrumentals do you like most / least and why? 'Kaleid', 'Nothing To Fear', 'Agent Orange', 'Big muff' and 'Pimpf'?

I like 'Agent Orange' and 'Pimpf' because they have the most atmosphere.

When you play the "childish" part of the song 'Shouldn't Have Done That' backwards, you can hear Dave telling a story about some "big bird". Do you know the content and the meaning of that story?

What are you doing listening to songs backwards? You must have something better to do ;-)

What is your favourite song from 'Speak & Spell' and ' A Broken Frame'?

'Tora, Tora, Tora' is my favourite from 'Speak & Spell', 'The Sun And The Rainfall' from 'A Broken Frame'.

Were you involved in any capacity with the recording of 'A Broken Frame'? Did Daniel program that record and do you know who played the bluesy synth solo on the end of 'Leave In Silence'?

I had nothing to do with this record. The programming sounds like a combination of Daniel and Martin. I believe the synth solo was actually a sequencer left on random play.

Q+A  :  DEPECHE MODE  :  SPEAK & SPELL / A BROKEN FRAME