SINGAPORE — They are one of the world’s bestselling, critically acclaimed and most influential bands in music history, having sold more than 100 million records and played to an excess of 30 million people. So it is no surprise that, even after three decades since their formation in 1980, iconic British electro outfit Depeche Mode still inspires unflinching devotion from a fervent fan base that stretches from Myanmar to Moscow.

The band’s popularity and its fans are the subject of a fascinating documentary — Our Hobby Is Depeche Mode — by Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller and film-maker Nick Abrahams. The film — also known as The Posters Came From The Walls or How Basildon Ended The Cold War And Other Stories — focuses on some of the band’s more eccentric devotees, who’ve built lives around extreme Depeche Mode fandom, rather than being a strict biography of the group. These die-hard fans hail from all over the world, ranging from English Goths who have dedicated church services set to the band’s music; to “Depechists”, as the Russian fans like to call themselves, who celebrate Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan’s birthday as a national holiday (Dave Day); to a German family who re-films Depeche Mode music videos starring their three-year-old son in an array of Gahan’s notable looks.

More than the average fan documentary, Our Hobby Is Depeche Mode also explores what it means to be an outsider in your own country, how people intimately embrace, embody and embed pop culture into their social identity, and the overall transformative power of music.

Now, Singapore has a chance to watch this rarely-screened documentary, showcased as part of The Henderson Project, which is curated by theatre outfit Dream Academy and co-organised by creative consultancy Present Purpose. Back for its second year, the projects — which saw Dream Academy turning their studio at the Henderson Industrial Park into a performing space last year — sees a line-up of two very different events this time round.

Staged on two consecutive Fridays, the first (Feb 6) is a night dedicated to Depeche Mode. Not only will it feature Our Hobby Is Depeche Mode (three screenings of the documentary will be held at 7pm, 9pm and 11pm), there will also be an after-party from midnight with DJs Aldrin and KFC on the decks spinning Depeche Mode classics, among others. And, in keeping with the nostalgic spirt of those “function days” where fans tried to look and dress like their favourite band, makeup brand M.A.C will be on site (as well as by appointment at their stores) to doll up party-goers with a complimentary and customised Depeche Mode inspired flash eye makeover.

“It’s a rapturous insight into fan culture like no other. It is also a rare chance to watch a very unusual and poignant documentary inspired by Depeche Mode which has never before been shown in Singapore,” said Present Purpose’s Tracy Phillips.

The second night switches gears slightly to offer a night of poetry and music, titled The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, after Gil Scott Heron’s poem.

“The night will comprise of art, poetry, rhymes and beats, brass and hip hop like you’ve never heard it before,” Phillips wrote on the Present Purpose blog. “This is thanks to an ingenious lineup of talent who will all be bringing something new to the stage and celebrating the power of spoken word.

The Feb 13 event will feature seven-piece London hip hop band Lazy Habits in their first show in Singapore. Complete with a brass section, the band will be sharing their Big Band New Orleans jazz-funk-soul sound with party-goers. Local spoken word artistes Marc Nair, Charlene Shepherdson, Marylyn Tan and Allee Koh will entertain alongside a homegrown contingent that boasts rapper ShiGGa Shay, Benjamin Kheng (from The Sam Willows) and Michaela Therese among others.

“If you love live music, alternative venues and experiences and complain that nothing cool ever happens in Singapore, The Henderson Project ... is a must do,” Phillips added.

The Henderson Project happens on Feb 6 and 13 at 203 Henderson Road, #02-01 Henderson Industrial Park (Lift Lobby A). For more updates, go to https://www.facebook.com/thehendersonproject.

Ticketing hotline: 9726 7866, 6278 0377 (office hours) or email t [at] thehendersonproject.com