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LOOKING
GOOD
[The Daily Star, 13th July 1981. Words:
Rick Sky. Picture: Joe Bangay.]
"
Vince Clarke, 21, says, “Ugly bands really don’t get anywhere in this
business. "
Summary:
This
apparently harmless tabloid introduction to Depeche Mode set the ball rolling
towards Vince's eventual departure. Regarding the author to have twisted his
words quite nastily, Vince spent a large part of 1981 in media purdah. When he
left the band not long after, the reasons involved disaffection with the
trappings and lifestyle of a successful chart act, and that included the
attendant PR circus. For this reason alone, one of the most important articles
on Sacred DM. [246 words]
Apologies
for the poor picture quality - this is due to the page being taken from public
library microfilms.
View pages: page 1
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also:
Depeche Mode are one of the best-looking bands around. And they reckon that
gives them an edge over the competition.
Vince Clarke, 21, says, “Ugly bands really don’t get anywhere in this
business.
“But let’s face it, being good looking gives you a real advantage in life.
It opens a lot of doors.” [1]
The boys – Vince, Dave Gahan, 19, Martin Gore, 19, and Andrew Fletcher, 20 –
are looking good in the charts, too.
They are riding high this week with their second disc, New Life.
Depeche Mode also believe in travelling light.
Their equipment consists of three small synthesisers and a tape recorder.
Singer Dave says: “Because we’re an electronic band we don’t need mounds
of speakers and huge drum kits.
Huge
“Our equipment is very easy to carry.
“We don’t need huge vans to ferry us around and make our journeys difficult.
“We don’t even employ roadies because there is nothing for them to carry.”
Depeche Mode are part of the growing number of futurist electronic dance bands
whose fans are colourfully-dressed and outrageous New Romantics. Vince says:
“Too many bands take themselves too seriously – we don’t. We don’t let
heavy political meaning get in the way of our songs.
“We just like having fun and we want our fans to have fun, too.”
The boys are the first successful band to come out of Basildon – a sprawling
new town on the outskirts of London.
Dave says: “We hope to put Basildon on the map.”
[1]
- This is the offending exchange. The
actual conversation has been recounted by Vince and the bands over the years as
running something like this: Sky had seemed to be fishing for something juicy
for some time, and began asking questions about looks, such as whether being
good-looking and in a band was an advantage (which is of course not the
same as asking if being good-looking is an advantage to being in a band).
Vince replied that being good-looking would certainly seem to be an advantage in
life generally. Sky's next question was "So, you think you are pretty, do
you?" From there, by all accounts, the tone went right downhill. [continue]