Massive fan brings Depeche Mode music to Worthing

By day, she's a biomedical scientist in Brighton. But Sarah Woodgate's big passion is Depeche Mode '“ a passion she will be sharing with everyone else when she brings a Depeche Mode tribute band to her home town of Worthing.
Speak and SpellSpeak and Spell
Speak and Spell

“Having seen the brilliant tribute band Speak and Spell several times previously, with a lead singer who makes an incredible Dave Gahan, I asked some local venues and promoters if they would be interested in booking the band.

“After not having any luck, eventually I decided to book St Paul’s, Worthing, and book the band myself and do all the marketing with my husband. The event is now on sale: Speak and Spell at St Paul’s on Saturday, January 28.

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“I can safely say I have never done anything like this before. It has been a steep learning curve. But I am a massive Depeche Mode fan to the point bordering on obsession. I have been all around the world to see them. In Europe and in the States, they are so much more respected than they are in this country. I love seeing them oversees. In this country, they are seen as a bit of an 80s band, and even though they have got a lot of hardcore fans over here, they don’t get the recognition they deserve.

“They have got a new album coming out. They have released a new album every three or four years since 1981. They release an album one year and then tour it the next and then they have a year off. But they are the UK’s second-biggest export after The Rolling Stones in the States. That’s how big they are abroad. I was in LA in the summer, and they have Depeche Mode conventions. And you go to Germany, and they are treated like absolute gods. It’s strange that they are not more respected over here.

“I love dark music and I love electronic music, and they combine the two, and there is such an intense feeling. Martin Gore, the song-writer, writes such incredible lyrics. I got into them when I was in my early teenage years, and that’s such an emotional time. You feel like the songs are just for you and for no one else.”

And Sarah hasn’t really needed anyone else in the 30 odd years since.

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“But I do have to give myself breaks where I don’t listen to them quite so much for a while – and then I come back to them and they are always so fresh. The songs I have always loved I still love just as much.”

Now she is sharing the pleasures by bringing Depeche Mode tribute band Speak and Spell to Worthing: “I have seen them in quite a few venues around Sussex, and they are just fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. The frontman looks the spitting image of Dave Gahan.

“I knew quite a few people who put on gigs in Worthing, and I thought I would give it a go.”

Tickets £9 from the venue or seetickets.com. Saturday, January 28. Doors open 7.30pm; starts 8pm.

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