For the most part, he says, Depeche Mode just leave him to get on with it, a marked contrast to his other celebrated regular clients, U2. “U2 are a band who believe in meetings, so everything has a meeting. With Depeche, it’s an exception to have a meeting at all. When I did visuals for The Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour, I also filmed the show in Mexico City. After the concert, U2 all came to look at the footage. At midnight! For two hours! I mean, Depeche – you couldn’t get them to watch a minute. It’s an incredible difference in attitude. But that’s also the charm of Depeche. They don’t do many interviews, there’s no big plans, they just make a record and tour.”

It’s] as if he’s praying for Dave’ … Daniel Miller (right), and Dave Gahan. Photograph: 2020 Anton Corbijn David: My reaction was to say yes straight away! Kevin and I had of course gotten to know each other by the time he asked me, and I was aware of the Halo project. I was very surprised to be asked to join in with Halo, but I was hugely enthusiastic, to say the least. Kevin had written something for Almost Predictable Almost’s Violator month so he knew the album was a favourite of mine. Two last things: I don’t understand labouring the point of certain bands becoming stadium acts around this time period and which bands filled which stadia before this band or that band. What greater significance does this have beyond being a barometer of commercial success of a band? And, Anton Corbijn is several times referred to as “Dutchman” or in combination with a descriptor like “lanky” or “quirky”. Nobody else in the story was caricatured by their nationality or physical characteristics, so why him?I realised how good their music and my visuals went together’ … Martin Gore on route to LA, 1988. Photograph: 2020 Anton Corbijn David:An impossible question to answer! I genuinely don’t have one I would say I dislike more than others... The triumph of the Rose Bowl gig and the fever surrounding the release of the subsequent 101 movie and live record had shown that not only was there an enormous fan base in the US but it was one that could help propel Depeche even further into the consciousness of the country's mainstream record-buying public. But in many respects, Depeche were in uncharted territory, as was its UK label Mute Records. This period in the band's history also found them forging a deeply trusted and influential partnership with photographer and designer Anton Corbijn, often viewed as the fifth member of Depeche Mode at this time. Corbijn's work with the Area creative agency for the 'Violator' project delivered iconic, integrated artwork, photography, videos and short films across the album, its singles, and tour design.

Therefore, the timing of the release of this book couldn’t be better, with all eyes are on the band again, but no new material forthcoming for a few months. It’s an account of the making of the band’s massively successful and influential album, ‘Violator’, released in March 1990.Kevin: For the reasons noted in my last answer, I just felt that there was a really interesting story based on the narrative of an era for a band covering the creativity required to produce such a masterpiece, recording, marketing, design, visual output, and lots more. While the stories from the other women in this book reveal lesser-known aspects of the Depeche creative machine at this time, they also feel a bit flat and unexplored, as mere providers of services (which, I guess technically they were) to the main attraction. The exception is the personal account of Billie Ray Martin, lead singer for Electribe 101, a support band for European dates of the World Violation tour. Straddling between creative contributor to the tour, artist and music fan herself, she briefly alludes to “male behaviour” from crew and the generally male atmosphere that made this an isolating and lonely experience for her and led her to drinking. The poor treatment she and her bandmates faced from fans of Depeche Mode is an embarrassment to read as a Depeche fan yourself. The book by David and Kevin is, after all, an attempt to capture the moment and time when everything merged into a perfect formula, as the authors saw it and wanted it then, not as we thought. Because often a contemporary view of work even disturbs the original understanding of the record. The guys perfectly reflect the spirit of the times and the intensive production process of Alan, Flood, and François as well as other great professionals who appeared from the demos to the final sounds of the tour in November 1990 with the band. The event was scheduled to take place on 20 March 1990 and was due to start around 9pm. The demand for anything Depeche Mode related was so high that fans began camping out the night before the event and by 8pm on March 20, there were indeed around 10,000 fans queuing at the store as had been predicted. That number would only increase as the start time approached. More than an album biography, Halo goes deep behind the scenes of the band’s Violator period. The book takes the form of a detailed oral history from those who were there in the studio with the band, working behind the cameras, designing sleeves and appearing in the videos; support acts, tour managers, publicists and Depeche Mode fans.