DEPECHE MODE 101
ROSEBOWL 88
101 is a live album and documentary film by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 13 March 1989 by Mute Records. It chronicles the final leg of the band’s tour in support of their album Music for the Masses (1987) and the final show on 18 June 1988 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.[6][7]
The band’s original concept for the film was going to be about how Depeche Mode fit into the 1980s.[15] They began discussions amongst themselves about the film in March 1988, before the second leg of the US tour began.[16] After discussions with an experienced but unnamed director, they came to the conclusion that their original choice was going to do something “too glossy” for their tastes,[15] as they were not looking for a “slick commercial” for the band.[11] At this point, Virgin Records, who were handling video releases for Mute Records, suggested that they reach out to renowned documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker to see if he would be interested in the project.[15] He accepted, but discarded their initial concept, feeling that it was “impossible to examine in an entertainingly cinematic fashion”.[15]
Ultimately, the film focused on what Depeche Mode considered to be their strongest selling point, their live performance, as well as capturing the spirit of their fan base.[17] Notably, the film prominently features a group of young fans travelling across America as winners of a “be-in-a-Depeche Mode-movie-contest”.[17] Their bus visited New York, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Memphis, New Mexico and Arizona on its way to LA,[18] where the movie culminates at the band’s landmark concert at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.[17] Depeche Mode had noticed that in America, they often sold more concert tickets than albums.[11]
The film features performances at the Rose Bowl concert, interspersed with snippets of the band, the “bus kids” and live performances recorded throughout the tour.[10] The 2003 DVD reissue included more concert footage, but as Pennebaker was “shooting a documentary, not a concert film”, a complete video record of the Rose Bowl concert does not exist
