Depeche Mode is going to be busy in 2009.
According to various news reports, the iconic ’80s New Wave band just announced a brand new deal with EMI Music that includes a worldwide exclusivity clause giving EMI the go-ahead for the first time to release the band’s music in the United States. Past Depeche Mode albums had been distributed in the U.S. by Warner Bros.
The new deal kicks into action with the expected April 20, 2009 release of the band’s as yet untitled 12th album – its first since 2005’s Playing the Angel.
At a press conference this week in Berlin, the band also announced the European dates for its 2009 Tour of the Universe, which begins May 10 in Tel Aviv, Israel and has the band playing 28 stadium dates in 27 cities, including two nights in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on June 16 and 18. The Live Nation-promoted tour will also unveil dates in North and South America in the coming months.
Here are Depeche Mode’s 2009 European tour dates:
May 10: Tel Aviv, Israel (Ramat Gan Stadium)
May 12: Athens (Terra Vibe Park)
May 14: Istanbul (Santral Istanbul)
May 16: Bucharest, Romania (Parc Izvor)
May 18: Sofia, Bulgaria (Vasil Levski Stadium)
May 20: Belgrade, Serbia (USCE Park)
May 21: Zagreb, Croatia (Arena)
May 23: Warsaw (Gwardia Stadium)
May 25: Riga, Latvia (Skonto Stadium)
May 27: Vilnius, Lithuania (Zalgirio Stadionas)
May 30: London (02 Arena)
June 2: Hamburg (HSH Nordbank Arena)
June 4: Dusseldorf, Germany (LTU Arena)
June 7: Leipzig, Germany (Zentralstadion)
June 10: Berlin (Olympiastadion)
June 12: Frankfurt (Commerzbank Arena)
June 13: Munich (Olympiastadion)
June 16, 18: Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
June 20: Werchter, Belgium (TW Classic Festival)
June 22: Bratislava, Slovakia (Inter Stadium)
June 23: Budapest (Puskas Ferenc Stadium)
June 25: Prague (Slavia Stadium)
June 27: Paris (TBA)
June 30: Copenhagen (Parken Stadium)
July 2: Bergen, Norway (Koengen)
July 3: Arvika, Sweden (Arvika Festival)
July 11: Oporto, Portugal (Super Bock Super Rock Festival)