101 (album)


101 is a live album and documentary film by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 13 March 1989 by Mute Records. It chronicles the final leg of the band's Music for the Masses Tour and the final show on 18 June 1988 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Band member Alan Wilder is credited with coming up with the album's title; the performance was the 101st and final performance of the tour. The film was directed and produced by D. A. Pennebaker.

Background and development

The band's original concept for the film was going to be about how Depeche Mode "fit into" the 1980s. After discussions with an "experienced director", they came to the conclusion that the choice was going to do something "too glossy" and that they wanted to present something more nuanced and interesting. At this point, they reached out to renowned documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker. He accepted, but discarded their initial concept, feeling that it was "impossible to examine in an entertainingly cinematic fashion".
Ultimately, the film focused on what Depeche Mode considered to be their strongest selling point—their live performance—as well as capturing the spirit of their fan base. Notably, the film prominently features a group of young fans travelling across America as winners of a "be-in-a-Depeche Mode-movie-contest", which culminates at the band's landmark concert at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.
Much to the chagrin of fans, the film does not depict the full Rose Bowl concert, but instead shows interspersed snippets of the band, the "bus kids" and live performances recorded throughout the tour. The 2003 DVD reissue included more concert footage, but as Pennebaker was "shooting a documentary, not a concert film", a complete record of the Rose Bowl concert does not exist.
Pennebaker used his direct cinema approach, which he described as "letting the camera run as unobtrusively as possible, thereby encouraging events to unfold on their own. You edit more and the film changes every three days, but were very nice and patient about it."
Pennebaker admitted there was a similarity between Depeche Mode and some of the other artists he'd filmed before : "I found the audience very rapt; they were there for that band. Not any band would do. I got the feeling that maybe there was no other band they'd ever go out for again in that assemblage, and it made me take that audience fairly seriously."
Due to the prominence of the "bus kids" in the film, it is widely considered to be the impetus for the "reality" craze that swept MTV in the following years, including The Real World and Road Rules.
In various interviews, DVD commentaries and on their own website, both Pennebaker and collaborator Chris Hegedus have cited 101 as "their favourite" and "the one that was the most fun to make" out of all their films to date.

Reissues

2003 audio reissue

In 2003, Mute Records reissued 101 as a hybrid Super Audio CD. In essence, the two-disc set contained 101 in three formats—multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD and PCM stereo. The multi-channel audio was presented in 5.1 and gave a better representation of the live experience. The SACD was not released in North America.
Due to pressing errors, however, the first run of the set was marred by a mis-encoded multi-channel SACD layer that skipped and was unlistenable on the first disc. The stereo SACD and CD audio layers were unaffected.
As a bonus hidden track, the multi-channel layer also included the full version of "Pimpf".

2003 DVD reissue

In 2003, the film was released as a two-disc DVD with the feature film on the first disc, including a new commentary track with Pennebaker, Hegedus and the band. The second disc contained all-new interviews with Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher, with each interviewed about the solo projects they were working on at the time: Paper Monsters, Counterfeit² and Client. All three interviews were conducted separately by Pennebaker and Hegedus. Interviews with Daniel Miller, band manager Jonathan Kessler, and three of the "bus kids" were also included. Special bonus features included isolated video footage of the Rose Bowl concert, including previously unreleased footage.
Alan Wilder left the band in 1995, and declined to be involved with the re-release.

Track listing

All songs are written by Martin Gore, except "Just Can't Get Enough", written by Vince Clarke.

LP

Disc one

Side A
  1. "Pimpf" – 0:58
  2. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:55
  3. "Strangelove" – 4:49
  4. "Something to Do" – 3:54
  5. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 5:09
Side B
  1. "Stripped" – 6:45
  2. "Somebody" – 4:34
  3. "Things You Said" – 4:21
  4. "Black Celebration" – 4:54

    Disc two

Side C
  1. "Shake the Disease" – 5:10
  2. "Pleasure Little Treasure" – 4:38
  3. "People Are People" – 4:59
  4. "A Question of Time" – 4:12
Side D
  1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 6:40
  2. "Master and Servant" – 4:30
  3. "Just Can't Get Enough" – 4:01
  4. "Everything Counts" – 6:31

    CD

Disc one

  1. "Pimpf" – 0:58
  2. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:55
  3. "Strangelove" – 4:49
  4. "Sacred" – 5:09
  5. "Something to Do" – 3:54
  6. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 5:09
  7. "Stripped" – 6:45
  8. "Somebody" – 4:34
  9. "Things You Said" – 4:21

    Disc two

  10. "Black Celebration" – 4:54
  11. "Shake the Disease" – 5:10
  12. "Nothing" – 4:36
  13. "Pleasure Little Treasure" – 4:38
  14. "People Are People" – 4:59
  15. "A Question of Time" – 4:12
  16. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 6:40
  17. "A Question of Lust" – 4:07
  18. "Master and Servant" – 4:30
  19. "Just Can't Get Enough" – 4:01
  20. "Everything Counts" – 6:27

    SACD

Disc one
  1. "Pimpf" – 0:58
  2. "Behind the Wheel" – 5:55
  3. "Strangelove" – 4:49
  4. "Sacred" – 5:09
  5. "Something to Do" – 3:54
  6. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 5:09
  7. "Stripped" – 6:45
  8. "Somebody" – 4:34
  9. "Things You Said" – 4:21
Disc two
  1. "Black Celebration" – 4:54
  2. "Shake the Disease" – 5:10
  3. "Nothing" – 4:36
  4. "Pleasure Little Treasure" – 4:38
  5. "People Are People" – 4:59
  6. "A Question of Time" – 4:12
  7. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 6:40
  8. "A Question of Lust" – 4:07
  9. "Master and Servant" – 4:30
  10. "Just Can't Get Enough" – 4:01
  11. "Everything Counts" – 6:31
  12. "Pimpf"
  1. "101 – The Movie" – 117:00

    DVD

Disc one
  1. 101 – The Movie
Disc two
All songs are isolated live video footage, uninterrupted by documentary footage. Songs with a * are exclusive to the DVD and were not in the VHS film. Footage of "Sacred", "Something To Do", "Things You Said", "Shake The Disease", "Nothing", "People Are People", "A Question of Time" and "A Question of Lust" are lost and were not able to be recovered for the DVD.
  1. "Master and Servant"
  2. "Pimpf"
  3. "Behind the Wheel"
  4. "Strangelove"
  5. "Blasphemous Rumours"
  6. "Stripped"
  7. "Somebody"*
  8. "Black Celebration"
  9. "Pleasure, Little Treasure"*
  10. "Just Can't Get Enough"
  11. "Everything Counts"
  12. "Never Let Me Down Again"
Extras:
  1. Dave Gahan
  2. Martin Gore
  3. Andrew Fletcher
  4. Jonathan Kessler
  5. Daniel Miller
  6. Christopher Hardwick
  7. Oliver Chesler
  8. Jay Serken
Credits adapted from the liner notes of 101.

Weekly charts

Album
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums 71

Video
Chart Peak
position

Year-end charts

Album
Chart Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs 90
European Albums 30
German Albums 54

Video
Chart Position
Swedish Music DVD 64

Certifications

Album

Video