1981-02-16 Cabaret Futura, London, England, UK
Notes
The Event Group was the support act for this gig.
Cabaret Futura owner Richard Strange has said:
"I occasionally listen to the 24-track tapes we recorded [at Cabaret Futura]. One of my favourites is of Depeche Mode, all cherubic-faced and full of nervy swagger as they tried out their first songs, wonderful three-minute anthems such as New Life, Factory or Dreaming of Me. The first time I played the tapes back I was puzzled by what seemed to be a splashing sound on one of the tracks. Then I remembered it was the night that The Event Group did something unspeakable with hoses and fake urine on the balcony while the band played underneath."[1]
As Richard Strange wrote down in his bio on Vimeo, he paid the band £15 for a half hour set. He also quotes Depeche Mode as having said, "What's really looking forward is what's happening at Richard Strange's Cabaret Futura, not us."
Set list
This is the set list as confirmed by Richard Strange. Depeche Mode performed a relatively short set of approximately 30 minutes and unusually ended with Tora! Tora! Tora!, because there were sometimes up to six acts performing at any given night at the Cabaret Futura, so each act had to perform a fairly short set. Depeche Mode actually performed longer than most other acts.