In honor of Dave Gahan’s birthday today — he’s now 48 — we present this clip as our latest Vintage Video installment: Depeche Mode performing its combo of “Behind the Wheel” and B-side “Route 66” during a World Violation Tour stop in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 1990. Yeah, the video’s a bit sketchy — you’d think by now DM would have released a live DVD from the Violator era — but it’s worth it for what arguably was the highlight of the ’90 tour. That, and Dave’s white pants.
PREVIOUSLY ON VINTAGE VIDEO
- Watch ‘The Cure in Orange’ to celebrate Robert Smith’s 51st birthday
- Pixies play ‘Doolittle’ tracks ‘Dead,’ ‘I Bleed’ for ‘Snub TV’ in 1989
- The Cure plays early version of ‘A Forest’ with alternate lyrics on French TV
- Kathryn Bigelow’s video for New Order’s ‘Touched By the Hand of God’
- The Cure’s Robert Smith guest hosts MTV’s ‘120 Minutes’ in 1990
- Jane’s Addiction rehearses ‘Chip Away’ for ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1997
- Depeche Mode’s 1988 MTV Music Video Award home movies
- Ramones find ‘Something to Believe In’ with ‘Hands Across Your Face’
- Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper’s ‘Elvis Is Everywhere,’ on the King’s birthday
- U2 rings out the 1980s with New Year’s gig at Dublin’s Point Depot
- The Replacements’ complete 1981 Twin/Tone showcase in Minneapolis
- The Cure’s ‘Wish’ TV commercial, from MTV’s ‘120 Minutes’
- Oingo Boingo complete 1990 Halloween concert at Irvine Meadows
- Radiohead covers The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order
Inexplicably, the Violator tour was never filmed. A few years back the webmaster for their official site ran across an unmarked VHS tape crammed in a shelf at their management offices and discovered it was the Dodgers Stadium in-house feed that would have been shown on monitors around the venue. It mostly focuses on Dave as he’s singing but at least the audio quality (direct soundboard feed) and image quality are great. I wish they’d release that as-is in some capacity.
Of course, my fantasy is that they’ll tour Violator front-to-back next year with Alan back on stage and no other musicians than the classic foursome.
Martin’s guitar is so off in the beginning.
YES, YES — a real reunion (not just SOMEBODY). I’m all for that. I saw them during this last tour and the threesome was on absolute F-I-R-E!!