“I’m taking a ride with my best friend — I hope he never lets me down again,” sings Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan near the end of their triumphant return to Glasgow.

And what a trip it was.
Depeche Mode Glasgow Hydro Jan 31 2024
Martin Gore and Dave Gahan proved their futuristic music is timeless at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow

Martin Gore and Dave Gahan proved their futuristic music is timeless at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow
It was the synth-pop icons’ first show on Scottish soil for six years and the first since slimming down to a two-piece.

And there was never a chance of this being a disappointment.

Clad in black (what else?) frontman Gahan and multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore emerged onto the stage of the Ovo Hydro arena to Speak To Me from last year’s lauded Memento Mori.

A first chance for audiences here to experience the collection, billed as a return to form for the legends, the crowd lapped it up.

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The pulsating bass and cracking synthesiser riff to The Cosmos Is Mine off the same record built to a crescendo on the track’s chorus as Gahan chanted “no war”.

These are sometimes difficult songs for troubling times.

Often dark, sometimes gloomy, always sincere.

Wagging Tongue with its Kraftwerkesque keyboard arpeggio was next.

Despite being billed as a tour for the new album, Depeche Mode know fans who’ve waited years for them to roll back into town want more from these two-and-a-quarter hours.

And it didn’t take long for the first big hit as 1990s Policy Of Truth got a dust down.

Genuinely taken aback by the response, Gahan asks: “Is there anybody out there?”

In response to the huge wall of cheers, he simply smiles and answers his own question: “Yeah!”

This audience, he says, is much better than Manchester two nights earlier.

Alongside songs taking their debut flights, Gahan and Gore dug deep into their storied back catalogue.

Tunes from 10 different albums got an airing.

The singer’s deep and soulful voice is undiminished by five decades of studio recording, shows and rock ‘n roll excess.

He’s in fine form, sashaying across the stage like a slick-haired gothic Mick Jagger.

Soon up is Everything Counts which has the crowd in this 13,000-seater hangar singing along with every word.

The Hydro is a gigantic venue.

Driving past it every day, you almost forget just how cavernous it is on the inside.

Somehow Depeche Mode manage to cut through the massive space and make it feel like a much smaller and more intimate gig.

Almost like you’re one of 200 people crushed up at the front barrier - even if you’re in the rafters.

The metallic and futuristic soundscapes become more human in the process.

Gore and Gahan’s obvious joy imbue their icy songs with something more animalistic than robotic, giving their sounds a pulse which is more warm-blooded than digital.

The backing musicians do an ample job of supporting them and the loss of the classic lineup members is less acutely felt as a result.

Time whizzes by with solo acoustic takes on favourites Strangelove and Somebody from Gore, who still sports his trademark mop of boyish blonde curls nearly 50 years on.

Black Celebration and John The Revelator has the crowd hanging on every word and singing back in full voice.

Gahan beckons, “let’s have some fun now” during an encore which includes chart hit Just Can’t Get Enough.

A gritty run through of Never Let Me Down Again reminds us it’s one of the best songs of the 80s — before Martin straps on his guitar for a ripping Personal Jesus.

Depeche Mode so many years later prove their concerts are still a religious experience.

SETLIST


Speak to Me
My Cosmos Is Mine
Wagging Tongue
Walking in My Shoes
It’s No Good
Policy of Truth
In Your Room
Everything Counts
Precious
Before We Drown
Strangelove
Somebody
Ghosts Again
I Feel You
A Pain That I’m Used To
Behind the Wheel
Black Celebration
Stripped
John the Revelator
Enjoy the Silence
Encore:
Waiting for the Night
Just Can’t Get Enough
Never Let Me Down Again
Personal Jesus

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