It really seems that Depeche Mode fans are so loyal and dedicated, it's hysterical, almost. How do you explain all this? ALAN: Yes, the're particulary fanatical. Ummm, I don't really have a decent explanation for it, other than the fact that we've played, live, a lot over the years. We've toured hard around Europe and America in fact. And I suppose a lot of that following comes from the live performance. But, you know, it's difficult to explain exactly what it is about the music, or whatever, that makes them such a hardcore following, but it's quite interesting because it means certainly in England anyway, that our records always go in the charts straight away in the first week. In fact sometimes they move too quickly for our liking because it means that all the hardcore fans buy the records and they don't have a chance to cross-over to new people and other people. But we're not complaining, but it's a slight problem, sometimes. But it means you don't have to rely on the radio. And English radio does very much dominate what gets into the chart. So there's a few groups like us who can actually get around that because of their hardcore following.
