As we’ve noted before, pro-shot footage of Depeche Mode’s 1990 World Violation Tour long has been a Holy Grail for fans. And while the band itself apparently didn’t film the tour, the first of DM’s two epic shows at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in August 1990 was filmed by the stadium’s crew — the tape of which remains in the band’s possession.
Depeche Mode previously has hosted this footage on its website, but now the band has just uploaded it — roughly 90-second clips of each song performed on Aug. 4, 1990 — to Vimeo, which means we can share it all with you as well. Now who’s going to launch a petition to get the full concert posted and/or released on DVD as well?
Check out the footage below, along with a note from the band about its origins.
Video Recorded: August 4th, 1990
Video Director: Dodger Stadium crew
Video Source: NTSC VHS tapeFans have wanted a good recording of this tour for over a decade, but that has been virtually impossible to come by. While audience recording bootlegs (of fluctuating quality) have surfaced of this tour, there has never been anything of true quality that has been available to the fans.
While on a week long break in England back in 2002, the band’s webmaster raided their office in London. Among the treasures discovered was a videotape with a very simple, hand-written label (“Dodgers 080490”). Dust covered, and sitting in the office since the end of the tour, this tape would have surely been lost and/or forgotten, if the webmaster had not “borrowed” it from the offices.
The video featured here was recorded “live to tape”. All effects, camera changes, and recorded audio was recorded in a raw, “one take” mix. As such, some camera angles, and audio flaws, might pop up from time to time. For such a historic document, we don’t think the occasional flaw (or old “video toaster” effect) will distract from the performances.
Voted by you, the fans, as the most desired live concert in the Archives Concert Series, here are excerpts from the World Violation Tour, exclusively from depeche mode dot com.
SPECIAL NOTE: The audio for these clips is a raw, unmixed soundboard feed.
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Awesome.
wow
Ah the irony of Dave having to grunt, groan, moan, and “c’mon” during the intro to Enjoy the Silence. :-)
UGH! Why didn’t that tech genius Barassi deinterlace the video??! This looks terrible!!!
You know we want to buy this. First time I saw Mode was during this tour. DVD it already.
“Shut up and take my money”.
I was at this show! Fantastic! And Electronic opened…one of their only live gigs ever…and a fantastic but short set from Nitzer Ebb. Can’t believe it’s been 23 years!
I was there for both nights, Rob, and I have to agree with you as to how cool it was to see Electronic and Nitzer Ebb. Of course, DM put on the greatest concert those two nights … ah, fond memories. I’d love to own this show on BluRay!
I was there as well! Although I believe it was on the second night.
As I said on the Depeche-Mode.com forum, the video is “as is”. If the video is ever released, color correcting, deinterlacing, and other items will be done to the video. For the web, you get it “as-is”. Next time, ask before flaming. Choose to be informed, over being a flaming troll. :)
A great show/tour and I think I speak for every DM-fan out there: We want the whole concert as it is. Even if it´s stripped down as this one:)
@Barassi: This video had to be digitized at some point from the VHS (so it’s not really “as-is” in the first place) and it would have been trivial to deinterlace during conversion.
It is neither “trolling” nor “flaming” to express this criticism of the video.
Is there also footage of the performances by Electronic and Nitzer Ebb?
Awesome. Thanks Daniel.
Oh and +1 for any future DVD release.
Brings back memories of own swapping of fan-shot videos. The rawness didn’t matter as it added to the atmosphere.
I was at this concert and my memories of it are so fuzzy! I got various bootlegs of it but SO nice to see the videos! Thank YOU and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/lemac16/avatars%20and%20forums/whoa.jpg
Seriously though, this is some killer footage.
LOL!!!!!! I mean YIKES!
Very good news. Maybe “MUTE or They” have also the raw video material on tape 16mm or even 35 mm. For the 16 mm you can scan for 2K resolution. It would really be amazing to see Dodger Stadium concert on Blu-ray, even in the format frame 3:4. “MUTE or They” record label, we count for you…
One of these days hopefully they’ll release this on DVD or blu-ray. People have been begging, pleading, pining and petitioning for this on some kind of digital format since…well…forever now.
I always thought a limited edition release of this concert would be the way to go. Fancy, deluxe packaging, ltd. numbered editions and all. Regardless, I’m beginning to think any form of release of this concert may never happen.
The “rough mix” of the footage – note there isn’t any crowd noise – is probably one of the biggest obstacles. No crowd noise on a live recording is…well, weird…just give the “Violator Live” album that’s floating around a listen. Not to mention making sure all the folks – camera men, sound people and all – are properly credited and compensated. Those are just two issues that immediately come to mind. Lots of hurdles to jump if it were ever to be relased =(
However, The Depeche camp could make a small fortune on the release of this concert footage (if done right) and it continues to seem to be ignored. It blows my mind.
This tour at Red Rocks was my first ever DM concert, road trip awesomeness! They should clean it up and release it! :)
Saw this tour in Vancouver, BC,,,,, Nitzer Ebb, another all time personal fave, opened. I was 18. As these extremely rare videos show,,, It was indeed, perfection.
Wish there was live footage of electronic.
I was at this show and finding this has made me so happy!!! brings back great memories
I went to the Loa Angeles Depeche Mode Convention at The Palace in Hollywood in 2000 and 2002 and met KROQ’s Richard Blade who was the host of the convention. The dj in charge of playing all their music and rare videos happen to show this tape on the big screen for everyone to see. He showed “Everything Counts” “Behind The Wheel/Route 66” in full, it showed the date in opening credits reading 8/4/90 it looked like this same tape pro shot but was not multicam it was directly in front of the stage centered. So I believe they have multi versions of this tape for each camera the stadium crew were filming with. They then put them all together and created the multicam tape. The Dj looked like Daniel Miller of their record company I should have asked him about this when I had the chance and I probably would have got hooked up lol I did ask some of the vendors selling all their merchandise,memorabilia,records,live bootlegs which they had a grip for sale if they had any of the two shows from Dodger Stadium on tape or cd they didn’t have anything on them and replied most of The World Violation Tour Bootlegs were not good quality which are up for grabs now online for free. If they can show the vid to fans at the convention I don’t see why they just don’t release it in full,or put it up for full viewing on the bands website? The band has many proshots on the site in the archives that also include The Music For The Masses Tour 88 at the Rose Bowl,Ultra Party 97 London,Ultra Party 97 at The Shrine,KROQ Acoustic Xmas 98,these are all proshots also and never have been released in full neither.So the band has tons of rare tapes of all their tours and just refuse to release them.
This was my first music concert and I was blown away ! Fresh out of High School and skipped work to go to this concert and it will forever live in my memory. It’s true what they about your first concert you will never forget it especially if it’s Depeche Mode !