Watch Depeche Mode Cover Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” With The BBC Concert Orchestra

Watch Depeche Mode Cover Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” With The BBC Concert Orchestra

In the early ’80s, the rise of British synthpop groups like Depeche Mode and Tears For Fears suggested a future where traditional instruments could simply go extinct. Now that those groups have matured to legacy-act status, though, they’re now playing their old hits with the BBC Concert Orchestra behind them.

Lately, the BBC has been hosting musicals in the Radio 2 Piano Room, and those acts have been playing with the BBC Concert Orchestra. That’s where Bono and the Edge covered ABBA, where Jessie Ware covered Cher, where Suede covered Patti Smith, and where Haircut 100 covered Harry Styles. In February, Tears For Fears played three songs with that orchestra behind them. Now, it’s Depeche Mode’s turn.

Depeche Mode just came back with their new album Memento Mori, and they kicked off a global arena tour last month. In the Radio 2 Piano Room, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore played their Memento Mori single “Ghosts Again,” and they also ran back their classic 1993 Songs Of Faith And Devotion single “Walking In My Shoes,” which sounds pretty awesome when arranged for strings and horns. It could be a James Bond theme.

During that same session, Depeche Mode also covered the Gordon Lightfoot classic “Sundown.” In the interview portion of the show, Dave Gahan said that the late Mark Lanegan used to send him playlists of songs that he wanted to hear Gahan cover, and one of those songs was “Sundown.” That’s a great song, and it’s weirdly perfect for an orchestral Depeche Mode cover. Watch all of those performances below.

https://twitter.com/Ultra_Depeche/status/1643938212140687361

Memento Mori is out now on Venusnote/Columbia.

more from News