Everything used to be… different, that’s for sure. Depeche Mode are no longer really known for their cover versions – at least on stage. On the 2018 “Spirit” tour they sang “Heroes” as a tribute to the recently deceased David Bowie, and on the 1990 “World Violation” tour they sang the Americana classic “Route 66” by Bobby Troup.
Now the Depeche Mode Facebook group Depeche Mode Global Fan Group dug out an old gem from 1981 – a concert by the British from April 6th, 1981, where they performed an instrumental version of “Mamma Mia” as bouncers in the encore section. Exactly, DM actually cover Abba. Even if only instrumental, layered over their own song “Photographic”.
The recording is from the Bridge House in London, and there is also an audience recording, albeit incomplete (just over 33 minutes playing time can be listened to). The choice of cover piece probably seems stranger today than it would have seemed in 1981 – the Swedes from Abba were still active back then and were almost underdog-like cool again. Their album “The Visitors,” the last until 2021’s “Voyage,” wasn’t a hit, but sounded grown-up and melancholic, with rich keyboard pads. Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode’s mastermind at the time, will have liked that.
“A very good audience recording, definitely one of the better ones from 1981,” reports the archive site “dmlive.wiki,” which hosts the recording. “The recording is incomplete due to crossfades between tracks that were present on the unaltered recording, so some audience noise, some of Dave’s conversations between tracks that probably took place, and a very small portion of the music are lost.”
And: “The crossfades were seamlessly removed to ensure optimal listening pleasure. Depending on the song, the bass can be a bit distorted and overpowering. What’s unique about this recording is the last song played: ‘Mamma Mia’, an instrumental cover version of the ABBA song of the same name, played over the backing tape of ‘Photographic’.
Also worth mentioning is the piece played at this gig with the Kraftwerk-esque title “Television Set”, which the Wiki page describes as the “most famous piece by Depeche Mode that was never released as a studio version”.