Depeche Mode at the end of July 2023 in Zagreb and Klagenfurt!

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Cult synthpop band Depeche Mode has announced a new tour and album Memento Mori for the first time since 2017. Remaining members Dave Gahan and Martin Gore have pointed out that recently deceased bandmate Andy Fletcher would certainly have liked the album, which arrives in the spring of 2023. The tour starts at the end of March, and the closest ones will be July 21 and 23 in Klagenfurt, Austria, and Zagreb, Croatia.

Memento Mori will be the band’s fifteenth studio album Depeche Modewhich will follow the critically acclaimed 2017 album Spirit, which reached number one in eleven countries, and the new album is Dave Gahan and Martin Gore announced for the coming spring, it will be published by the label Columbia Records. The duo took a break from making the album in Santa Barbara, which they came to Berlin to announce together with the tour, and then they will return to New York, where they will finish the record.

Depeche Mode, whose core now consists of Martin Gore and Dave Gahan, returns in 2023 with the Memento Mori album and tour.PHOTO: Anton Corbijn

“We started working on this project in the early days of the pandemic, so a lot of the inspiration came from that time and feelings. After Fletch’s death, we decided to continue because we are sure that this is what he would have wanted, and it is really gave the project extra meaning. We are quite far along with the album, all the songs are recorded, but not yet fully mixed. We already had the title of the album Memento Mori before Andy’s death, but it can be interpreted as meaning that we have to live each day to the maximum. Me it hit me the hardest when I was walking past the bar where Fletch and I used to hang out while working on the album. It was really bad at the time,” said the main writer of the song Gore about the new album and the deceased colleague.

“We had a great time in the studio, we started writing years ago. Fletch’s death changed the course of things, Martin and I sent each other ideas back and forth. I sent him my ideas, with a badly played guitar, and he sent me his beautiful demos recordings, with his angelic voice. At first he sent me six songs that I tried to sing. We first met only in the middle of July this year. The songs represent different times and at the same time reflect a certain time when we were in the studio, we joked and a lot miss Fletch. You miss someone you might take for granted, but someone who is no longer here. One day I was looking out the hotel window and imagined Fletch would say something. I miss him. Anton Corbijn is already working on the visual , and we’ll try our best to mix new songs with old ones. Fletch would love this album for sure. He’ll be with us in spirit for sure and judge us, haha. We’re really looking forward to sharing it with you soon and we can’t wait to give it to you present live at next year’s shows,” and Dave explained in Berlin.

Between March 23 and August 11, 2023, they announced 42 concerts, both in the USA and in Europe, the closest ones will be July 21 in Klagenfurt, Austria, and July 23 in Croatia, in the Zagreb Arena. PHOTO: Anton Corbijn

In Berlin, Dave and Martin revealed that the tour, unlike usual, will begin with a special, limited run of arena concerts in the US, starting on March 23, 2023 in Sacramento, California. After that, Depeche Mode will go on a summer tour of stadiums and arenas. The US concerts will include stops at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Chicago’s United Center, Los Angeles’ Kia Forum and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, among others. On May 16, the tour moves to European stadiums, including the Stade de France in Paris, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, San Siro in Milan and Twickenham in London. The closest to us will be on July 23, 2023 in the Zagreb Arena. A full list of concerts, and additional information on tour plans and venues is available on their website.

Tour Memento Mori will be their 19th in a row and their first in more than five years. The previous tour, The Global Spirit Tour 2017-2018, was their longest to date and also one of their most profitable, as the band played in front of more than 3 million fans in 130 concerts across Europe and the USA.

2023 Memento Mori Tour 42 Concert Dates.
2023 Memento Mori Tour 42 Concert Dates.PHOTO: Contractor

Depeche Mode was formed in 1980 in Basildon, UK, initially as their main songwriter Vince Clarke, who then left to form the successful duo Yazoo and the even more successful Erasure, which is still active today. When he joined the group Alan Wilderstarted their musical rise, and then also thanks to the Dutch photographer and visual artist Anton Corbijn peaked with albums such as Black Celebration, Music For The Masses, Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.

The band has sold more than one hundred million records, played in front of more than thirty-five million fans worldwide. Throughout their career, despite Wilder’s departure in 1995 and Fletcher’s death this year, they remained an ever-evolving and hugely influential musical force that has always been an indelible inspiration to millions of fanatical fans around the world. It is not surprising that Dave and Martin continue their inimitable legacy, but certainly the young and upcoming generations will also be delighted with the new chapter of their unique contribution to music, which was also awarded in 2020 with admission to the Cleveland Rock Walk of Fame (Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame).

The article is in Slovenian

Tags: Depeche Mode July Zagreb Klagenfurt

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