Depeche Mode have announced details of their 15th studio album, Memento Mori, set to be released next spring in advance of a major world tour.

In a break from tradition, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore revealed at a press event in Berlin that the Live Nation-presented tour will begin with a special, limited series of North American arena dates on 23 March, before the band heads to Europe for their summer stadium jaunt. The album and shows will be the first emergence of Depeche Mode since the death of Andy Fletcher in May.

The North American shows feature dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Chicago’s United Center, Los Angeles’ Kia Forum and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, among others. The band will then begin their European stadium tour on 16 May, with noted stops including the Stade de France in Paris, Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Milan’s San Siro Stadium and London’s Twickenham Stadium on 17 June. For further information on the tour routing and ticket on-sale dates, visit depechemode.com. 

Speaking about the new album, Memento Mori – the follow-up to 2017’s critically-acclaimed Spirit LP – Martin Gore explained: “We started work on this project early in the pandemic, and its themes were directly inspired by that time. After Fletch’s passing, we decided to continue as we’re sure this is what he would have wanted, and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning.”

Dave Gahan added: “Fletch would have loved this album. We’re really looking forward to sharing it with you soon, and can’t wait to present it to you live at the shows next year.”

The Memento Mori Tour will be Depeche Mode’s 19th tour and first in over five years. The band’s most recent outing, the 2017-2018 Global Spirit Tour was its longest to date and was one of the year’s highest grossing tours, with the band playing to more than three million fans over the course of 130 shows across Europe and North America.