PROMISING news for Hong Kong's Doc Martens-clad hordes of Depeche Mode fans: the word on the rock grapevine is the British band will be the first major act to play at the new-look Government Stadium when it opens next year.
A strong rumour has it Depeche Mode, on the American leg of a world tour, will play at the stadium soon after its mid-March opening ceremony.
Should the show go ahead, it will be good news for rock fans after recent disappointments such as the Michael Jackson fiasco and the unfortunately rain-checked Bon Jovi show.
And although it had been whispered Madonna was considering bringing her Girlie Show to the territory or even China, it is beginning to look as if the ''immaterial girl'' - as British tabloids recently dubbed her - will do a Jackson and play in two citiesin Asia, chosen from Taipei, Singapore and Bangkok - but probably not Hong Kong.
With the re-opening of the Government Stadium (with a capacity of up to 40,000), Hong Kong will at last have a venue suited to large international rock acts, and hopefully not prone to over-booking as the Coliseum is.
Depeche Mode, last visited Hong Kong in April 1983 for a sell-out concert at the AC Hall in Kowloon Tong. The band's fan base remains strong and that probably explains its being touted as one of the opening acts for the stadium.
