★★★☆☆
As befits leather-clad sex vampires who look as though they live in velvet-lined torture dungeons, Depeche Mode — and their doomy perv-pop anthems — react badly when exposed to daylight. Opening the only British show of their latest world tour in bright evening sunshine, these veteran electro-rock heavyweights initially sounded lethargic and brittle. However, they found their stride as twilight fell, especially after rolling out the heavy artillery of their classic hits.
Unusually conservative by Depeche Mode’s standards, this show will mostly be seen in stadium-sized venues, but it felt more like an arena-scale production, with few of the dazzling pop art visuals that defined previous tours. Three modestly sized video screens and a short catwalk in front of the stage felt disappointingly paltry compared with recent theatrical spectacles by acts such as U2, Beyoncé, Coldplay or even Take That.
Fortunately, the band still have their greatest visual effect, the singer Dave Gahan. Sporting the libidinous leer and sleazy pencil moustache of an ageing ballroom gigolo, the 55-year-old livewire prowled, pirouetted, twerked, goose-stepped, grabbed his crotch and whirled his freakishly long arms throughout this two-hour show like some bizarre Frankenstein hybrid of Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger and Basil Fawlty. Untroubled by any trace of self-conscious irony, Gahan is agreeably preposterous in the way that all great rock frontmen must be.
Tracks from Depeche Mode’s fine new album, Spirit, were a mixed bunch. While the single Where’s the Revolution lacked the totalitarian swagger of its studio version, Cover Me gained in stature as it morphed from clanging blues-rock torch song to stadium-stomping electro beast. Inevitably, the mostly middle-aged crowd came fully alive only when the vintage hits finally arrived, allowing them to bellow along to every word of Everything Counts, Personal Jesus and a majestic Enjoy the Silence.
Essaying a rare cover version during the encores, Depeche Mode joined the growing pantheon of artists who have ruined David Bowie’s “Heroes” live — a list that, to be fair, includes Bowie himself. This was an uneven show, but it pressed enough familiar pleasure buttons to allow these veterans a triumphant group hug before stealing away into the night.
Since publication, several UK and Ireland dates have been added to the tour. depechemode.com