By Rya Backer
As a production assistant, my duties on the 29th floor vary. A lot. So when it was confirmed this morning that Depeche Mode would be headlining Lollapalooza, I was brought back to a few weeks ago, when I did nothing for days but watch archived interviews with the British new-wave act — a task that had to be taken care of for MTV News Canada.
After watching hours upon hours of the band, or just the lead singer, Dave Gahan, talk about everything from fashion to their feelings on Erasure, I feel like I kind of know the guys, and there's so much to know about them. Let's just say their "Behind the Music" episode was deep — rife with drugs, bandmembers hating each other and subsequently quitting, and worlds of other gory rock-and-roll cliché details. But they've also sold more than 100 million records, and their sonic style is credited with influencing bands as diverse as Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead and Linkin Park.
One of my favorite bites from the interviews I screened came from when we talked to them on April 27, 1989 (that was just about 20 years ago). The band was promoting the live album and movie "101" and had just achieved an insane amount of success in the U.S. Former member Alan Wilder rationalized their renown, saying, "We were talking about it the other day, and we came to the conclusion that it could be something to do with a rebellion against traditional rock music."
With their 12th studio album out today and a giant international summer tour, here's a look at what Alan Wilder and Dave Gahan thought was next for the band.
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