Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band has consisted of Gahan and Gore since 2022.
With Clarke as their primary songwriter, Depeche Mode released their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981 amid the British new wave scene and were a part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion. Clarke left the band at the end of 1981, going on to form the groups Yazoo and later Erasure. The remaining trio recorded their second album, A Broken Frame, with Martin Gore as chief songwriter. The band then recruited Alan Wilder, establishing a line-up that continued until 1995, beginning with the albums Construction Time Again and Some Great Reward. The albums Black Celebration and Music for the Masses cemented them as one of the most popular alternative bands of the 1980s, and their June 1988 concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl drew a crowd of over 60,000 people.
In 1990, Depeche Mode released their seventh album, Violator, which reached number seven on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The following album Songs of Faith and Devotion was also a success, though the band's internal struggles during recording and touring resulted in Wilder's departure in 1995. The band returned to the line-up of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher, and released the album Ultra in 1997. The band continued touring and recorded five more albums as a trio—Exciter, Playing the Angel, Sounds of the Universe, Delta Machine and Spirit —until Fletcher's death in 2022. Gahan and Gore have since continued as a duo. Their latest album, Memento Mori, was released in 2023.
Depeche Mode have had 54 songs in the UK singles chart, 17 Top 10 albums in the UK chart, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Q included the band in its list of the "50 Bands That Changed the World!" Depeche Mode also rank No. 98 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." In 2016, Billboard named Depeche Mode the 10th Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
History
Formation (1977–1980)
Depeche Mode's origins date to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. Fletcher would later recall, "Why am I in the band? It was accidental right from the beginning. I was actually forced to be in the band. I played the guitar and I had a bass; it was a question of them roping me in." In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an Ultravox-influenced band, the Plan, with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith. In 1978–1979, Martin Gore played guitar in an acoustic duo, Norman and the Worms, with school friend Phil Burdett on vocals. In 1980, Clarke and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar and Fletcher on bass; the pair were soon joined by Gore as a third instrumentalist. Dave Gahan joined the ensemble later in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local Scout hut jam session, singing a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes".With the advent of affordable synthesisers and the increasing popularity of electronic music, the group began pursuing a synth-pop direction. The first live concert of Composition of Sound as a four-piece was on 14 June 1980 at Nicholas School, Basildon, England, UK. There is a plaque commemorating the gig at the James Hornsby School in Basildon, where Gore and Fletcher were pupils. Gahan's and Gore's favourite artists included Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sparks, Cabaret Voltaire, Talking Heads and Iggy Pop. Gahan's onstage persona was influenced by Dave Vanian, frontman of the Damned. Gahan has also later credited David Bowie, James Brown, Elvis Presley and Prince as influences on his performance style.
Composition of Sound would become embarrassed about their band name and started thinking of changing it. There were several potential variants, including the name "Musical Moments" that was suggested by Vince Clarke as both a band name and the name of their first album. Starting at their concert on 24 September 1980 at Bridge House, the band changed their name to Depeche Mode, chosen by Dave Gahan. When explaining the choice for the new name, which was taken from a mistranslation of the name of French fashion magazine Dépêche Mode, Gore said, "It means 'hurried fashion' or 'fashion dispatch'. I like the sound of that." The more accurate translation of the magazine's name is "Fashion News" or "Fashion Update".
''Speak & Spell'' and Clarke's departure (1980–1981)
The band made their recording debut in late 1980 for the Some Bizzare Album with the song "Photographic", later re-recorded for their debut album Speak & Spell.The band made a demo tape but, instead of mailing the tape to record labels, they would go in and personally deliver it. They would demand the labels play it; according to Dave Gahan, "most of them would tell us to fuck off. They'd say 'leave the tape with us' and we'd say 'it's our only one'. Then we'd say goodbye and go somewhere else."
According to Gahan, prior to securing their record contract, they were receiving offers from all the major labels. Phonogram offered them "money you could never have imagined and all sorts of crazy things like clothes allowances".
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, the band was approached by Daniel Miller, an electronic producer and founder of Mute Records, who was interested in their recording a single for his burgeoning label. The result of this verbal contract was their first single, "Dreaming of Me", recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981. It reached number 57 in the UK charts. Encouraged by this, the band recorded their second single, "New Life", which climbed to number 11 in the UK charts and got them an appearance on Top of the Pops. The band went to London by train, carrying their synthesisers all the way to the BBC studios.
The band's next single was "Just Can't Get Enough". The synth-pop single became the band's first UK top ten hit. The video is the only one to feature Vince Clarke. Depeche Mode's debut album, Speak & Spell, was released in October 1981 and peaked at number ten on the UK album charts. Critical reviews were mixed; Melody Maker described it as a "great album … one they had to make to conquer fresh audiences and please the fans who just can't get enough", while Rolling Stone was more critical, calling the album "PG-rated fluff".
Clarke began to voice his discomfort at the direction the band was taking, saying "there was never enough time to do anything. Not with all the interviews and photo sessions". Clarke also said he was sick of touring, which Gahan said years later was "bullshit to be quite honest". Gahan went on to say he "suddenly lost interest in it and he started getting letters from fans asking what kind of socks he wore." In November 1981, Clarke publicly announced that he was leaving Depeche Mode.
Soon afterwards, Clarke joined up with blues singer Alison Moyet to form Yazoo. Initial talk of Clarke's continuing to write material for Depeche Mode ultimately amounted to nothing. According to third-party sources, Clarke offered the remaining members of Depeche Mode the track "Only You", but they declined. Clarke denied in an interview that such an offer ever took place, saying "I don't know where that came from. That's not true." The song went on to become a UK top three hit for Yazoo. Gore, who had written "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and the instrumental "Big Muff" for Speak & Spell, became the band's main composer and lyricist.
''A Broken Frame'' and Wilder joining (1981–1982)
In late 1981, the band placed an anonymous ad in Melody Maker looking for another musician: "Name band, synthesise, must be under twenty-one." Alan Wilder, a classically trained keyboardist from West London, responded and, after two auditions and despite being 22 years old, was hired in early 1982, initially on a trial basis as a touring member. Wilder would later be called the "Musical Director" of the band, responsible for the band's sound until his departure in 1995. As producer Flood would say, " is sort of the craftsman, Martin's the idea man and is the attitude."In January 1982, the band released "See You", their first single without Clarke, which managed to beat all three Clarke-penned singles in the UK charts, reaching number six. The following tour saw the band playing their first shows in North America. Two more singles, "The Meaning of Love" and "Leave in Silence", were released ahead of the band's second studio album. Daniel Miller informed Wilder that he wasn't needed for the recording of the album, as the core trio wanted to prove they could succeed without Vince Clarke. A Broken Frame was released that September, and the following month the band began their 1982 tour.
''Construction Time Again'' (1983)
A non-album single, "Get the Balance Right!", was released in January 1983, the first Depeche Mode track to be recorded with Wilder, now an official member of the band. For their third album, Construction Time Again, Depeche Mode worked with producer Gareth Jones, at John Foxx's Garden Studios and at Hansa Studios in West Berlin. The album saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to Wilder's introduction of the Synclavier and E-mu Emulator samplers. By sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an eclectic, industrial-influenced sound, with similarities to groups such as the Art of Noise and Einstürzende Neubauten."Everything Counts" rose to number six in the UK, also reaching the top 30 in Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden and West Germany. Wilder contributed two songs to the album, "The Landscape Is Changing" and "Two Minute Warning". In September 1983, to promote Construction Time Again, the band launched a European concert tour.