SOURCE: SFX (UK 01/82)
DESCRIPTION: Cassette interview with Dave Gahan. Topics include: Vince's decision to leave; auditioning Vince's replacement; the new single; upcoming UK and New York gigs.

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SFX: Vince Clarke's left the band. Can you explain that to me?
Dave: Well, he left, there's no bad feelings between us or anything, he just left because he wasn't having time to write songs anymore and he found that he was tied down by the things that a band must do, like touring, and photos, and interviews. And he didn't enjoy doing any of them things so he sort of came around to my house and explained to me that he would like to still write songs for us, and perhaps we would use them though, if we'd like them, but he couldn't carry on as being part of the band, really.
SFX: Will you be replacing him?
Dave: Yeah, we will be rehearsing with a new member as soon as we find the successful applicant.
SFX: You're in the studio at the moment recording a single. Why don't you take a track off the album?
Dave: We're not taking a track off the album, not because we feel it's sort of cheating our fans, the people that are buying our records, but we've been doing the material that's on the album for a long while, we've sort of been gigging a long while before we were in the charts, and we feel it's about time we done something totally new, totally fresh.
SFX: When will it be released?
Dave: Around January the 16th, something like that.
SFX: Have you got any touring plans?
Dave: Yeah, we've got a tour that starts on the 12th of February, at Cardiff, and then we play the Hammersmith Odeon on the 13th, and it goes on from there, around 12 dates. It's not the same places, it's near Birmingham sort of thing, and near Brighton, but not sort of on top of it.
SFX: You said something about doing the Hammersmith Odeon this time as well. Why is that?
Dave: Well mainly we're doing it because, on the last tour we saw a lot of kids that was sort of outside our gigs and couldn't get in because they were too young, because we were playing places mostly over 18, and the people were strict about letting people in. So we feel it's only fair to let the people that are buying our records to see us. And I think that there's a chance for the younger people to see us at the Hammersmith Odeon.
SFX: You're going to America next year?
Dave: Yeah, in January we're doing two dates at the Ritz.
SFX: Where's that?
Dave: That's in New York. That's to coincide with the release of the new album. We just signed to Sire in America and they're pretty comfortable in the sense of what's going to happen over there.