BASILDON is to host a festival celebrating the work of its most famous band, Depeche Mode.

Bas 2013 will see music fans enjoy bus tours around the town, exhibitions dedicated to the band and the eighties electro scene, and three days of live music.

The event is now in its third year but has grown from a small-scale celebration to a whole weekend of entertainment.

Last year more than 200 tourists from acrossd Europe attended and organisers expect fans to come from as far as Japan, New Zealand and even Kazakhstan this time around as the festival will focus on Depeche Mode, who released Delta Machine, their first album in eight years, last month.

Bas 2013 is hosted by Bas Productions, a group of local musicians, tour managers and music technicians who want to showcase Basildon’s musical heritage and give a platform for new talent.

Organiser Richard Sharpe, who worked in fashion, said: “It all started with some of the original fan club staff when people were contacting us saying they wanted to come to Basildon, so we thought why not do something like this? For us it’s not about money, we are doing it for joy.

“For Depeche Mode fans, Basildon is what Graceland is for Elvis Presley. They come here just to see where they come from and where they started out.

“We are celebrating Basildon. It gets a lot of bad press but we actually want to show what it has to offer and its incredible musical heritage.”

“The event is a little bit retro but we still keep the 21st century in mind. We want to celebrate young, up and coming bands and give them somewhere to perform.”

As well as celebrating Depeche Mode, Bas 2013 will also celebrate other Basildon-born artists such as Alison Moyet and Perry Bamonte from The Cure.

It will be headlined by synth pop legends Heaven 17, and feature performances from Basildon band Electro Kill Machine, Glaswegian electro musicians Analog Angel, DJ duo Dpplgngrs and Depeche Mode tribute band Speak and Spell.

Bas 2013 will take place from May 25 until May 27 at various venues around the town.

Single tickets for specific events are available, or a three day pass can be purchased for £50.

For more information visit www.basproductions.co.uk.