was it already one year ago ? but yes, that was it then. btw, we also did a cover of RATIONAL YOUTH’s “I want to see the light” which does sound even older than original :D
Havent heard that version!
i just checked the playlist but that was only a few months ago. i recall she played the demo of photographic. Anybody has that one available for share?
[quote author=“reactorlgtn”]Thanks both of you for uploading. I’ve taken both packs down and listened to them, they’re the same recordings but in one case the songs are edited.
As for the recordings themselves I’m absolutely certain:
This is a forgery.
It’s interesting, and it’s not bad, but as Depeche Mode demos from 1980, they’re fake. Probably made by a Swedish band (judging by the vocalist’s accent and nasal delivery) in the last few years.
Thanks for the info. I thought they sounded a bit too “clean” to be 25+ years old. I have not been able to find out who on our itunes network actually owns these tracks or where he/she got them from, so I am going to stand by your assessment.
Thank you so much for sharing these with us but I also have to agree with most of the people here… I do like these songs, as I heard them as early as 2001 when I managed to download ‘Television Set’ in decent bitrate through Napster which triggered me to keep searching. At first I was quite confused not knowing of any of these actually appeared in any sound format other than that DM recorded live (later distributed in a bootleg form - someone please correct me for I am not sure of the title, something like ‘Live at the Townhouse’ which is supposed to date from 1979 period)...
Although I consider myself quite a DM fan I certainly wouldn’t fall for absolutely any version there is stated as DM - of course this whole Demonstration tape package might be one hell of a forgery and from what reactorlgtn wrote it’s one hell of a tasty joke playing around with those expecting they collected something truthful of an original early Depeche… Just like debates over whether any pre-Depeche band ever layed they fingers on a single tone to record, this is nice tuneful synthie-pop but nothing as revolutionary. I agree it’s also obvious these appeared practically out of somewhere all of a sudden but as you said lacking conviction by including some of the group’s more familiar studio tracks such as Dreaming of Me or ice Machine to seem a bit more convincing…
This might be a forgery but it still sound to me like Vince IS the voice appearing behind these songs…
“Ein weiteres Tributalbum, das der Berliner Elektronik-Spezialist George Lindt 1999 unter dem Titel Coming Back To You auf seinem Label Kodex (EfA) publizierte, war da schon von anderer Qualität. Lindt hatte unveröffentlichte DM-Songs aus den frühen Achtzigern, die bisher nur auf technisch miserablen Bootlegs vorlagen, mittels alter Synthesizer mit dem Sound des DM-Debütalbums Speak And Spell digital rekonstruiert. Ergebnis, so Tim Fabian in “Zitty”: “Sechs lupenreine Depeche Mode-Cover, die die Zeit zurückdrehen, selbst der Sänger klingt nach Gahan.”“
.... saying all the six tracks were performed by George Lindt - well done ....
i still wonder which fucker thought it was funny to call these tracks DEPECHE MODE Demonstration Tapes ....
so my request remains: any having pre-DM material ?
[quote author=“AnnaLogue”]i still wonder which fucker thought it was funny to call these tracks DEPECHE MODE Demonstration Tapes ....
heh :D :D thanx for updates : ) at its best according to this info, calling these DM is outrageous causing heartaches and confusion to any fan believing in these might have anything to do with DM at all : ( Well, the tracks still appear to be nice tribute - although it’s a shame, it is also a lesson learned : ) I remember couple of years ago, a friend of mine gave away these as a free CD to ten lucky people at his DM-promo party and we made a small booklet graphically assured these were Depeche Mode in all of their exclusivity; reading this now, makes me feel like an idiot! :D
But regarding someone out there daring to call it DM Demonstration Tapes, it is also worth mentioning for example, when you’re searching out through endless p2p lists from Limewire and Soulseek alike, there are so many confusing mp3 files I cannot believe people are either disinformed, stupid in sorting these out or just way over their heads simply spamming others with file named such as ‘Depeche mode & David Sylvian’ or the worst of examples - ‘Depeche Mode - Tainted Love’ (WTF?!) for some ‘intriguing’ mp3 of music which is usually a silly virus of sorts…
Now that we are finally due to a close this set of ‘demos’ is so retro 1999, any possibility of tracking down a pre-Depeche mode track is at its best - impossible. I personally don’t think any of the bands we mentioned earlier in our posts (The French Look, No Romance In China, Norman & the Worms (I mispelled this one ‘Dwarves’ : )=) - even if they recorded anything as close as a ‘demonstration tape’, that it actually sounds as intriguing; most of us perceive DM members in such fashion that anything before DM is expected to lay roots to an all-synthesizer band… I don’t think so… I find that an example in another interesting situation from the second hand store, tracking down an LP by the group called Hitmen - once including Alan Wilder in their line-up; knowing of this interesting fact I at least expected some decent new wave but the record was just plain boring… the one I found already counted out Alan but i am quite sure this was the group he was involved with…
Same with Alison Moyet. She came from a band called “Little Rooster”. I finally heard a live album and it was bad, boring blues rock.
When looking for The Hitmen, don’t confuse the Alan Wilder band with the Radio Birdman off-shoot with Johnny Kannis as lead vocalist. They were from Australia.
I still haven’t received any feedback on the track I mentioned; “When Will The New Baby Grow”. It’s recorded during the tape-to-tape days of the late 80’s and sure sounds crappy but still demo and DM. Anyone else heard it? I haven’t got a digital version, but I guess I should make one before the tape dies altogether…
I recall it including acoustic guitar as well. Was it maybe Martin on vocals? Maybe this is a later track, but it sure sounds basic enough otherwise.
If so, now that’s a coincidence… I am not from Yugoslavia though :D Cannot tell - although I personally called my collection ‘Demonstration Tapes’ as well?! hee heee… I remember downloading the six tracks from some very obscure DM site where a guy presented these six ‘controversial’ songs as ‘possible Composition of Sound songs but not recorded until Depeche took place’ (or something) - the site was in blue-green-ish background with a lousy b/w photograph of early DM performing - looked like they’re on TOTP… The six songs downloaded were the same quality one of our colleagues posted here in shorter mono versions - regarding the seeds of disinformation, well both - this friend of mine and myself obviously and foolishly believed in these tapes’ authenticity… I don’t remember I ever distributed ‘Demonstration Tapes’ outside this group of five people who happen to own a promotional copy and a couple of personal friends interested in hearing those… My God, what a mess! :D
As Croatia became a country in itself some 15 years ago it is no longer part of the Yugoslav federation… Regarding these ‘Demonstration Tapes’ (God, this term is about to become public enemy no. 1 :D ), it is neither mine nor anyone else’s fault for this horrific disinformation case - I already stumbled upon these as ‘Depeche Mode’ and proceeded it as such further to certain people - sorry, but from what you’re suggesting, I am not prepared to take any responsibility for someone else fooling around with DM devotees across the globe… I discovered it, as I said earlier, through Napster years ago (the track ‘Television Set’) and it was pretty convincing as such triggering me further finding bizarre info on couple of tracks more, downloading them from the site I mentioned above…
Calling these ‘Demonstration Tapes’ myself (basically giving this collection some aesthetic sense and nothing more), is definitely a strange coincidence someone else used it as well, sharing it with much wider internet public. The most interesting part of it is additional information on these songs I read about from one of those DM fan-sites where plenty of mp3 links were posted to download DM music from. It is strange for someone knowing about and organising their DM page to its tiniest detail regarding recordings, counting literally loads of strange demos and remixes (some truly as doubtful though), missed such an important thing checking these out announcing the forgery situation we all excluded for the time…
[quote author=“Solist”]As Croatia became a country in itself some 15 years ago it is no longer part of the Yugoslav federation… Regarding these ‘Demonstration Tapes’ (God, this term is about to become public enemy no. 1 :D ), it is neither mine nor anyone else’s fault for this horrific disinformation case - I already stumbled upon these as ‘Depeche Mode’ and proceeded it as such further to certain people - sorry, but from what you’re suggesting, I am not prepared to take any responsibility for someone else fooling around with DM devotees across the globe… I discovered it, as I said earlier, through Napster years ago (the track ‘Television Set’) and it was pretty convincing as such triggering me further finding bizarre info on couple of tracks more, downloading them from the site I mentioned above…
Calling these ‘Demonstration Tapes’ myself (basically giving this collection some aesthetic sense and nothing more), is definitely a strange around coincidence someone else used it as well, sharing it with much wider internet public. The most interesting part of it is additional information on these songs I read about from one of those DM fan-sites where plenty of mp3 links were posted to download DM music from. It is strange for someone knowing about and organising their DM page to its tiniest detail regarding recordings, counting literally loads of strange demos and remixes (some truly as doubtful though), missed such an important thing checking these out announcing the forgery situation we all excluded for the time…
Ah yes Croatia is not Yugoslavia. Nevermind that Serbia and Croatia were part of Yugoslavia, speak the same language (which is part of the ‘south slavic’ branch) and the local synthpop scene has close relations.
I’m not a stranger to your region Solist, and i know enough to say your attitude is a cancer in that region.
edit: I should nuance what i said: of course there are surely some people that dont know Croatia is an independant nation, and your remark was quite innocent in itself. But your need to affirm this by categorically denying to be from Yugoslavia leaves a bad taste in my mouth, in light of the history of that region.
