Devotional (video)

Devotional
Video by
Depeche Mode
Released23 November 1993 (1993-11-23)
Recorded
  • 17
  • 21
  • 29 July 1993
Venue
Length94 minutes
Label
DirectorAnton Corbijn
Depeche Mode chronology
Strange Too
(1990) 		Devotional
(1993) 		The Videos 86>98
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

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.

Background

Main articles: Songs of Faith and Devotion and Devotional Tour

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]

Recording and mixing

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]

Release

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]

Reviews

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]

Track listing

2004 DVD: Mute Film / DMDVD4

Disc one

  1. Devotional: A Performance Filmed by Anton Corbijn (see above for songlist)

Bonus tracks

  1. "Halo" from Violator (1990)
  2. "Policy of Truth" from Violator (1990)

Disc two

  • Tour projections[a]
  1. "Walking in My Shoes"
  2. "Stripped"
  3. "Condemnation"
  4. "Judas"
  5. "I Feel You"
  6. "Never Let Me Down Again"[b]
  7. "In Your Room"
  8. "Enjoy the Silence"
  • Promotional music videos
  1. "I Feel You"
  2. "Walking in My Shoes"
  3. "Condemnation"
  4. "In Your Room"
  5. "One Caress"
  6. "Condemnation" (live) [mixed in with the tour projection video]

2004 UMD: Mute Film / DMUMD4

  1. Devotional: A Performance Filmed by Anton Corbijn (see above for songlist)

Personnel

  • Dave Gahan – lead vocals
  • Martin Gore – guitar, keyboards, lead and backing vocals
  • Alan Wilder – keyboards, piano, drums, percussion pads, backing vocals
  • Andy Fletcher – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Hildia Campbell – backing vocals
  • Samantha Smith – backing vocals

Charts

Chart performance for Devotional
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Austrian Music DVDs Chart[12] 7
Belgian (Flanders) Music DVDs Chart[13] 2
Belgian (Wallonia) Music DVDs Chart[14] 1
German Albums Chart[15] 25
Norwegian Music DVDs Chart[16] 2
Spanish Music DVDs Chart[17] 1
Swedish Music DVDs Chart[18] 1
US Music Video Chart[19] 27

Certifications

Certifications for Devotional
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[20] Gold 5,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ^ Rather than use the eight-screen Devotional Tour projections, it was easier to use the almost identical one-screen Exotic Tour projections. The isolated video of the projections were played with audio of the intended song.
  2. ^ The first half of the video was lost and unable to be recovered. Instead, it features a message from Corbijn, apologising and saying that the footage has "met its maker".

References

  1. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Devotional – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ Baker, Trevor (25 April 2013). Depeche Mode: The Early Years 1981–1993. Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN 978-1-78606-156-0.
  3. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 210.
  4. ^ Hallard & Lane (2006)
  5. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 214.
  6. ^ Gittins 2018, p. 169.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 219.
  8. ^ "DM Archives | Discography / Home Videos: Devotional". depechemode.com. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  9. ^ Miller 2003, p. 545.
  10. ^ "Depeche Mode – Devotional – A performance filmed by Anton Corbijn". Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b "Blasphemous Rumours". Bong. No. 20. 1994. pp. 16–17.
  12. ^ "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVDs Top 10 24.10.2004". Austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  13. ^ "Ultratop 10 Muziek-DVD". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Ultratop 10 DVD Musicaux". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  15. ^ "Album – Depeche Mode, Devotional [DVD]". Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  16. ^ "DVD Audio Uke 41, 2004". VG-lista (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  17. ^ "Lista de DVDs Musicales" (PDF). PROMUSICAE (in Spanish). Media Control. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  18. ^ "Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2013. Search for Depeche Mode Devotional and click Sök.
  19. ^ "Top Music Videos". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 41. 9 October 2004. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  20. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty DVD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2005 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

Works cited

  • Burmeister, Dennis; Lange, Sascha (2017). Depeche Mode: Monument. New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-593-4.
  • Gittins, Ian (2018). Depeche Mode: Faith and Devotion. London: Palazzo Editions. ISBN 978-1-78675-064-8.
  • Hallard, Ross (director); Lane, Phil Michael (director) (2006). Depeche Mode: 1991–94 (We Were Going to Live Together, Record Together and It Was Going to Be Wonderful) (DVD). Mute Records.
  • Miller, Jonathan (2003). Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-415-2.
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