VIDEOS 86>98 +

Depeche Mode (DVD)

On DVD two, during the short film for Songs Of Faith And Devotion, at roughly sixteen minutes in, something amazing happens. What causes it can’t be described in a family ’paper, but the something amazing is the look of utter shock on Paul Gambaccini’s face as he says “Martin, what are you doing?” after an unscheduled interruption during an interview with Martin Gore (part of you is left thinking “Did that really happen?” while the other part is thinking “What really happened?”). Anyway, the rest of the DVD. Disc one contains nearly all the videos from 1986-98 and I reviewed it when it first came out (summary – it’s great). Disc two, however, is new and complements disc one nicely by including four bonus videos, which veer from pure undiluted eighties horror (But Not Tonight) to close examinations of insects and wooden rafts (One Caress). Also included are some rather entertaining Electronic Press Kits for three Mode albums released during this period, of which the abovementioned short film is one. It makes a nice change to see something re-released with new stuff that’s genuinely worth the money. Add to that my natural bias towards Depeche Mode and you have something of a recommendation here.

LITTLE MOUSE

Jack Morgan (BSc)

If you’ve seen Look Around You on BBC2 you’ll know what this is. It looks as though this could be this year’s novelty Christmas single (along with the Pop Idols) if the BBC release it – the website suggests they will. It’s a parody of a seventies pop-rock song about a man’s friendship with his mouse (“I will fight for you my friend / ’til I die” – honest, this is about a mouse) and even though it may not look much described here, it’s really very funny when you hear it. Not only that, history is on its side – South Park’s Chef knocked the Spice Girls off the top and Westlife got done by Bob The Builder, so this could be a dark mouse in the race for Christmas Number One.