360°Sound caught up with Mary Valle, author of the new 33 1/3 book on Depeche Mode’s album 101 (out now on Bloomsbury Academic). 101 is a recording of the British new wave icons’ June 18, 1988, concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Valle grew up in Southern California during Depeche Mode’s rise in popularity, which was due in large part to constant airplay from KROQ-FM and popular disc jockey Richard Blade. In this exclusive interview, Valle discusses why she chose this live double album as the Mode record to write about, the punchy live arrangements of hits like “Never Let Me Down Again,” and her memories of being in attendance among the 65,000 adoring fans that magical night in ‘88.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Scroll to the bottom for the full video interview.
360°Sound: Why this particular Depeche Mode album?
Mary Valle: This goes back to the pandemic. I was spending a lot of time reading books. I like to read music books, but I was particularly reading books about new wave music. I read Richard Blade’s autobiography [World in My Eyes], and one night, I was just browsing stuff and saw a photo of Dave Gahan with his new band, and it was like “Huh? Depeche Mode?” It kind of like clicked in my brain.
Then I saw a photo of these teenagers at the Rose Bowl, like on a pilgrimage, with their leather jackets and stuff. And honestly, I was just like, “Wow, I didn’t realize that was such a big deal.” I went to that show, but I hadn’t really thought about it all that much, and I was a fan. Then when I saw that 33 1/3 was inviting submissions, I was like, “Yes, I’ve got a story.”
The book does not have a lot of information on the live album. It’s focused more on Depeche Mode’s remarkable rise to fame and what it was like growing up around the new wave music scene in southern California. Why did you decide to take that approach?
The question in my mind was, “How did this happen?” Because when I thought about it, a four-piece band with three guys playing synthesizers, and a singer, and they’re playing the Rose Bowl in 1988. I stepped back and thought about that. I thought, “That’s pretty crazy.” The next question is, “Well, how did that come about to be?” It’s all these factors converging at once. That’s kind of how I saw it in my mind. How do you explain this event?
I think from where we’re sitting Depeche Mode is huge stadium band with hundreds of millions of records sold. But at the time, they weren’t all that huge in the United States. I just thought about KROQ being such a big part of our lives, and the record industry, like [Mode’s label] Mute Records, and the band touring, and the cultural aspects of life in Southern California at that time. I saw those things plus my experience, and I wanted to tell that whole story.
Would you recommend 101 as an intro to Depeche Mode?
I think it’s a great intro to the band. That’s actually one of the reasons why the album came about. It was announcing that they were a huge band, and providing a smorgasbord of greatest hits, but live, so they’re a little more lively and different than the record versions. Anybody could get this record and just hear all these great songs. I love the album. The live arrangements are so punchy.
Many people consider 1990’s Violator their best album, but do you think 101 is peak Depeche Mode in terms of the high-water mark of their career?
101 was kind of like a capstone and throwing down the gauntlet type of thing, because they weren’t a local band. And I know they were popular in other places, but they kind of felt like the house band in Southern California just because of KROQ. For a lot of teenagers, it was just KROQ morning, noon, and night, wherever you went. They were kind of consolidating that and saying, “Okay, now we’re gonna go on and become a huge world-beating band.” That’s what they did with Violator, which is generally considered to be their masterwork.
Do you have a favorite song on 101?
It’s kind of a cliche, but I really love the version of “Never Let Me Down Again.” It’s got that section in the middle that’s just so good. It’s different from the record but it’s got that little break. I think they made “Pleasure, Little Treasure” a real hoedown compared to the B-side that it was. It just totally brought it to life, which is the point of the live album, bringing songs to life.
What are your memories of the Rose Bowl show?
I got a bunch of free tickets from KROQ. I hadn’t really thought about going. I was a fan, but I think at that point, I just felt kind of saturated by Depeche Mode and KROQ. I was driving down the street, and they were like, “Bring some canned goods to this location, and we’ll give you tickets.” So I went and they gave me a bunch of tickets, and I brought some friends.
I just remember it being very hot. I remember people doing the wave. We did not get there to see Wire or Thomas Dolby, but we saw some of OMD. It’s a beautiful setting there in the Arroyo Seco. It started getting sunset-y, and “Pimpf” comes on – it’s just very chilling and riveting. It was such a fun concert to go to.
Depeche Mode’s 101 is available to purchase on the Bloomsbury site.
Check out the full video interview below.
