Dave Gahan is still going full throttle on stage at the age of 61 Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa
By Martina Hafner
Dave Gahan still can! At the proud 61. The Depeche Mode frontman swings his butt in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, turns countless pirouettes with the microphone stand, bares his pointed canines. His voice is still good, he dances constantly.
However, the “Memento Mori” tour is the first without keyboardist Andrew Fletcher, who died in May 2022 from a ruptured aorta. His seat remained empty, and his photos were temporarily displayed on the screens next to the stage.
Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan at the Olympic Stadium Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa
As always, the evening with Depeche Mode had the feel of a church service, right at the beginning of “My Cosmos is mine” Gahan kneels down and spreads his arms wide, a posture that he often assumes, always accompanied by frenetic cheers. Appropriately, guitarist and songwriter Martin Gore (61) looks melancholy out of eyes framed in black as a skull.
When the “A Question of Lust” or “Soul with me” languishes with his soft voice, the cell phone flashlights light up, as does the grandiose ballad duet “Waiting for the Night”.
Frontman Dave Gahan (right) alongside Martin Gore Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa
On the other hand, old hits like “Everything Counts” or “Enjoy the Silence” mean that you completely freak out and shout along, and the whole stadium jumps along, a crowd of youngsters mostly dressed in black.
And of course with the closing number that has been the same for years: “Personal Jesus”, no song is as true for real fans as this one.