Depeche Mode: Devotional

Devotional – A Performance Filmed by Anton Corbijn is a video release by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, featuring almost an entire concert from their 1993 Devotional Tour, filmed in Barcelona (Palau Sant Jordi), Liévin (Stade Couvert Régional) and Frankfurt (Festhalle). It was directed by Anton Corbijn, and released in 1993. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video in 1995.

Depeche Mode had recorded their album Songs of Faith and Devotion over the course of 1992,[ 2] and the album was released in March 1993.[ 3] During recording, relationships between the band members frayed, and lead singer Dave Gahan was suffering from an addiction to heroin.[ 4] The supporting tour was separated into two legs, the 1993 Devotional leg[ 5] and the 1994 Exotic/Summer '94 leg.[ 6]

The performances were directed by long-time Depeche Mode visual collaborator Anton Corbijn.[ 7] The video is the last release to feature Alan Wilder before his departure in 1995.[ 8]

The video for Devotional was assembled from performances over three nights during the 1993 Devotional leg of the tour: 17 July 1993 in Barcelona, Spain, 21 July 1993 in Frankfurt, Germany, and 29 July 1993 in Liévin, France.[ 7]

Band member Alan Wilder and the band's sound engineer for the album Steve Lyon mixed the live tracks for the album in August of 1993, while on a month-long break between the UK and US legs of the tour.[ 9]

Devotional was released on VHS and laserdisc in late 1993.[ 7] The laserdisc release contained an extra five tracks that were not included on the VHS release.[ 10] In the UK, the video was distributed by Mute Records and BMG.[ 7]

The video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.[ 7]

In 2004, the film was re-released on DVD, featuring isolated footage of set list projections, an interview with Corbijn on Devotional (1993) and remastered music videos from the Songs of Faith and Devotion era.[ 7]

Q magazine reviewed the 1993 release positively, saying "It's all faultlessly conceived and presented, and equally well filmed and edited. An absorbing experience even for non-die-hard fans. Devotional is a wonderful, creative example of achieving success without artistic compromise."[ 11] England's The Times said of the show, "The group was masterfully theatrical. An electronically generated thunder storm preceded [Depeche Mode]'s arrival on the stage. ... There was something monumental about the proceedings and it was a performance of poise and skill."[ 11]

Bonus tracks