March is my month. My birth month. My own new year month. I’m starting off my month with my favorite Depeche Mode song which was featured in one of my all-time favorite movies, Modern Girls – a movie that my best friend and I share a big love for, and relate to characters and that club-era of Los Angeles in the ’80s.
“But Not Tonight” is the last track on the US release of Depeche Mode’s 1986 album, Black Celebration. The song also appeared on the soundtrack to Modern Girls, also released in 1986. It was originally just a b-side to the single to “Stripped” initially, and then after its inclusion in Modern Girls, it was decided that the track would be added to the US version of Black Celebration. It was also decided that in the US they would flip the a and b, making “But Not Tonight” the a-side, and “Stripped” the b-side. This was decided by Sire, the band’s record label, and was done primarily to help promote Modern Girls.
Scenes from the film were used in the music video for “But Not Tonight” (see below).
I wish I had a copy of one of the singles. I’ll have to keep an eye on it for a someday maybe to add to my vinyl collection.
“But Not Tonight” by Depeche Mode
from the albums, Black Celebration (1986) and Modern Girls Soundtrack (1986)
Song of the Day
The switch from the b-side to the a-side did not please the band very much, as they did not care for the song. They considered it a useless pop track that they recorded in less than a day. (from Wikipedia) The Single did not chart.
Oddly, though, “But Not Tonight” was often played during Depeche Mode’s 2014 tour, but with Martin Gore singing lead instead of Dave Gahan, who is lead on the recorded version.
Every time I hear “But Not Tonight” I’m reminded of Modern Girls, and of my best friend. I’m brought back to times spent in Hollywood, the two of us in my old Honda Civic hatchback driving through the city at night with music playing loud, and friends often in the backseat, along for the adventures. It brings to mind endless nights, the kind that didn’t end until far into the next morning – and it brings back just how alive I felt back then, and how much I was breaking out of my “shy girl” shell.
