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The day Depeche Mode celebrated their TV premiere on Michael Schanze
Depeche Mode and Germany. A special relationship. Also because Martin Gore lived in Berlin for a while, the band recorded an album here and has always received a particularly warm welcome since 1981.
>>> Order the Depeche Mode special issue in the shop here
Depeche Mode were also a welcome guest on German television. A video is described as a “TV world premiere” in which Martin Gore, Dave Gahan, Andrew Fletcher and Alan Wilder performed their future evergreen “Never Let Me Down Again” in front of a television audience for the first time on August 30, 1987.
Michael “Cold Sweat” Schanze
The show was “The Golden One”. The moderator was Michael “Cold Sweat” Schanze. “Our absolute superstars of today’s show. I just have to announce them now!” says Schanze. “Here come Depeche Mode! Where are they?” Jürgen von der Lippe and Siggi Harreis watch as the Brits enter the TV stage. The audience cheers.
The sound mix is a bit unfavorable. Gore’s signature guitar intro cannot be heard. It’s a bit of a shame. The song, which would later become one of their greatest classics, was almost unknown until then. Only released six days before Schanze’s show. And the second pre-single (after “Strangelove”) for their upcoming album “Music for the Masses”, which would only be released a month later, on September 28th – an important date in the music year 1987 for other reasons.
Depeche Mode special issue
In an interview for our special issue “Depeche Mode”, Dennis Burmeister and Sascha Lange, two long-time chroniclers and authors of the book “Depeche Mode live”, are amazed at the Depeche Mode / Schanze pairing – and clearly take the matter with humor.
You also come across other strange videos on the internet. One shows the band with an alleged TV premiere of “Never Let Me Down Again” in 1987, which is said to have taken place on a broadcast by Michael Schanze of all people…
Dennis Burmeister: So the combination of Depeche Mode and Schanze means nothing to me.
>>> Order the Depeche Mode special issue in the shop here
But how can such a booking come about? The song doesn’t fit there. It seems as if the DM management did not pay attention to the content and image of a program, but was only interested in achieving the highest possible audience rating.
Dennis Burmeister: There is a fairly extensive Excel list with all of the band’s concerts and TV appearances, but the show isn’t listed there, strange.
Sascha Lange: Clear case of AI deepfake! That wasn’t the real ski jump!
