Today’s Depeche Mode Update

Good news and bad news for Depeche Mode fans: Frontman David Gahan has made a full recovery following surgery to remove a malignant tumor and the band is back on the road at full steam, but – they won’t be able to make up all their missed shows.

A message to fans posted on the DM Web site today reads:

“Unfortunately, Depeche Mode are not able to reschedule eight of the cancelled shows due to scheduling conflicts. Despite efforts to find a window in which to reschedule these dates, it has proven unfeasible to do so.”

True DM fans probably aren’t too surprised by this news. A quick glance at the band’s itinerary reveals that they’re already pretty much booked up well into next year.

Cancelled shows include Athens, Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; Bucharest, Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; Belgrade, Serbia; Warsaw, Poland; Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania.

Fans holding tickets for these shows should return them to point of purchase.

Photo: AP Photo

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But wait, there’s more good news: In addition to the two missed shows already rescheduled (Hamburg, Germany and Bergen, Norway), the band has been able to find openings for a few others including London; Zagreb, Croatia and a pair of dates in Dusseldorf, Germany.

More from DM on these shows (note it’s all in caps, so they must be serious):

“THE BAND WOULD LIKE TO REASSURE FANS THAT THEY ARE 100 PERCENT COMMITTED TO REPLAYING THESE 4 SHOWS AND ASK FANS TO BEAR WITH THEM A LITTLE LONGER UNTIL THE NEW DATES CAN BE RESOLVED.”

Info on the new shows will be announced as soon as venue availability and routing issues have been worked out. Tickets for the original shows will be honored for the new dates.

Keep checking back for updates as they become available.