Tour of the Universe (tour)

Tour of the Universe was a 2009–10 worldwide concert tour by English electronic band Depeche Mode in support of the group's 12th studio album, Sounds of the Universe, which was released in April 2009.

Tour of the Universe
Tour by Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode performing "It's No Good" at the O2 Arena in London on 15 December 2009.
Associated albumSounds of the Universe
Start date6 May 2009
End date27 February 2010
Legs7
No. of shows
  • 70 in Europe
  • 26 in North America
  • 5 in South America
  • 1 in Asia
  • 102 in total
Box office$133 million[1][2]
Depeche Mode concert chronology

The Live Nation-produced tour, which was announced in October 2008 in Berlin,[3] kicked off with a warm-up show in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg in May 2009. By the end of the year, the tour had reached Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

The concerts in Barcelona, Spain were filmed for the video release Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09, which was released on 8 November 2010 in Europe and 9 November 2010 in North America on DVD and Blu-ray.[4]

Overview

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The tour commenced in May 2009 with a warm-up show in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, followed by the first full-fledged date in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. The tour was disrupted as lead singer Dave Gahan was struck by a severe bout of gastroenteritis, which occurred before the band were to take to the stage in Athens.[5] Following subsequent cancellations of eight further shows, the tour was eventually confirmed to recommence in June while Gahan reportedly flew to the United States for treatment;[6] a low-grade malignant tumour in his bladder was found and successfully removed. Although a portion of the cancelled dates were rescheduled, the band's appearance at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands was pulled, while all remaining dates and one of two dates in Leipzig, Germany were cancelled indefinitely due to "scheduling conflicts".

In June 2009, the band played their first show following Gahan's illness in Leipzig, resuming a European leg which eventually wrapped up in Bilbao, Spain. The tour was cut short after Gahan tore a calf muscle, forcing the cancellation of two dates in Porto, Portugal and Seville, Spain respectively.

In July 2009, the group began a tour of the U.S. and Canada. The leg, which featured a headline slot at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago,[7] started in Toronto and culminated in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in early September. In August, two dates in California were cancelled after Gahan received doctor's orders to serve a period of complete vocal rest.[8]

In October 2009, the band returned to North America to play four dates in Mexico. The leg continued on to Costa Rica and South America, their first shows in these territories since the Exotic Tour in 1994. The group received attention in the media following the group's performance in Peru after it was reported that Gahan thanked the wrong country. According to reports, Gahan said: "Thank you very much, Chile" towards the end of the concert held in Lima.[9] However, this claim was later disputed by a band representative, who quoted Gahan as saying: "Thank you very much, good night" instead.[10] The leg eventually finished up in Buenos Aires. Later in the month, the act began a European leg of indoor venues, which kicked off in Oberhausen, Germany and culminated mid-December in Manchester, United Kingdom.

In January 2010, the group commenced a third European leg in Berlin. The leg included five shows that were rescheduled following Gahan's illness in the summer of 2009. The tour also included a date as part of a series of concerts in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, which was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[11] During this concert, the performances of "Home", "One Caress" and "Come Back" were accompanied by a seven-piece string section. Additionally, during the encore, former band member Alan Wilder made a surprise appearance onstage, accompanying Martin Gore's performance of "Somebody" on piano.[12] It was the first time Wilder had performed with the band in more than fifteen years, having exited the group in 1995. Speaking about the event, Wilder said that he was "happy to accept" Gahan's proposal to join the group onstage and stated that "[they] were long overdue some kind of reunion of this sort".[13] The entire tour eventually wrapped up in Düsseldorf, Germany in late February, after ten months and 102 shows in 32 countries. In total, the band performed to more than 2.7 million people. As reported by music industry publication Billboard, the tour was one of the most profitable in 2009, ending 20th in the magazine's "Top Tours" list.[14]

Similar to the group's previous tour, Touring the Angel, recordings of some of the tour's concerts were made available on double CD format or as a digital download under the generic name Recording the Universe.[15] A video release of the live concerts held at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, titled Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09, was released on 8 November 2010 in Europe and 9 November 2010 in North America on DVD and Blu-ray. The DVD release was issued in two formats, "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe", which both include two audio CDs of the live concerts. The "Super Deluxe" edition also includes a second DVD featuring the tour documentary, "Inside the Universe", as well as extra bonus materials.

Set list

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General set list for Europe, leg #2 and #3

  1. Intro (excerpt from "In Chains")
  2. "In Chains"
  3. "Wrong"
  4. "Hole to Feed"
  5. "Walking in My Shoes"
  6. "It's No Good"
  7. "A Question of Time"
  8. "World in My Eyes"
  9. "Precious"
  10. "Fly on the Windscreen"
  11. Song performed by Martin Gore
  12. Song performed by Martin Gore
  13. "Policy of Truth"
  14. "In Your Room" (Zephyr mix (with bits from the album version))
  15. "I Feel You"
  16. "Enjoy the Silence"
  17. "Never Let Me Down Again"
  18. Song performed by Martin Gore
  19. "Stripped"
  20. "Personal Jesus

Note: Set lists differed between dates, with rotated songs (denoted above), possible minor song order changes and song omissions.

Tour dates

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List of concerts, showing date, city, country, and venue
Date City Country Venue/Event
Europe
6 May 2009 Esch-sur-Alzette Luxembourg Rockhal
Asia
10 May 2009 Tel Aviv Israel Ramat Gan Stadium
Europe
8 June 2009 Leipzig Germany Zentralstadion
10 June 2009 Berlin Olympiastadion
12 June 2009 Frankfurt Commerzbank-Arena
13 June 2009 Munich Olympiastadion
16 June 2009 Rome Italy Stadio Olimpico
18 June 2009 Milan Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
20 June 2009 Werchter Belgium Festivalpark (TW Classic Festival)
22 June 2009 Bratislava Slovakia Štadión Pasienky
23 June 2009 Budapest Hungary Ferenc Puskás Stadium
25 June 2009 Prague Czech Republic Synot Tip Arena
27 June 2009 Saint-Denis France Stade de France
28 June 2009 Nancy Zénith de Nancy
30 June 2009 Copenhagen Denmark Parken Stadium
1 July 2009 Hamburg Germany HSH Nordbank Arena
3 July 2009 Arvika Sweden Folkets Park (Arvika Festival)
6 July 2009 Carcassonne France Esplanade Gambetta
8 July 2009 Valladolid Spain Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla
9 July 2009 Bilbao Monte Cobetas (Bilbao BBK Live)
North America
24 July 2009 Toronto Canada Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
25 July 2009 Montreal Bell Centre
28 July 2009 Bristow United States Nissan Pavilion
31 July 2009 Mansfield Comcast Center
1 August 2009 Atlantic City Borgata Event Center
3 August 2009 New York City Madison Square Garden
4 August 2009
7 August 2009 Chicago Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
10 August 2009 Seattle KeyArena
16 August 2009 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
17 August 2009
19 August 2009 Anaheim Honda Center
20 August 2009 Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Bowl
22 August 2009 Paradise Pearl Concert Theater
23 August 2009 Phoenix US Airways Center
25 August 2009 West Valley City The E Center
27 August 2009 Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre
29 August 2009 Dallas SuperPages.com Center
30 August 2009 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
1 September 2009 Atlanta Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
4 September 2009 Tampa Ford Amphitheatre
5 September 2009 Sunrise BankAtlantic Center
1 October 2009 Guadalajara Mexico Arena VFG
3 October 2009 Mexico City Foro Sol
4 October 2009
6 October 2009 Monterrey Monterrey Arena
Central America
8 October 2009 Alajuela Costa Rica Autódromo La Guácima
South America
10 October 2009 Bogotá Colombia Simón Bolívar Park
13 October 2009 Lima Peru Explanada del Estadio Monumental
15 October 2009 Santiago Chile Club Hípico de Santiago
17 October 2009 Buenos Aires Argentina Club Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Europe
31 October 2009 Oberhausen Germany König Pilsener Arena
1 November 2009 Bremen AWD-Dome
3 November 2009 Hanover TUI Arena
7 November 2009 Mannheim SAP Arena
8 November 2009 Stuttgart Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
10 November 2009 Geneva Switzerland Palexpo
12 November 2009 Valencia Spain Recinto Ferial
14 November 2009 Lisbon Portugal Pavilhão Atlântico
16 November 2009 Madrid Spain Palacio de Deportes
17 November 2009
20 November 2009 Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi
21 November 2009
23 November 2009 Lyon France Halle Tony Garnier
25 November 2009 Casalecchio di Reno Italy Futurshow Station
26 November 2009 Turin Torino Palasport Olimpico
28 November 2009 Erfurt Germany Messehalle
30 November 2009 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy
1 December 2009 Nuremberg Germany Nuremberg Arena
3 December 2009 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
6 December 2009 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
7 December 2009
10 December 2009 Dublin Ireland The O2
12 December 2009 Glasgow Scotland SECC
13 December 2009 Birmingham England LG Arena
15 December 2009 London O2 Arena
16 December 2009
18 December 2009 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
9 January 2010 Berlin Germany O2 World
11 January 2010 Budapest Hungary László Papp Budapest Sports Arena
14 January 2010 Prague Czech Republic O2 Arena
17 January 2010 Liévin France Stade Couvert Régional
19 January 2010 Paris Palais Omnisports Bercy
20 January 2010
23 January 2010 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
25 January 2010 Malmö Sweden Malmö Arena
26 January 2010 Gothenburg Scandinavium
29 January 2010 Bergen Norway Vestlandshallen
31 January 2010 Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe
2 February 2010 Helsinki Finland Hartwall Arena
4 February 2010 Saint Petersburg Russia CKK Arena
6 February 2010 Moscow Olympic Stadium
8 February 2010 Kyiv Ukraine Palace of Sports
10 February 2010 Łódź Poland Atlas Arena
11 February 2010
14 February 2010 Zagreb Croatia Arena Zagreb
17 February 2010 London England Royal Albert Hall
20 February 2010 O2 Arena
22 February 2010 Horsens Denmark Forum Horsens
23 February 2010
26 February 2010 Düsseldorf Germany Esprit Arena
27 February 2010

Support acts

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Musicians

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Depeche Mode

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Additional musicians

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  • Peter Gordeno – synthesizers, piano, backing vocals
  • Christian Eigner – drums, synthesizers

References

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  1. ^ [1] [dead link]
  2. ^ [2] [dead link]
  3. ^ "Billboard News". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Depeche Mode Prepare Tour DVD". 23 September 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Depeche Mode's Martin Gore announces solo album 'MG' and shares 'Europa Hymn' video – watch – NME". NME. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  6. ^ FOX. "Fox 5 NY, New York News, Breaking News, weather, sports, traffic and more. – WNYW". Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Depeche Mode Works the Hits at Lollapalooza". 8 August 2009.
  8. ^ "Depeche Mode 'cancel two US shows'". Digital Spy. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Music – New Music News, Reviews, Pictures, and Videos". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Depeche Mode rep denies singer made slip in Peru". AP. 15 October 2009. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  11. ^ Colothan, Scott. "Depeche Mode Announce February 2010 Royal Albert Hall Show – Gigwise". Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  12. ^ "News". 19 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Chart Attack". Archived from the original on 21 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Top 25 Tours of 2009". Billboard. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Depeche Mode". Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
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