I must admit that when Black Celebration’s first ever acoustic set was first mentioned, I had my misgivings. I mean, how exactly does an electronic band play acoustic? Do they all line up like the Housemartins? Will we be treated to the spectacle of Jeff and Duncan playing “air keyboard”? Like the rest of the devoted gathered at the now-familiar Crewe haunt The Limelight on Saturday 2nd October, I was pleasantly surprised.

Our evening began around the corner in Wetherspoons, where I met up with ellefire and Geoff, Marbles, YFS, albarst, igbandy, Chalky and ultragirl (sorry if I missed anyone – I’m writing this hungover after two hours of sleep, and it’s all going a bit fuzzy at the edges). Darkside was able to take a short break from his usual pre-show stressing to join us for a cheeky couple, but it was Geoff (Mr ellefire) who raised the most laughs, easily drowning out a pretty morbid-looking “hen party” on the next table. Maybe there’s something he needs to tell us, but first he was spotted wearing ultragirl’s jacket, and then it set a bit of a trend. The next thing, he’s got YFS’s coat on inside out, a very fetching pink and leopardskin number which made him look somewhere between Richard O’Brien and someone out of Showaddywaddy. Before we were done he’d also tried my leathers out for size; frankly he looked like Dave Gahan’s granddad in his white jeans and all, but suffice to say that the photos do exist and I’m sure they’ll surface before too long.

At about half past seven we made our way over to The Limelight, where the Devotional video was already playing (a last minute video catastrophe meant Darkside running out to BUY a new DVD player just for the night) and a few people were already filing in to the small, private backroom venue. Knowing what side my bread’s buttered on, I bagged the last remaining seat at the band’s table and had a chance to chat to Jeff (who is now within his last three weeks as a free man) and Steve.

All the band members were, understandably, very nervous about the performance as an acoustic set is something they had never tried before and honestly had no idea about how well it would come off on the night. Both the concept and the setting were something completely different to what we are used to at The Limey. But by and large, they needn’t have worried. A little after half past eight they were welcomed to the stage by cheers and raucous applause that belied the capacity of the room: Jeff playing the sole keyboard, Duncan on guitar and Steve – obviously – singing the opener, a toe-tapping, nifty little rendition of “Pleasure Little Treasure” reminiscent of the 101 performance. As it faded away, the audience absolutely raised the roof with appreciation.

After this it was time for a switch over, Steve taking up keyboard duties while Jeff, in a white hat and cracking little silver striped waistcoat, took his turn at the mike. A nasty case of nerves meant “Death’s Door” got dropped from the setlist after two false starts, but it’s to the band’s credit that they bounced back from this admirably, even humourously, with Steve returning to centre stage a few tracks later joking to Jeff and the audience, “Now you know why I’m the vocalist!” Jeff continued his slot with two absolutely stunning renditions of “Somebody” and “I Want You Now”, songs which were totally complemented by the laid back, intimate atmosphere of the room. It would be misleading to say that nobody was dancing – with everyone ranged around the tables and the band at the same height as us, dancing wouldn’t only have obscured the band, it would also have wrecked the mellow vibe of the set. This was a hitherto unseen chilled out side to Black Celebration and we were sitting back and soaking it all up.

Steve’s return to the stage meant a couple of old acoustic classics in the shape of “Personal Jesus” and a harmonium-style “Enjoy The Silence”, with Steve in true Dave fashion holding the mike out to the audience for the chorus. Little did we know it, he was actually warming us up for what came next: the set’s finale and probably the track you’d least expect to get played at an acoustic set.

Try, “Never Let Me Down Again”.

Yes, judging by the looks being passed between members of the audience along the lines of “AAAHHHH! It’s THIS one!!!!” we were pretty blown away too, and the most surprising thing was that the song does actually work as an acoustic. At any rate, come the chorus quite a few of us were on our feet as Steve led us in the customary waving.

The band were cheered off stage as offers of pints came from all directions, and DJ Marie began her slot with back to back DM for the next couple of hours (it was pleasant to hear some of the more obscure tracks getting played, for example “Two Minute Warning”). Later on in the night it was Darkside’s turn, playing a mixed bag of tracks 80’s to the present, including a lot of firm favourites – “Tainted Love”, “She Sells Sanctuary”, Erasure “Stop” amongst them. A quarter to one came far too soon and judging by the number of people sitting down exhausted on the dancefloor when the lights came up, we had clearly been up for it. Darkside himself had DJed until he could barely stand: in addition to the DJ set and all the setting up for the band and the associated worries with that, he had been up since 5am and done a day’s work.

In the course of the night, I took the chance to approach the band members individually for their view on the performance. After the nerves and the build-up they were understandably miffed at the blip early on, Steve commenting that “Perhaps an acoustic set wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Duncan’s view was the slightly more succinct “crap”, while Jeff remained philosophical, musing, “At the end of the day, we’re human, and we’re always going to make mistakes.” On the whole the audience shared Jeff’s view, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that the band had been far too harsh on themselves and blown the blip out of all proportion. Everyone I spoke to had had an utterly fantastic time; they had definitely felt a little love and thoroughly enjoyed this new take on DM’s songs. To all those who couldn’t make it, you truly did miss out on a special performance. The band had picked themselves up and dusted themselves down admirably, even laughing at themselves on occasions, showing that the show must go on – and that is how you know you are dealing with real professionals.

See you on the 11th November then!

Thanks once again to "Steve's Angel" for stepping into the breach to produce another wonderful report - Oggie