*Martin Lee Gore*
*Interview #20*
Martin Gore - CDNow Article Courtesy www.cdnow.com

March 1, 2002

After playing to 1.5 million fans in 24 countries during the latter half of 2001's Exciter tour, Depeche Mode has vowed to lay low in 2002.

The band's multi-instrumentalist songwriter, Martin Gore, is using the time off from the band to begin work on a solo album of covers. "I thought rather than sit at home doing nothing, I might go make a covers record, so I'm just doing a covers record on my own this year," he says.

While Gore reports it's too early to reveal his intended track listing, he will begin work on the effort in his home recording studio in California next week. Currently, the singer-songwriter is mulling over just how much tinkering he wants to do with the original songs.

"I'm finding it hard to visualize at the moment because when you record covers that you really like, it almost seems sacrilegious to go too far away from the originals," says Gore. "But at the same time, I don't just want to recreate the originals. So its going to be a fine balance between making something that was not electronic at all into a new, interesting electronic version without destroying what you found appealing about it in the first place."

Gore's last and only solo effort, Counterfeit e.p., surfaced in 1989. Singer Dave Gahan is also using the year to finish the recording of his debut solo album, according to Gore.

Meanwhile, the next big event is the group's schedule in March 8's One Night in Paris, The Exciter Tour, a pay-per-view concert recorded at Paris' Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy last October. As it has done so many times in the past, the group opted to enlist longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn to direct the show.

"I think Anton always comes to everything with a very unique perspective," says Gore. "He always manages to capture the spirit of the band better than other people. A lot of people don't like the idea that we always use Anton, but we fell very comfortable with him. Because we have had a relationship with him that has lasted so long, there is element of feeling at ease with each other."

One Night in Paris, The Exciter Tour debuts March 8 on iN Demand (8:00 p.m. ET), TVN (9:00 p.m. ET), Echostar (9:00 p.m. ET), and DirecTV (9:00 p.m. ET).

At the end of 2002, meanwhile, Gore says the group will address its future. "It's a gray area. We don't really sit down and discuss things like that. I think all of us, in the back of our minds, want to carry on as long as we are enjoying it, and until now, we've always enjoyed it. So I'm sure after we have gone off and done our own things, we'll have discussions and decide what the next phase is."