Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan is known for affecting quite the rockstar vibe when performing, and now he's proving he has a sense of humor about his antics.
The band was in Austin, Texas to perform at South By Southwest, where they also gave a featured interview. The topic of Gahan's hamminess came up, and though the singer admitted to still being "a ball of anxiety" before gigs, he said he's at home on stage: "I feel comfortable out there. I always said, 'I’m an overpaid stripper.'”
Gahan is known for wiggling his hips, often turning his back to the crowd as he does a somewhat silly bootyshake that nonetheless riles up his many admirers. At a Monday show at New York's Ed Sullivan Theater (watch here), this reporter was actually yelled at by a female attendee for "not getting into the vibe" enough. As soon as Gahan offered his posterior for the audience's viewing, said lady began a series of primal growls. It was all in good fun.
It wasn't only Gahan's dance moves which caught the attention of the audience. The singer was also brandishing some pretty serious muscles, which his bandmates say is the result of daily gym workouts. Gahan brushed off his discipline (which wasn't always a part of the frontman's life) has simple responsibility: "When I get out there and there’s people who bought tickets, I’m going to give it my best.”
The interview and performance was expected to be one of the highlights of SXSW. Though the festival is known for exposing new talent to the music industry, a number of large acts have dominated in recent years. (At last year's festival, Jay-Z performed a concert for American Express.) More from SXSW is available in our preview gallery below.
"Delta Machine" is out Mar. 26 on Columbia and will be accompanied by a 28-page book of photographs by the band's longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn. For more from Depeche Mode's interview, head over to Billboard, which was on the scene in Austin.
