Cards on the table: I approached this show propelled as much by curiosity as by expectation. Stella Rose, after all, carries a surname that resonates across generations of alternative music devotees.
As the daughter of Dave Gahan, the iconic frontman of Depeche Mode, she arrives with both an enviable lineage and an unavoidable shadow. The question lingering in the air at Glasgow’s The Glad Cafe was simple: could she translate the brooding magnetism of her recorded output into a compelling live experience?
The Glad Café, nestled in Shawlands, is an intimate hybrid space—part café, part bar, part grassroots venue. Its modest dimensions foster an immediacy that can either expose an artist’s limitations or amplify their strengths. On this particular evening, the room hummed with anticipation well before doors opened at 7:30pm. A handful of early arrivals—some clearly seasoned Depeche Mode aficionados—took up vantage points with the same mixture of intrigue and cautious optimism.
Opening proceedings was Speculum Bunny, the stage moniker of spoken word artist Claire. Softly spoken and disarmingly charming offstage, she described her aesthetic succinctly as “doom.”
Under a wash of oppressive red light, she transformed into something altogether more feral. The first distorted utterance—“When he’s inside me”—cut through the gloom and immediately commanded attention. What followed was a performance that was visceral, theatrical and unapologetically confrontational.
Clad in a skin-tight black dress, she prowled, crawled and slid into the crowd with unnerving conviction. The lighting—perpetually crimson and murky—rendered photography nearly impossible, yet it lent the set an unsettling, immersive quality. It was bold, bizarre and undeniably captivating.
By the time the headline act approached the venue was thick with expectation. Retro 80s tracks drifted through the PA as final preparations were made. Then, in near darkness, the band emerged, followed by the slight silhouette of Stella Rose herself, taking position behind a microphone stand anchored by her band and backing arrangements.
From the opening number, ‘Pray’ it was evident she meant business. Cutting an archetypal gothic-rock figure in thigh-length leather boots and black attire, Rose exuded a brooding charisma that felt instinctive rather than inherited. Yes, fleeting echoes of her father’s mannerisms surfaced in certain gestures and dance movements, but this was no tribute act nor derivative imitation. This was unequivocally her domain.
Vocally, she was formidable. Her delivery oscillated between snarl and croon, wrapped in a darkwave aesthetic that felt both contemporary and nostalgically decadent. She addressed the audience sparingly—soft “thank yous” punctuating the set—yet the reticence only enhanced her mystique. There was a palpable sense of a young artist aware of her capabilities, still growing into her confidence yet already commanding the stage with authority.
With a relatively concise discography, the set clocked in at just under an hour. Still, it was a concentrated burst of intensity—no filler, no indulgence. Each track reinforced the impression of an artist poised on the cusp of something larger.
From opening ‘Pray’ to the big ending of ‘Drugstore Romeo’ via such notable songs as ‘Hollybaby’ and the magnificent ‘Faithful’ this was miss Gahan notifying everyone that she’s on her way to wherever she wants this project to go.
Stella Rose is ready for bigger rooms, broader stages and brighter lights. If this performance at The Glad Café proved anything, it is that she possesses not only the pedigree but the presence to justify them. When that inevitable ascent arrives, it will be entirely on her own merit.
Glasgow will be waiting for her return.
Review & Photographs by John Brown Photography
