Violation

The period between 1986 and 1994 is largely considered as "the golden age" of Depeche Mode, the era of their creative and commercial peak. Even the band members seem to agree with that, given that their tour setlists heavily rely on material from those years ever since. They released 4 studio albums during that time, and 3 of those came out in mid-March, so last week was filled with opportunities to look back: Black Celebration turned 29 on Tuesday, Songs Of Faith And Devotion became 22 years old on Sunday, but a quarter of a century mark seemed more interesting, so most of the attention concentrated on Violator's anniversary on Thursday.

What kind of man loves a song like this?

The kind I am, for example. And the song in question is "What Kind Of Man" by Florence + The Machine.

Imaginary setlist for Cinderella's Eyes

Unfortunately, Nicola Roberts' excellent debut album wasn't promoted by a long series of live gigs, so I came up with an imaginary setlist for a tour that never was.

Depeche Mode: A Broken Frame era

The album. The singles. The songs. The tour(s).

Girls Aloud - Twelve

The history of Girls Aloud is pretty much a series of events that shouldn’t have happened the way they did, ridiculous ideas that turned out great, blessings in disguise and misfortunes that ultimately helped them, all these little contradictions. To begin with, they shouldn’t have a fan like me, a guy who spent the last 20+ years listening to the likes of Depeche Mode, The Cure, R.E.M., New Order and The Smiths. But for me, they fit in there perfectly – pop music at its best, with a bit of a twist, something that makes it unusual.

Depeche Mode: Speak & Spell era

The album. The singles. The songs. The tour.

My generation

Well, my chosen one, to be precise, I'm slightly younger than them. There might be several great solo artists, but the acts that had the biggest impact on me are bands, and I couldn’t help but notice that quite a few of my favourite bands are made up of guys who are roughly the same age, which could be more than just a coincidence.