Nearly 40 years after its formation, the ‘80s electronic band from the UK is experiencing an insane comeback: in the first 9 months of 2017, they’ve sold 1.27m tickets.
That’s more than the group has ever sold in a single year — and more than the likes of Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, or Drake.
Depeche’s success is a sign of “The Great Dad-Rock Resurgence” — a curious trend of has-been bands making a huge economic splash by tapping into the oft-forgotten 35+ demographic.
Case in point: the highest-grossing festival of 2016 wasn’t Coachella or Bonnaroo, but Desert Trip — a $160m geezer-fest starring The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and The Who. It raked in $160m.
Midway through 2017, 4 of the 5 highest-grossing concert artists were bands formed prior to 1990: Guns N’ Roses, U2, Metallica, and, of course, Depeche Mode.
A decade ago, Depeche Mode struggled to fill seats at small venues; this October, they sold out the 17.5k-seat Hollywood Bowl 4 nights in a row, averaging $3m gross per show.
Even more impressive when you consider the band’s never released a #1 hit, has fairly unimpressive streaming figures, and lags behind other major concert artists in album sales.
It’s good, old-fashioned, in-person fun — just how dad likes it.