Depeche Mode Problems Revealed

Depeche Mode will restart its Tour Of The Universe in Leipzig, Germany June 8, according to a statement revealing that singer Dave Gahan’s illness was more serious than first thought.

Having suffered what was described as “a severe bout of gastroenteritis” just before stage time in Athens May 12, further medical tests revealed a lowgrade malignant tumor in Gahan’s bladder, which has since been successfully removed.

Gahan, who’s under doctors’ orders to take a break until June 8 to ensure that he makes a full recovery, has thanked his fans for their support, understanding and patience, and regrets any problems or inconveniences the cancellations and postponements may have caused.

Andrew Zweck of Sensible Events, the London-based Live Nation company that arranges DM’s live work, is working on rescheduling the dates that have been missed, although that obviously can’t include the May 31 appearance at Holland’s Pinkpop Festival.

Fans are being asked to hold on to their tickets until Zweck has determined which shows can be rearranged and which will be scrapped.

The May 30 appearance at London O2, which would have been the first UK show of the worldwide tour, will definitely be rescheduled. A new date will be announced shortly.

German promoter Marek Lieberberg, who co-promoted the tour’s opening sell-out show in front of a 50,000-capacity crowd at Tel Aviv Ramat Gan Stadium May 10 – the only show to have taken place so far – has already shifted the June 2 show at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg to July 1.

The June 4-5 shows at Dusseldorf LTU Arena, the home of soccer team Fortuna Dusseldrorf, will be rescheduled, but Lieberberg and Zweck won’t be able to announce new dates until the Bundesliga announces next season’s fixture list.

The June 7 show in Leipzig is canceled, but tickets can be exchanged for the following night’s return show in the same city or the June 10 show in Berlin, availability permitting.

July 2 at Bergen Koengen has been rescheduled to January 28 in the same city’s Vestlandhallen.

A final decision on the other missed shows is expected within a week. They were in Athens, Greece, which was originally scheduled for May 12; Istanbul, Turkey (14); Bucharest, Romania (16); Sofia, Bulgaria (16); Belgrade, Serbia (20); Zagreb, Croatia (21); Warsaw, Poland (23); Riga, Latvia (25); and Vilnius, Lithuania (27).