Depeche Mode back on tour after Dave Gahan's surgery

Depeche Mode’s  European tour got back on track Monday with the band’s performance in Leipzig, Germany, following lead singer Dave Gahan’s surgery last month to remove a malignant tumor from his bladder.

"I'm grateful to the fans for showing their support and thankful to my family, friends and all of the doctors who looked after me so well," Gahan, 47, said in a statement issued Tuesday.  “Being back onstage is an incredible feeling and I'm looking forward to each and every show."

This leg of the tour was interrupted May 12 when Gahan suffered a gastroenteritis attack, for which he was hospitalized. While there, tests revealed the tumor, which was successfully removed.

More than a dozen shows were postponed or canceled. After returning to duty in time for Monday’s show, the second of two that had been scheduled in Leipzig, the band picks up where it left off with an itinerary that takes it across much of Europe.

-- Randy Lewis 

Photo: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times