Vince Clarke Rarities on SoundCloud
This was brought to my attention by Patrick Fridh of Fairlight Legacy fame.
Latest tracks by Vince Clarke Rarities
What we have here are 18 tracks from Vince Clarke’s past including tracks from Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly as well as an extended version of his duet with Paul Quinn and some, what I imagine is, VERY rare stuff from Composition Of Sound, the band made up of Vince, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher that would eventually turn into Depeche Mode once Dave Gahan came along.
The tracks are a mixture of remixes, live numbers and some unreleased demos and represent a very unique collection of works from a man regarded by many as a musical and synthesizer genius.
Now, I can’t seem to confirm the authenticity of this SoundCloud account and whether it really is officially linked to Vince, but while it’s there, I suggest you go get your fill and revel in the electronic melodic genius of one of Basildon’s most famous and creative son’s.
And while we’re talking of Vince, it’s worth mentioning this short film made by Motherboard.tv from their Electric Independance series….
Synthgasm…..
And finally, expect the Yazoo Reunion tour Live CD sometime towards September 2010! 
)
Alan Wilder returns to play one off with Depeche Mode
Again, this is now old news so i won’t go into great detail, but suffice to say, on February 17th, Alan wilder returned to the stag with Depeche Mode to accompany Martin Gore on “Somebody”. A pretty momentous occasion considering the slightly acrimonious nature of his departure and the odd grudge harboured by some. Clearly, this has all now vanished and it was great to see this unique event.
Alan was also at the O2 gig later that week, alongside Gary Numan, but this time he was just an audience member and nothing more 
Depeche Mode – O2 Arena – February 20th 2010
A month late, but hey.
Four weeks ago, I went to see the mighty Depeche Mode at the impressive O2 Arena in London, a good 9 months after the gig should have originally taken place and almost 18 months after parting with my hard earned for the privilege.
For someone who loves music, I kind of hate gigs. A bit stupid, you might think. And yes, I’d have to agree. To a point. What is to enjoy about standing for 3 hours or so, behind some arm flailing, drunken twat who loves to “conduct” the band with both hands, whether it’s holding a pint of rip off beer or not.
In my desperate excitement to order the best possible tickets for the show, I had plumped for standing as opposed to seated, under the now blindingly obvious misconception that I might get a good view of the stage and have a cracking time.
As DM themselves would say, WRONG.
Depeche Mode fans are a strange and bizarre bunch. Just read through the DM forum at the official DM site to see exactly what I mean. Obsessive, over zealous, crazed, maniacal, fanatical and vicious, these people can often argue a point over 160 pages of one thread, and often do. So it was with little surprise, I guess, that upon reaching the O2, I discovered that to get the best standing places, I should’ve arrived at 6am to queue. I’m sorry, but at aged almost 40 and with a family to sort out, that was NEVER going to happen. So I was left with the final third of floor space and decided to park myself right by the sound desk. This is not bad for two simple reasons. One, you are guaranteed the best sound, and two, you have something to lean on, and for someone with a back that is as fucked up as mine, is a good thing. Sadly, only standing 5’6″ in my stockinged feet, the aforementioned fuckwit waving his arms around pretty much spoiled the evening.
As for the band, they were superb. The stage show was typically simple yet incredibly powerful. The massive rear projection screen and projection globe providing stunning, Anton Corbjin created, backdrops to each song. DM are by far and away one of the best live acts ever. Dave Gahan, by far and away the best front man too. A good combination of new and old material got the crowd rocking and to be part of the Never Let Me Down Again “wheatwave” was pretty cool.
So, apart from TfL doing their utmost to prevent us from getting there (and failing) and despite the crapness of my position and the inherent fuckwits that surrounded me in that position, it was a fine concert by a fine band and at least that’s another one off the list.
I playlisted the the set list on Spotify and here are some pics and video for your delectation….
Synth Britannia – BBC4 – UK – 16/10/09 9pm
I mentioned this before, but it’s worth mentioning again, as it’s only 5 days away! As part of BBC4′s Electric Revolution season, this Friday at 9pm, a documentary called Synth Britannia will be shown featuring a plethora of British electronic musicians. Here’s the blurb…
Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage.
In the late 1970s, small pockets of electronic artists including the Human League, Daniel Miller and Cabaret Volatire were inspired by Kraftwerk and JG Ballard and dreamt of the sound of the future against the backdrop of bleak, high-rise Britain.
The crossover moment came in 1979 when Gary Numan’s appearance on Top of the Pops with Tubeway Army’s Are Friends Electric heralded the arrival of synthpop. Four lads from Basildon known as Depeche Mode would come to own the new sound whilst post-punk bands like Ultravox, Soft Cell, OMD and Yazoo took the synth out of the pages of the NME and onto the front page of Smash Hits.
By 1983, acts like Pet Shop Boys and New Order were showing that the future of electronic music would lie in dance music.
Contributors include Philip Oakey, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore, Bernard Sumner, Gary Numan and Neil Tennant.
And the tracklisting looks amazing too…
1.
Depeche Mode — New Life
2.
Wendy Carlos — William Tell
3.
Wendy Carlos — Clockwork Orange Main Title
4.
Kraftwerk — Autobahn
5.
The Clash — White Riot
6.
The Normal — Tvod
7.
The Normal — Warm Leatherette
8.
The Future — 4 Jg
9.
The Human League — Being Boiled
10.
Donna Summer — I Feel Love
11.
Cabaret Voltaire — Seconds Too Late
12.
Cabaret Voltaire — Nag Nag Nag
13.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Messages
14.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Enola Gay
15.
Joy Division — Atmosphere
16.
John Foxx — Underpass
17.
Throbbing Gristle — Still Walking
18.
Throbbing Gristle — Hot on the Heals of Love
19.
Fad Gadget — Back to Nature
20.
Silicon Teens — Memphis Tennessee
21.
Gary Numan — Are Friends Electric?
22.
Gary Numan — Cars
23.
Visage — Fade to Grey
24.
The Flying Lizards — Money
25.
Depeche Mode — New Life
26.
Depeche Mode — Just Can’t Get Enough
27.
The Human League — Don’t You Want Me
28.
Heaven 17 — Penthouse & Pavement
29.
Cabaret Voltaire — Landslide
30.
Soft Cell — Tainted Love
31.
Yazoo — Only You
32.
Yazoo — Don’t Go
33.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Maid of Orleans
34.
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams
35.
Ultravox — Vienna
36.
Kraftwerk — The Model
37.
Depeche Mode — Everything Counts
38.
Depeche Mode — Master and Servant
39.
Pet Shop Boys — West End Girls
40.
New Order — Ceremony
41.
New Order — Blue Monday
42.
Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder — Together in Electric Dreams
But once this programme has finished, DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL!!!
The next show is Synth Britannia at the BBC.
With Moogs turned up to 11, a 1970s/80s journey through the BBC’s synthpop archives from Roxy Music to New Order.
Roxy Music — Do the Strand
Tubeway Army — Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
Sparks — Beat the Clock
The Human League — The Path of Least Resistance
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Messages
Ultravox — Vienna
Depeche Mode — New Life
New Order — Temptation
Soft Cell — Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
Japan — Ghosts
Yazoo — Don’t Go
Tears for Fears — Mad World
Eurythmics — Love is a Stranger
Heaven 17 — Temptation
Howard Jones — What Is Love?
Pet Shop Boys — Opportunities
A proper synth wank fest guaranteed to have you shooting your man spackle all over the shop!!!
Depeche Mode – Sounds Of The Universe: IT’S HERE!!
The waiting is over! This morning, my postman delivered 2 packages for me. One was the CD+DVD version of Depeche Mode’s ‘Sounds Of The Universe’, the other was the Limited Deluxe Box Set of the same album )
And boy was it worth the wait.
I had already heard the album via legitimate streaming services and found the songs to be incredibly mature, sonically astounding and overall, a definite pinnacle of their recording history.
The box set, which is the most complete edition in terms of track count and other goodies (more on this later), gives us not only the 13 tracks from the standard release, but also 5 extra bonus tracks, all original works, plus a selection of remixes. That’s 2 CD’s worth, right there. CD 3 is full of demo’s, not just from the SOTU sessions, but from way back in the 80′s and 90′s. Some proper gems in here. Disc 4 is a DVD that contains the 18 new original tracks from SOTU in glorious 5.1 Dolby & DTS as well as two full length documentaries, a shorter film and the promo video for ‘Wrong’. Also included are 4 live studio session films where the band perform 4 songs live in the studio in one take.
Also included are two 84 page hardback books with lyrics and pictures by both Anton Corbijn and Ben Hillier/Daniel Miller, 2 enamel badges, two posters, 5 art cards, a panoramic studio picture and a certificate of authenticity.
All of this comes in a very sturdy box with foil decoration.
This is an incredibly well presented item that contains some amazing music. I have to say, the 5.1 mix is one of the best musical 5.1 mixes I have ever heard.
If you can’t stretch to the £60 for this box, I heartily recommend the CD+DVD version which gives you the the album plus 5 bonus tracks, 5.1 mix, short film and ‘Wrong’ promo for approx £13.
Depeche Mode – Come Back
Awesome track, recorded live in the studio. This will be available on the “Sounds Of The Universe” Box Set, out April 20th (April 21st in the U.S.)
Set phasers to stunned. Set Volume to Max. Set Hairs to stood up.
Coldplay cover a Depeche Mode video !
In a funny and touching move, Coldplay have shot a new video for their single (and title track from their latest long player) “Viva La Vida” as an homage to Depeche Mode and their artistic director, Anton Corbijn.
“This is our attempt at a video cover version, made out of love for Depeche Mode and the genius of Anton Corbijn.”
Brilliantly tongue in cheek and even deemed worthy of mention at the official DM site )
In case you don’t know what they’re “homaging”, refresh your memories with this video that accompanies one of the greatest pop singles of the 90′s, if not all time….
The Final Five….
At last !! The final five Depeche Mode Remastered albums turned up today. A tad delayed due to the fact that Songs Of Faith & Devotion was out of stock, but well worth the wait. Sadly, as I am an impatient man, and Mutebank weren’t sure until this week that they were going to get SOFAD in anytime soon, I ordered the five albums again from a shop on eBay. Fingers crossed they will turn up ok and I guess I will just have to find buyers for them. So, if anyone wants them at £12 per album with a nominal P+P charge, just drop me a line. First come, first served. I’ll do all 5 for £60 with free shipping. [UK ONLY - Any overseas, contact me first]
Anyway, here are Music For The Masses, Violator, Songs Of Faith & Devotion, Ultra & Exciter with the first five that I got last month, Speak & Spell, A Broken Frame, Construction Time Again, Some Great Reward & Black Celebration. Along with Playing the Angel (SACD/DVD) and 101 (SACD), I now have the entire DM 5.1 catalogue. Will they ever do the SOFAD Live album in 5.1 ?? That would be the icing on the cake )
EDIT: Albums sold ! )
