Posters
The Posters Came From the Walls
Depeche Mode's influence has been long lasting and diverse, from the sublime to the ridiculous. From regular citation by techno pioneers Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins, to a cover by The Saturdays'. From commissioning inumerable remixes, from the best dance music producers, to being subpoenaed by a Californian videogamer to testify on the subject of "alienation".
And now, Turner prize-winner Jeremy Deller and Nick Abrahams' documentary outlines the astonishing political significance of their music. Subtitled 'How Basildon ended the Cold War, and other stories...', the film explores their global appeal, highlighting the extreme loyalty and love poured on them by Russian fans whose illegal bootleg cassettes of Depeche Mode were a soundtrack in their 1980s fight to freedom. Today the situation is mirrored in Tehran where graffiti of the band name is an act of defiance against a revolution that even bans foreign music.
Exerpts on youtube already show analysis of the funnier end of fandom, the sincerity with which a German mother declares 'this is our hobby' while her toddler struggles at the beach in a king outfit is both funny and flabbergasting. For those interested in the social and political peculiarities of extreme fandom, and those interested in probably the funniest film showed at 2009's London Film Festival.
by Jim Morrall
See www.theposterscamefromthewalls.com. Screenings nationwide.
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