Depeche Mode
|    | The year 1980 marked the beginning of the Reagan era, the threat of a national UK steel strike, the assassination of John Lennon, and the chart success of Pink Floyd's The Wall. It was also a time when electronic wizardry first joined pop music, propelling the emergent Futurist scene and its obscure components into the consciousness of the listening public. Meanwhile, three British teenagers tinkered with their first synthesisers in their hometown of Basildon, Essex. In little more than twelve months, these musical fledglings would soar beyond their local club gigs to reach a spot on the popular British music programme, Top of the Pops, and comfortably roost in the British Top 20 charts. 1980 was the year that synth-pop prototypes Depeche Mode were born. Vince Clarke was an unsatisfied young musician, drifting between his commitments as one half of a gospel duo and as a member of the band No Romance In China. Vince first met Andy Fletcher, a Deep Purple enthusiast, at a local Boys Brigade meeting in Basildon, where they both lived. The two lads grew closer and Fletch introduced Vince to a classmate; Martin Gore, who had been performing at several local night-clubs, playing guitar for two bands; The French Look and Norman And The Worms. In May 1980, Vince, Fletch and Martin agreed to form a typical guitar trio, with the added accompaniment of a drum machine. Vince wrote and sang all their early material. The three lads considered some band names, but Vince's suggestion; Composition Of Sound, was ultimately adopted. With this new name they played their first show together supporting The Bullies at the Southend bar, Scamps in that same month. Sometime between their local gigs and party bookings, Composition Of Sound disposed of their guitars for the more accommodating synthesizer. For these three young musicians, the synthesizer provided a convenient and inexpensive way to produce varied melodies. "To us, the synth was a Punk instrument," explained Martin Gore. "Because it was still fairly new, its potential seemed limitless. It really gave us a chance to explore." Throughout the summer of 1980, the group began to generate a synthesized sound and style all of their own. "I guess we were listening to stuff like Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark, Tubeway Army and Human League when we were first getting our sound together." Fletch and Martin had passed their A-levels, but had forgone a college education for the sake of the band and their own reluctance to leave Basildon. Vince was meanwhile growing uncomfortable with his position as songwriter, vocalist and unofficial frontman, and suggested that a fourth member should be recruited, the band agreed to wait for the right person to come along. That person proved to be David Gahan, also from Basildon. Vince, Fletch and Martin first spotted their new vocalist in a local scout-hut jam session with another band. In a strong cover of the David Bowie number Heroes, Dave so charmed the members of Composition Of Sound that he was immediately invited to join the band. Dave had endured a troublesome adolescence, replete with car theft, vandalism and graffiti, which earned him three appearances in juvenile court. He was a bad-boy rebel in every sense of the word, who had a penchant for the music of The Damned, The Clash and Siouxsie and the Banshees. In the six months after leaving school, Dave had gone through some twenty separate jobs, including sweeping floors in a supermarket, toiling on a construction site and working as a packer at Yardley's factory. With his enthusiasm and eroticism in the early performances with his new band, it was evident that this was one employment Dave intended keeping. So for a band with a modernized image, an innovative sound, and a new member, a name change also seemed appropriate. During one afternoon rehearsal in Vince's garage, Dave took a liking to the title of the French fashion magazine; Depeche Mode, meaning `fast fashion'. So the legacy began. Depeche Mode's first gig as a synth-pop quartet was held at Fletch and Martin's old school in June 1980, but only after a panic-stricken Dave consumed the twelve cans of Double Diamond beer required to calm his nerves. It had been a long ten years since Dave had sung before an audience - as a member of the Salvation Army choir when he was eight. With their synths in hand, Depeche Mode began headlining the Saturday night electronic showcase at the club Crocs in Rayleigh (so named because of the live crocodile housed in a dance floor pool). Here they were approached by Stevo of Some Bizarre, who coerced the naive lads into recording a track for his Some Bizarre compilation album due out in February 1981. Shortly afterwards, in October, Depeche Mode first ventured into the recording studio to compile a three-track demo tape. Vince and Dave proudly hand-delivered their sole tape to dozens of club owners and record companies, but Terry Murphy of Canning Town's Bridgehouse was the only promoter to recognize their ingenuity with a booking. There was, however, one Rastafarian who placed the unusual request for Depeche Mode to tour Nigeria with him, decked out in Doctor Who outfits (Doctor Who was a popular British science fiction television program at the time). The band graciously but firmly declined. And so our story turns to Daniel Miller, a man who, in 1978, had produced his own single, an unprecedented minimalist pop song titled Warm Leatherette, under the pseudonym of The Normal. But in order to do so, the ex-disco DJ had first built a home studio around a TEAC four-track machine and began recording synthesized music on his own composed label; Mute. Under this new label, Miller pressed five hundred copies of his new single before signing the distribution rights over to Rough Trade - an awesome accomplishment for such a small operation. Miller had obviously hit on something big, and with the subsequent success of the illusionary Silicon Teens and signing such bands as Fad Gadget and Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft, Miller's Mute continued to be the cornerstone of hot alternative music trends. Ironically, the next celebrated Mute act would be Depeche Mode. Despite Miller's earlier disregard for the band, he eventually grew wise to their pop potential. In December 1980, after Miller witnessed a live performance of this fresh-faced melodic quartet supporting Fad Gadget at the Bridgehouse, Depeche Mode had themselves a record deal. Although there was no formal contract, Miller was sincere with his 50/50 profit-sharing arrangement, and devoted his attention to the vision that Depeche Mode could someday be the `ultimate electronic pop band'. Miller's new outlook was just what the band needed to set the wheels in motion. Shortly before Christmas 1980, the roller-coaster ride began. Depeche Mode was led back into the studio by Miller, in order to begin work on their first single; Dreaming Of Me. It was released in February 1981, on 7" format only. Struggling to make the charts for almost two months, it peaked at number 57 in the UK charts, and dropped off completely after only a month, but according to Miller who produced the single, it began a long-term crossover trend for independent releases into mainstream radio. Critics compared the song to those of Ultravox for its "predictable and well-crafted" style, and to Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark for its "sweetly unassuming slice of electronic whimsy". To them it was fluffy, palatable cake, and they ate it up, uttering compliments about ingenuity and technique. The Some Bizarre album, which included Depeche Mode's Photographic, was released in March 1981, much to the bands frustration. Although the anthology was considered "the watershed techno-pop album", introducing such promising acts as Soft Cell, The The and Blancmange, Depeche Mode would later regret their involvement with the stylized Futurist scene. The months following were filled with promoting their new single by playing nightly gigs, with catchy tunes like Price Of Love (an Everly Brothers cover), Reason Man, Tomorrow's Dance and Television Set. Depeche Mode was irresistible on the dance-floor, becoming an instant night-club hit. But their hectic schedule forced the band to sacrifice several episodes of the addictive British soap-opera Crossroads, and hours of Space Invaders playtime, but, as Fletch confessed, "I'm just starting to live now, through being in a band." With the press behind them, it wasn't long before Depeche Mode's popularity grew, and another single was released. Miller thought cleverly of taking orders in advance, and before New Life came out on 13th June, it was already in the Top 75. An appearance on Top Of The Pops gained them a position in the Top 30, and three weeks later the song reached number 11 on the UK charts. Not bad for a `fast fashion'. From this song the band earned enough money for Martin and Andy to quit their day jobs working in a bank. In October, the roller-coaster had climbed to the top of the incline. Success was only a step away, and by this time the band was working virtually non-stop, recording in the studio by day and playing the club scene by night. Their third single Just Can't Get Enough, debuted, becoming an international dance hit, and climbing to number 8 in the UK. Using a virtually new marketing technique, the band recorded its first video. They were really beginning to explode onto the music scene, but for Vince it was all too much. "It was the way the whole thing was going," said Vince. "It lost its enthusiasm. It was turning into a production line and that was worrying me. The techniques were improving to an extent, the way we were playing, but even then I found there were things in the way, preventing us from experimenting. We were busy, there was something going every day and no time to play around." Vince told the other band members of his thoughts of leaving, but with the release of a their first album so close, he agreed to wait making a final decision until after the tour. When Speak & Spell was released on 5th October, the tour began, and over the course of three weeks they played fourteen very successful nights throughout the UK, winding up at the London Lyceum. The album was good and the press was elated, keeping close tabs on this growing teen phenomenon. From this clamour, suddenly Depeche Mode was wrongfully classified as New Romantics. "OK, we're Futurists," Dave would later surrender to Sounds magazine. "We've always been Futurists. For me, Futurists were an extension of punk rock. We never had anything to do with the New Romantics. They all looked the same. But call us what you like; ultra pop, Futurist, disco. Anything. As long as it's not New Romantic." Rightly enough, Dave Gahan's definition was the clearest to date. Speak & Spell was quite correctly an ultra pop, Futurist, disco album, complete with consistent, predictable drums and layers of sinuous melody. They had taken the sounds of the day and twisted them - perhaps even unconsciously - into a unique brand of Futurist-pop-disco. Paul Colbert of Melody Maker said it was "so obviously bright, so clearly sparkling with new life, it's a wonder they don't burn permanent dancing shadows onto the walls." On December 12th 1981, Vince Clarke - the main songwriter and drive behind the band - announced that he had made his decision to leave. "Breaking the news was terrible," he recalls. "They were expecting it in some ways. I'd been going through a gloomy phase, but I had to go around to their houses and tell them. I knew they knew, but it was still horrible. It wasn't amiable because there was a lot of bad feelings on both parts and it was about a year before it finally died down." Suddenly the press wasn't interested in Speak & Spell anymore. Whether or not the album would become a musical landmark now took a back seat to predictions of the band's demise. From the mouths of the press, Depeche Mode had become a dirty word. The fans kept on though, refusing to accept the setback as an end. Some hopefuls, trying to allay fear, said Vince would still be writing and recording for the band. A Lie. But in truth, he did offer one song he had written; Only You. The band turned it down, but whether they were too proud to take it or the song was too different for their tastes is something best left to question. Vince later recorded it with Alison Moyet in his new group; Yazoo. "I was frustrated," Vince confessed. "It was a matter of getting the right balance between playing and experimenting. Looking back at it, it's nothing - it's no real loss. It's given them a chance to develop their ideas and let me do what I want. No-one's lost anything, but I suppose that's hard to understand when it's actually happening." Though the future of Depeche Mode seemed questionable, one thing the press could agree on was that Vince would continue making music. He was a man with an entrepreneurial spirit, forever in search of the perfect pop song. His contribution to the band was educational as well as inspirational. Without him, they never would have come this far. But they were just kids, admittedly naive, and now, arguably without direction. However, the loss of their main songwriter did not destroy them as the press prophesized, it merely challenged them. Andy, Martin and Dave now had to prove to themselves that they could survive. Martin stepped into the roll of main songwriter, having already written twenty or thirty, dating back to when he was sixteen. They would probably have to find themselves another member for touring, but they could continue this themselves. Mending a Broken Frame With the decision in mind that they would require a fourth member for touring, Depeche Mode placed an anonymous advertisement in Melody Maker magazine; "Named band require synthesizer player, must be under twenty one." After several auditions, Alan Wilder, a classically trained musician from West London was chosen from ten finalists because of his musical background and personality. He later admitted he was actually twenty-two, and when asked, he also admitted that he knew that the `named band' mentioned in the ad was Depeche Mode. Always interested in music, Alan was quite busy prior to joining the band. In 1978, he helped Daphne & The Tenderspots release their debut single Disco Hell. The following year he poured his creativity into Real To Real, for the album Tightrope Walkers, and in 1980, he worked with The Hitmen on their single Bates Motel. Alan also contributed to If I Had You, by the Korgis. Alan's first performance with Depeche Mode was at Crocs in Rayleigh, in January 1982. Shortly afterwards, the band flew to New York to play two shows at The Ritz. Upon their return, the following three months were spent touring the UK and Europe. This tour had no official name, but is frequently referred to as the `See You Tour'. Towards the end of February, Depeche Mode played a secret gig at the Bridgehouse, as a special thank you to Terry Murphy. He was the only one to give them a booking in the early days of their career. The place was packed wall to wall with little space to breathe, but the four encores made the event worthwhile. According to Paul Colbert of Melody Maker, "it was packed up to the rotary towels in the toilets. Heaving bodies, flashing feet, and that was just the bar staff." After the show, Terry tried to pay the band nearly o1000, but they refused to take it. Instead they donated the money to the renovation of the pub. See You, written by Martin when he was eighteen, was released on 29th January 1982, peaking at number 6 in the UK. On 26th April, The Meaning Of Love was released, reaching number 12. Leave In Silence followed on 16th August, reaching number 18. It was also the first Depeche Mode single to bear the now familiar UK catalogue name of BONG. Considering Alan was working without royalties, he must have loved the success of these post-Vince singles. It wasn't until the recording of their next single; Get The Balance Right! that he joined the band full-time, finally receiving more than just a salary. Unlike Speak & Spell, A Broken Frame was criticized in many reviews for being too moody and depressing. Steve Sutherland of Melody Maker observed, "The lyrics have matured from wide-eyed fun to wide-eyed frustration." To Steve's surprise however, the `wide-eyed frustration' only made Depeche Mode more popular than before. Steve also found it necessary to criticize Depeche Mode's new musical direction by remarking, "A Broken Frame sounds sadly naked, rudely deprived of the formula's novelty." Admittedly they were a wobbly table without the fourth leg of Vince, but they still deserved credit for retaining some stability. Immediately following the release of the album, the band went on tour. `The Broken Frame Tour' ran from October to December, reaching across the UK and Europe. It was during this tour that Andy, Dave and Martin slowly integrated Alan into the permanent framework of the band. Shortly after the tour, the newly unified Depeche Mode went back into the studio to hammer out a new single. The single would go on to give the band an entirely new sound, image and direction. Getting The Balance Right At the start of 1983, with the onset of a growing environmental concern and an increasingly tense cold war between the US and USSR, Get The Balance Right! Seemed, in some people's interpretation, the ideal song for the time; voicing the need to equalize the scales of power. The song was released on 31st January and charted at number 13 in the UK, but despite the song's popularity, the band felt rushed with it. It had been five months since any new material had been released, and there was a sense of urgency not to fade from the public eye. The overall effect tendered a final product that fell short of the bands expectations. "I hate it and I wrote it!" Martin explained. "This was the only time that we had to turn out a single whether we wanted to or not." So, with Get the Balance Right! Moving bodies on the dance floors the world over, the band commenced on a spring tour of North America and the Far East. It was the most extensive tour outside Europe to date, and the fans flocked to shows to express their gratitude. While in Hong Kong, the band experienced their growing popularity first hand. Before arriving at the airport for the flight home, they sent a scout ahead to make sure that the coast was clear. After getting the `everything's cool' signal they moved out, but lying in wait were more than five hundred screaming fans, the band were subsequently shaken up quite a bit. After a few months rest to counteract the effects of touring, the band went at it again. Everything Counts made a debut on 11th July 1983, climbing as high as number 6 on the UK chart. It reflected the growing egocentric and competitive nature of capitalism. An impressed Mark Cooper wrote, "This is their strongest melody in a long while and a compelling picture of business Britain." Construction Time Again, released on 22nd August, was a representation of the bands lasting influence. With the virtually unlimited uses found in newly available boards like the Synclavier and Emulator 1, the album had a more potent and refined sound. It was also the first full-length endeavor to include the expertise of Alan Wilder. Alan not only added his musical talents to Construction Time Again, but also took his first stab at song writing, adding the tracks The Landscape Is Changing and Two Minute Warning to the album, and Fools to the B-side of the Love, In Itself single. "I like the grainy sample sounds of the Emulator 1," reflected Alan. Sampling was slowly being accepted by the music industry as a legitimate way to make music. The growing popularity of electronic bands and artists, such as New Order, Howard Jones and Vince's new band; Yazoo, clearly showed that the music had a ready audience and it wasn't just a passing fad. Depeche Mode were leading the way in this explosive form of expression. "I think we all like the idea. When we actually made the album we did go on a sound hunting expedition," Andy commented to Melody Maker. "We went down Brick Lane and just hit everything and then recorded it and took it back to the studio and put it into a keyboard. That's how we made the track Pipeline. We were smashing corrugated iron and old cars. The vocals were recorded in a railway arch in Shoreditch." The sampling was done mostly in the East End of London because of the area's close proximity to the recording studio. The Garden Studios provided the perfect atmosphere for the initial recording, but it only offered a 24-track mixing board. So for the final mixing the band relocated. "We had used so many channels on the recording that we couldn't possibly have mixed the record at the studio we recorded it, "explained Dave. "Plus, we wanted to sample a different atmosphere. If you work in just one place it can get quite boring." Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with its 56 channel mixing board (the only one like it in the world at that time) seemed an ideal location for the album's final mixing. With so much sampling on the record, the studios in Germany offered the band a cornucopia of choices in deciding how the final product would sound. Berlin and its surrounding countryside also provided the perfect location for the first video shoot, and as Dave would later explain, the Everything Counts video was the first in which they were truly happy. The next single Love, In Itself, while straying slightly from the direct approach to political and environmental concerns, retained these qualities, while adding an emotional fringe. The song made an appearance on 19th September 1983, and although destined to become a chart buster, it climbed no higher than 21. But even with this nominal success, the band found a ready following of fans popping up all over Europe. The album made a powerful impression on the public, especially in the UK, where it sold enough copies to go gold. "It was the first step in the right direction," explains Martin. "I agree with Martin, and also there were a lot of fresh ideas," adds Alan. With the songs of Construction Time Again still fresh in the minds of fans, the band started an album tour of the UK. They wrapped it up in October with three nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Then, with little more than enough time to catch a breath, the band commenced a tour of the globe. This leg catered to the growing number of fans in Europe, North America and the Far East, thirsting for a live performance, and the messages of the album sparked a fascination in people the world over. "We're not trying to change anything," explained Martin. "I don't think our music's going to change anything at all, we're just trying to make people think a little bit." Story Of Old It wasn't long after Construction Time Again that Depeche Mode were at it again. Martin, working alone in his rented Berlin flat, immersed himself in writing love songs for the next album. This did not come as a surprise to the other members though. "Martin's in love again, see?," Andy informed Melody Maker in an attempt to explain why the new songs did not wear the same political and environmental guise as the last album. He had taken a particular liking to the new material. "The point is to see something important and to write about it honestly, even if it's only important to you. Some people tend to think that love songs shouldn't be treated seriously, that it's only if you're writing about social problems that a song becomes serious." As if to contradict that point, People Are People was released as the next single on 12th March 1984. Although it was arguably the weakest track on their forthcoming album, the song barreled its way to number 4 on the UK chart with little hesitation. In spite of (because of) the song's political and social implications, People Are People also succeeded in holding the number 1 spot in Germany for three weeks and punctured a hole in the US Top 40, peaking at number 13. Incorporating the use of the Synclavier again; a machine which enabled the band to sample many different sounds and combine them, this song contained samples of everything from acoustic bass drums to an airline hostess going through a pre take-off drill. Peter Martin of Smash Hits magazine wrote, "It tends to induce movement in bodies that normally wouldn't be seen dead on a dance-floor." The success of People Are People was followed by a concert on 2nd June, where they shared the billing with Elton John, to a crowd of 50,000 in Ludwigshafen. The single Master And Servant was released on 20th August, climbing to number 9 in the UK, bringing with it trouble. "It's a song about domination and exploitation and we use the sexual angle to get that across," Martin explained, at the same time trying to defend the song against accusations of indecency and obscenity. Interestingly enough, the sound of the snapping bull-whip in the song's intro was nothing more than Daniel Miller hissing and spitting into a microphone. The band had to settle for this archaic alternative when repeated attempts to sample a real whip were deemed useless. The Some Great Reward album hit stores on 24th September 1984, and the band found themselves genuinely satisfied with the end results. "We spent days doing just one or two sounds or rhythms this time - we went over the top really and it cost us a few bob, but it's paid off because this is the first album we're all really proud of. Not that we don't like the others, its just that this one is so much better in terms of sound quality." Dave commented to Melody Maker: "I'm very pleased with the vocal sound on this one - it's a lot to do with having confidence, and a lot to do with being comfortable with the engineer (Gareth Jones - Depeche Mode's engineer since Everything Counts, who also co-produced Some Great Reward with the band and Daniel Miller). Also, I took a couple of singing lessons with Tona deBrett, scales and things, and although I didn't see much application to singing pop songs, I wanted to learn more about breathing control." Their next single release on 29th October; Blasphemous Rumours, was another controversial and thought-provoking track, which received mixed reviews and more negative attention than it deserved - Melody Maker described the song as "a prime candidate for some official censor." After promoting the song by singing it on Top Of The Pops, the band received dozens of complaint letters, and were told they could never perform that song on the show again. "Religion seems to be a very touchy subject," commented Martin. "You can sing about sex and nearly get away with it, but religion seems to stir people more. It wasn't really intended to have that sort of effect." Because of the apparent controversy surrounding Blasphemous Rumours, the band released it as a double A-side with Somebody; a love ballad featuring Martin on vocals and Alan playing accompanying piano. Perhaps it was the empathy the single invoked, or the growing awareness of Ethiopia's famine problem that spurred the song up the charts, but whatever the case, Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody crept up to number 16 in the UK. Some Great Reward was a smooth and calibrated album. As a `together' album, it was clearly their best work to date, but Andy imparted, "We've still got a long way to go before people will be proud to have Depeche Mode albums in their collection." Maybe so but, probably, not as far as one may think since the album clinched a number 5 position on the UK chart. Journalist Penny Kiley commented, "The packaging of the album Some Great Reward is an opposition of work and romance, real life and illusion. On stage, the package extends that opposition with the same quasi-industrial background and, out in front, pop stars." Riding on the success of their new recording, Depeche Mode embarked on a three month tour of the UK and Europe; the `Some Great Reward Tour', filming a sold-out show in Hamburg for a future video; The World We Live In And Live In Hamburg, and finishing just before Christmas 1984. In March 1985, they embarked on a five week stint in America, finally carving out a place for themselves in the US charts. They became so popular in fact that Sire records released a compilation album entitled People Are People, which featured various past singles and B-sides, re-introducing Depeche Mode to North America. This was followed, in July, by a month of touring in Europe, but this time including some large festivals, with bands like U2 and the newly reformed Clash, as well as their own shows in Budapest and Warsaw, Depeche Mode's first time in the `East'. In fact, it was on his 24th birthday, July 23rd, that Martin stood with the rest of the band on the stage of the Volan Open Air Football Stadium in Budapest, Hungary and listened as thousands of fans sang `Happy Birthday' to him. It was also on this final leg that Depeche Mode played their largest venue to date. Accompanying The Stranglers, The Cure, The Clash, Nina Hagen, Talk Talk, and the headlining Culture Club, DM played to 80,000 people in Athens, Greece. It was also during this period that Depeche Mode started wearing leather and (in Martin's case) bondage gear. The critics began calling it DM's kinky phase, and referred to it as the `Southend boys bondage look'. This didn't bother the band though, their new image was as much a part of their history as the music they made. We'll leave the Some Great Reward era by quoting a Melody Maker review of the album. "It used to be okay to slag off this bunch because of their lack of soul, their supposed synthetic appeal, their reluctance to really pack a punch. Some Great Reward just trashes such bad old talk into the ground and demands that you now sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose." A Brief Period Of Rejoicing During 1985, two new songs were recorded and released, which had no trouble finding their way into the charts. The first; Shake The Disease, greeted music stores with minimal hype on 29th April. The single, without an album to call home, climbed to a modest number 18 in the UK. On 16th September, fans were kept happy with another single, It's Called a Heart. This song, also released without a lot of hype, also managed to climb to number 18. A month later, on 15th October, came the release of the compilation album The Singles 81-85. Appropriately titled Catching Up With Depeche Mode in the States, the album covered all the singles from Dreaming Of Me to It's Called A Heart, with the US track listing differing slightly because of the release of the People Are People compilation the previous year. Following the release, Martin was interviewed by New Musical Express (NME), revealing, "I see our songs as love and sex against the boredom of life." Looking back, 1985 was a very tense year. Though new material was released, Depeche Mode was not in good spirits following their tour. They were uncertain and confused about what they wanted to do. As Dave later said, "If we were ever going to split up the band, it was at the end of 1985. We were really in a state of turmoil; Constant arguing, very intense. We weren't really sure where to go after Some Great Reward, so we decided to slow things down. But it left us too much time on our hands. So we spent most of it arguing. Sometimes, it seems incredible that we came out of that period with the band and our sanity intact." Incredible? Perhaps, but that's a word people have used to describe Depeche Mode for years, and as the new year rang in, it was apparent the band had made the right choice. "When we start a new album, we might spend the first few days doing nothing but sampling," Alan told Keyboard magazine. "We'll hire a drum kit and all kinds of weird percussion things and sample them in different rooms and different environments. Later we'll refer back to our library of sounds and find something that suits the song we're working on." After three months of extensive recording at Westside Studios in West Kensington, London, and then moving operations to Hansa Studios in Berlin, where Gareth Jones' and Daniel Miller's production helped smooth the mixes, Stripped was released on 10th February 1986. It went to number 15 in the UK, giving the listening audience only a taste of what was to come. With sampling being a significant ingredient, it seemed only proper that the click-clacking intro to Stripped, which sounded very much like a train in motion, was actually a slowed down sample of a motorcycle engine. It was a perfect effect when coupled with the chillingly profound lyrics. "The one thing I might point out is on It Doesn't Matter Too," Alan explained when asked about sampling. "There are a lot of choir samples on that. It would have been very easy to take just one sample and play it back polyphonically. But instead, we took a different sample for each choir note, so each note is slightly out from the others. It gives it a very realistic feel. We spent a long time getting that to work, so that it sounded human. That goes for all the stuff we do, not just that one track." Black Celebration, translated incorrectly in French as Black Mass, saw 17th March 1985 as its official release date. It was heavier, darker and harder than anything in the band's past. It was perhaps the most realistic portrayal of life to date, and ironically, the sleeve symbols indicated not bleakness but freedom; the freedom of independence. Alan commented to Billboard, "We don't see ourselves as pessimistic people, just realistic people." The album was very realistic indeed, spanning a wide variation of topics from major international issues to courtship to true love to boredom. The title track contained a very appropriate sample in essence of this album. What sounded like a distorted jumble of Russian in the song's intro was in fact Daniel Miller doing his best impression of the British war-time prime-minister Winston Churchill, stating "A brief period of rejoicing." On 29th March, Depeche Mode launched another world tour, this one slated for nearly six months. Starting at the Oxford Apollo, the band traveled the globe and wrapped things up at The Valby Stadium in Copenhagen on 16th August. In a review of their Wembley Arena show in April, John Peel wrote, "If we are to have bands filling the world's stadiums, then let them be like Depeche Mode." The next single was A Question Of Lust, which tackled one of life's more immediate and obvious curiosities. Released on 14th April 1986, Steve Sutherland of Melody Maker said the sing was gorgeous, "An Almond-esque torch vocal mounting a simple electronic code worthy of The Human League. It's when Depeche are being unconsciously throwaway that they attain the sublime." The `gorgeous' song charted at number 28 in the UK. Then came A Question Of Time, which seemed to echo Martin's obsession with innocence. Released on 11th August, it made its way to number 17, making an impact on dance-floors everywhere. In many ways, the three singles released from Black Celebration marked a turning point for Depeche Mode. They sounded self-assured enough to take risks and succeed. For the first time others were beginning to sense that Depeche Mode were preparing themselves for the big push forward. They had proven that they could craft music of throbbing power even when they forgot themselves. "Our songs from Black Celebration capture the idea," said Martin. "Make the most of what you have, find consolation wherever you can. I don't expect people to change their way of living. That's just human nature. Music won't change anyone's opinion about anything. People just seek out songs that express the opinion they already hold." Spreading The News Around The World Having taken a few months break following their `Black Celebration Tour', Depeche Mode returned to the recording studios late in 1986 to begin work on their next album. Recording began at Studio Guiliame Tell, Paris and finished up at Konk, London. Strangelove was the result of extensive work with David Bascombe producing and engineering at Puk Studios, Denmark and was released to the public ear on 13th April 1987, gong to number 16 in the UK. It confirmed that Depeche Mode were once again asserting their role as one of the giants of modern music. The track hinted at the celebration of masochism, a theme that is very familiar in Martin's song-writing. With the vocals of Dave, it portrayed a marvelous marriage of voice and material. The second single; Never Let Me Down Again, greeted music stores late that Summer, on 24th August, reaching a modest number 22. David Hiltbrand of Rolling Stone magazine commented, "This is the band's most lifelike effort to date, and a compelling dance number."- compelling indeed. The 28th September saw the release of the eagerly awaited new album Music for the Masses, which immediately went platinum world-wide and continued to mount in sales as Depeche Mode made preparations to launch their largest globe-trotting tour yet. The album took the band to new heights with its poignant lyrics and pounding rhythms. Never before had the group's material been so consistent and focused. It spoke of pain and salvation, love and despair - the familiar theme of Martin's lyrics, yet even further defined. Sacred proclaims, "I'm a firm believer and a warm receiver / And I've made my decision / This is religion / There's no doubt / I'm one of the devout." Sometimes there would seem to be a hazy line between whether the band questioned faith or inspired it. The album reached number 10 in the UK album charts and definitely appealed to the masses, as sales climbed passed the three million mark. Beginning their world tour in Madrid, Spain, the group traveled the globe selling out stadiums and concert halls wherever they stopped. Every stage introduction began with Pimpf, a highly atmospheric, classically orchestrated instrumental track from the album. While the tour was underway, the next single; Behind the Wheel was released on 28th December 1987 and was added to the growing list of top 20 hits. The track was undeniably alluring as it became a dance favourite when combined with their remake of Robert Troup Junior's classic Route 66. The three singles from Music For The Masses then went on to appear in every major Top 100 radio countdown list of 1988. Quite a remarkable achievement considering they had some of their older tracks already on the list. On 16th May 1988, just a month before the tour ended, Mute Records released a fourth track from Music for the Masses, but only in certain European countries, and not in the UK. Little 15 became a popular piece among the band's ballads. As Depeche Mode returned to Los Angeles for their last stop at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium on 18th June, the historical event was recorded and filmed for the later to be released movie and live album. Both would bear the name 101, so titled because this last gig was the 101st of the tour. A live single of the encore favourite; Everything Counts kept fans happy even after the tour was over. It was released the following year on 13th February 1989, and contained some live tracks from the Pasadena gig, as well as new remixes of Everything Counts and Strangelove. So just when everyone thought that they had heard and seen everything, the double compilation album 101 was released on 13th March, which showcased the group's entire performance at the Rose Bowl. It reached number 7 in the UK, and would be the first time that a complete Depeche Mode concert would be commercially available through their record company. The twenty track compilation featured two hours of Depeche Mode at their finest. Another highlight coming after the tour was the film 101, which opened at theatres all over the world in the same month. It was directed by `rockumentarist' D.A. Pennebaker and featured eight teenage fans, who, after winning a radio contest, followed Depeche Mode on a tour bus during the band's North American concerts. The contest, held by the Long Island, New York radio station WDRE, was devised by Pennebaker and the band as an idea to explore the elements of pop culture and as the means for less concentration on performance footage of the group. The fans trailed the group on tour across the US, all the way up to the waiting audiences of nearly 80,000 greeting the band at the start of their last show in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. There would be no material released by the band for quite some time following 101, but Alan and Martin were busy on side projects of their own. Alan finished a solo project under the name of Recoil and released his Hydrology Plus 1+2 at the end of 1988. Meanwhile, Martin began work on his solo e.p. that was eventually released in 1989, entitled Counterfeit. The Music for the Masses era definitely opened up new doors for Depeche Mode and further established them as leading pioneers of their art. The album, the singles, the tour - all led to their appeal to the masses. Depeche Mode spoke and finally the world was beginning to listen. Reach Out And Touch Faith It was August of 1989 when an English newspaper ran an advertisement that simply stated `Your own Personal Jesus' and gave a telephone number. Callers were treated to the sound of the new single from Depeche Mode. Personal Jesus was an ingenious piece of work which went on to become one of the best selling 12-inch singles in American history, selling over a million copies, easily becoming the best-selling single in the Warner Brothers catalogue. It certainly looked as if Depeche Mode had found a little personal Jesus of theirs. The trip continued as the world eagerly awaited the next album. But first came the single Enjoy the Silence, released on 5th February 1990. The track has remained one of the band's strongest to date and went on to win the coveted BRIT Single of the Year Award of 1990, voted by listeners of BBC Radio 1. The track is evidence that the piece hit home with the fans. For the album, the band enlisted the help of a new producer; Mark `Flood' Ellis and legendary mixer; Francois Kevorkian. Work began in Milan, Italy at Logic Studios, then shifted to Axis in New York, London's Church and Master Rock Studios, and ended at Puk Studios in Denmark. What resulted was the emergence of a new album titled Violator, which was immediately embraced by the music industry and to this date, has sold well over six and a half million copies throughout the world. On 20th March 1990, Depeche Mode appeared for a promotional autograph signing at the music store The Wherehouse in West Los Angeles and what transpired was beyond anyone's imagination. Over 10,000 fans besieged the store to catch a glimpse of the group and were simply too much for the security staff. Fearing a riot, the band was promptly dispatched back to their hotel by order of the Los Angeles Police Dept. which sent in over one hundred and thirty officers to disperse the crowd. "It was pretty scary," Dave Gahan later commented. "It was an out of control situation." On every television station was the heading `English rock band Depeche Mode stopped the traffic at Beverly and La Cienega today'. Although the band was forced to depart early, the fans were later treated to a special cassette release of Something To Do (metalmix), which was given away free to its LA area supporters via a KROQ radio give-away. The signing was intended to launch the new album, which had been released the day before, and launch it it did. The album arrived exactly a decade after the band joined Mute Records, and quickly rocketed to platinum in several European countries including their homeland. In France, Canada and the US, Violator went double-platinum. What perceived to be a landmark year for the band, turned out to be near world domination. Violator was a huge hit and climbed to number 2 in the UK and number 7 in the US. The States stood in shock as the momentum of the new album boosted Personal Jesus back into the charts six months after its initial release, peaking at number 1 on many alternative radio stations. MTV had long since adopted the song's stunning video, directed by Anton Corbijn, and featured excerpts from his second compilation of Depeche Mode videos; Strange Too - Another Violation. The third single from Violator was Policy Of Truth, released on 17th September 1990 and sailed into the music charts, landing at number 17. The B-sides of the single - Happiest Girl and Sea Of Sin again proved popular in the clubs. There was nothing that prepared the world for what was to come - Depeche Mode's new tour in support of Violator. This was to be the band's longest and most successful to date. `World Violation', as it was called, would take the band on a year long trip over five continents and reach over 1,200,000 people. Tickets were sold in record times as box offices opened. In New York, 42,000 tickets were sold within four hours. Dallas' 24,000 seat Starplex Amphitheatre sold out immediately, as did the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park, Chicago. In Los Angeles, where the now-traditional tour closer was to take place, 48,000 tickets for the last tour performance at Dodgers Stadium were sold within one hour of going on sale, two months in advance of the show. Within 72 hours, a second night was added and that sold out even faster. `World Violation' saw Depeche Mode's first ever visit to Australia, although, sadly, the show in Melbourne had to be canceled, after Dave badly strained his vocal cords during the show in Sydney. In ten years, this was the first time a show had ever been canceled for health reasons. The tour culminated in Japan, before the final European stretch, which culminated in three shows at Wembley Arena, and three at Birmingham NEC. The success of Violator and the `World Violation Tour' was undoubtedly a huge step up in what had been the band's steady rise in popularity, and not only won over a vast number of new fans, but also earned them the respect of the entire industry. Songs For The Faithful And Devoted Depeche Mode took a break of roughly three years before returning with any new material. The tour had drained them all both mentally and physically. They flew home and tried to restore some kind of sanity to their lives. Martin withdrew to the Hertfordshire countryside to write new material, while Andy opened a restaurant called Gascogne's in St. John's Wood, London. Dave however had made a conscious decision that would effect him and the very future of Depeche Mode. He now admits to having been a recreational drug user and drinker since about the age of twelve, stealing barbiturates that his mother had been prescribed for epilepsy. He was soon dabbling with hash, cocaine and speed. "A gang of us would go out together and buy a big bag of amphetamines," he admits. "We'd go to a party or club in London and catch the milk train home." But during the `World Violation Tour', he deliberately set about transforming himself into the rock god of his most garish fantasies. Teresa Conroy, who had previously been the publicist on the band’s 1988 American tour, introduced him to the heroin scene. He waved good-bye to his clean-cut image, growing shoulder length hair, a goatee beard, and adorning his body with tattoos; ten hours of pain went into the pair of wings across his shoulder blades. To complete the picture, he divorced his childhood sweetheart Joanne, left his five year old son Jack, moved to Los Angeles, remarried to Teresa at the Graceland Chapel, Las Vegas and started a full-time drug addiction, in roughly that order. "My vision got cloudier and cloudier because of what I was putting into my body," he admitted to Q Magazine. When Martin sent him a tape of new songs which he had been working on, Dave was already seriously considering leaving Depeche Mode. He had become interested in grunge and the fusion of metal and hip hop that Rage against the Machine produced. Fortunately, he loved Martin's new material and flew to a privately rented villa in Madrid, Spain, where the band had set up their recording studio. Dave remembers the moment when the rest of the band members saw him for the first time in several months. "I'd changed, but I didn't really understand it until I came face to face with Al and Mart and Fletch. The looks on their faces battered me." For the first time in their long career, the four found that they couldn't work together. Dave confessed, "It was hard for them to even want to be in the same room with me sometimes. There were a lot of arguments." And so they took another break and got together again at the Chateau Du Pape residential studio in Hamburg. The initial shock had worn off and they began work in earnest. The first single; I Feel You, was released on 15th February 1993, going straight into the upper reaches of the music charts in over a dozen countries world-wide, and reaching number 1 in six countries including Italy, Spain and Austria. The video was also nominated by MTV's annual Music Awards for the Alternative Video of the Year. Dave's strongest vocal performances to date could be heard all over the album. Andy remembers, "Dave would come forward on a real burst of energy, do a vocal, then disappear to his room for a couple of days. It was a bit odd.", True understatement. On this album they employed backing vocalists and outside musicians for the first time; a full orchestra being used on the track One Caress. Martin also played far more guitar than ever before. "Our 'rock' album," as Martin Gore describes it. The end result; Songs Of Faith And Devotion, was released worldwide on 22nd March and flew straight to the top of the album charts in seventeen countries, debuting at number 1 in both the UK and US. It was a remarkable achievement for any album to obtain such a double, especially from a band that had not released any new material for so long. Meanwhile, Dave still continued with his self-destructive habit, although it was Andy who came apart first. He had always been the backbone of the band, the one who held its component parts together, and dealing with the day-to-day running. With the strain that Dave's new lifestyle was placing upon everyone, Andy was the one to feel it first. He had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized to recover. But he discharged himself too soon because the tour was about to begin. He would live to regret his haste. It would be an extensive fourteen months on the road and would take them across the globe twice, playing to a total of over two million people. They took a therapist and a drug dealer with them, although they dispensed with the therapist after only six weeks. "It didn't really work because, although Fletch saw him occasionally, the rest of us never did," Martin said later. The first half was simply called the `Devotional Tour', and would play to audiences throughout Europe and North America. The next leg, called `The Exotic Tour' would begin in early 1994, and take the band to far off places like South Africa, Australia and South America. Returning to the US in May 1994, the final leg would be called `USA `94'. First though, the second single; Walking In My Shoes, was released on 26th April, less than a month before the tour was due to commence, and achieved a number 14 on the UK chart. So off they flew to Lille, France on 19th May to begin the first leg of the tour. It continued throughout Europe and culminated in a sold-out show at The Crystal Palace Sports Arena, London, in front of 35,000 people. Then they were off to North America, where they played over fifty performances in less than three months. The grand finale to this leg was a sold-out five-night stint at the Los Angeles Forum. "Remember New Orleans?," reminisced Dave in a recent interview for Q magazine. "At the end of the gig I couldn't go back for the encore. Mart had to do a song solo while the paramedics rushed me off to hospital. I'd overdosed; I'd had a heart attack. Next day we didn't even think any more about it." The rifts in the band worsened. Three limousines were used on the tour: Dave rode in one, the increasingly disgruntled Alan in another, and Martin and Andy and members of the crew crammed into the third. Separate dressing rooms were also used. Dave's was a candlelit dungeon, from where his drug-blasted body would be carried after the gigs, to be deposited in the correct hotel room. Condemnation, released on 13th September, was the third single from the album and included a version of the haunting ballad Death's Door, which Martin had written in 1991 for Wim Wender's film Until the End of the World. The CD also featured remixes of Rush, which had become a real favourite at their concerts. It reached number 9 in the UK. A live video; Devotional, directed by Anton Corbijn, was shot during shows in Lieven, Barcelona and Budapest for a later release date in December. This film captured Depeche Mode at their finest during the tour, as the band was finishing the North American leg in Mexico City, before returning to the UK for shows in Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and London. But it would only be a few weeks before the band were off again, this time to South Africa, playing seven nights in Johannesburg, two in Cape Town and two in Durban. Then it was on to Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Manila, Hawaii and South America. As the plane touched-down in Hawaii however, Andy's previous mental problems reached breaking point. Alan and Dave approached Martin to demand his early departure. "It was very difficult," mused Martin. "Andy's been my closest friend since we were twelve. But, for the others, he'd become unbearable." For Andy, the stress of touring and all that went with it had manifested itself into worries about his bodily health. "This sounds terrible," he later explained, "but I thought I had a brain tumor. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think, this headache wouldn't go away. I had tests. It wasn't a brain tumor, it was a breakdown." He left the tour with still four months to run and flew back to England. He was replaced on keyboards by the bands personal adviser Daryl Bamonte. The 6th December 1993 saw the release both of the film Devotional; shot earlier that year, and also another album titled Songs of Faith and Devotion Live, consisting of the same tracks as the studio album, in the same order, recorded live during the first leg of the tour. It reached number 46 in the UK, being considered as more of a Christmas present to the fans, rather than a serious album release. In Your Room, the fourth and final single from the album was released on 10th January 1994, climbing to 8 on the UK chart, and the whole Songs of Faith and Devotion era closed with the final concert performance on 8th July in Indianapolis, USA. At last they could rest. It had been a hard and extremely difficult time for each band member. Andy spent four weeks in hospital recovering from his breakdown, Alan was nursing gallstones, and Martin had started to have seizures and panic attacks brought on by the stress, lack of sleep and alcohol. But these problems paled when compared to Dave's continuing drug dependency, a dependency that would eventually lead to his death. Staring down the Barrel of A Gun Shortly after the end of the tour, Dave went to visit his doctor. He had two broken ribs and internal hemorrhaging, after diving into the crowd at a gig in Indiana, landing on a crash barrier. The doctor was also worried about his weight. Battle scars aside, he weighed little more than 100 pounds (about 7 stones). He was advised to see a psychiatrist, advice that he ignored, choosing instead to go to the Lake Tahoe Rehabilitation Centre with his wife Teresa. "I was fried," he confessed, "completely fried." He returned to Los Angeles and continued to struggle with his addiction. He tried another rehab in Tucson, Arizona - it failed as well. "My daily routine was finding, getting, and using." Then in June 1995, Alan met with Andy and Martin in London to inform them that he was leaving Depeche Mode. A quote from his press statement reads: "Whilst I believe that the caliber of our musical output has improved, the quality of our association has deteriorated to the point where I no longer feel that the end justifies the means. I have no wish to cast aspersions on any individual; suffice to say that relations have become seriously strained, increasingly frustrating and, ultimately, in certain situations, intolerable. Given these circumstances, I have no option but to leave the group." Alan also sent a fax to Dave in Los Angeles to inform him of his decision. He received no answer. Dave was otherwise engaged, hell-bent on self destruction. In August of that same year, he returned from yet another failed detox program to discover he had been burgled. Everything was gone; his two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, his home recording studio, some material he had been working on, even the cutlery. "There was nothing left," he said. "Just wires hanging out of the wall. The police were convinced it was my wife, because we'd separated." Dave sold the house and rented an apartment in Santa Monica. But despite his new home, he started to spend a lot of time at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles. It was from his room in the hotel on 17th August 1995 that he spoke to his mother in England. He was waiting for a friend who had been accompanying him to rehab meetings, to return to the hotel. But he wasn't really sure if he wanted her to return after all. He'd swallowed a number of Valium tablets, which he's washed down with a bottle of wine, and he couldn't think clearly. He asked his mum to hang on a moment while he went to the bathroom. Once there, he slashed his wrists with a razor blade and wrapped towels around them, before returning to the phone. "Mum," he told her, "I've got to go, I love you very much." "It was definitely a suicide attempt," he later admitted. "But it was also a cry for help. I made sure there were people who might find me." The friend arrived and immediately called an ambulance. He was rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital and was arrested for attempted suicide (a felony in California). Once released from the hospital, he retreated to his Santa Monica apartment, locking all the doors and taping up the curtains. He felt a prisoner in his own darkened prison, only leaving it to get the next fix. He started carrying a gun wherever he went. "I just thought they were out to get me." Then in April 1996, the remaining band members Martin and Andy, together with Jonathan Kessler, Daniel Miller and their new producer for the next album project, Tim Simenon, arrived in New York. Dave flew in from Los Angeles to complete eight vocal tracks. However, his voice was so shattered from drug abuse, that he managed only one. "And that," confided Andy, "was probably luck." Emergency crisis meetings were held and an ultimatum was given to Dave: he had to sort himself out, This time for good. "They were nervous and scared," he revealed to Arena magazine. "I was on a chronic relapse. I was destroying everything; My life and theirs." The recording sessions were completed in mid-May and for the last two weeks in New York, he was drug free, but it wouldn't last. As soon as he returned to Los Angeles, he used like he'd never used before. "I went mental." That was when Dave Gahan pushed it too far. It was 1 am on 28th May 1996, and Dave was sitting in his hotel bathroom at the Sunset Marquis hotel. The drug dealer had just filled a syringe with speedball; a blend of cocaine and heroin, and handed it to the singer. Outside, a girl Dave had just met in the hotel was waiting for him, oblivious to what was going on. Dave injected the cocktail of drugs into his arm and immediately knew that something was wrong. Very wrong. He passed out and began to have a heart attack. The drug dealer tried to revive him, and failing that, dragged him back into the bedroom. The girl screamed and picked up the phone. The dealer, fearing for his own safety, prevented her from completing the call. They struggled and he ran. She then called for an ambulance before splashing water on Dave's face in an attempt to bring him around. When the paramedics arrived at 1.15 am, Dave was immediately rushed to Cedars-Sinai hospital where his heart stopped for two minutes, before he was revived. He had been clinically dead. He was arrested for possession of cocaine and being under the influence of heroin, and after his release by the hospital at dawn, was immediately taken into custody by the LA Sheriff's Dept. He was released on $10,000 bail and used the cameras that greeted him at the gates to apologize to his mother. "After that big overdose, the paramedics told me that I should have been dead," he conceded. "They said that I had enough heroin and cocaine in me to kill a horse." Not that it deterred him from using again. He returned to the hotel and continued injecting heroin for another couple of weeks. But by now it wasn't having any effect on him, no high, nothing. Then Jonathan Kessler phoned him and told him he had to attend a meeting with his lawyer concerning the arrest. The meeting was bogus. In fact he arrived to find Kessler with Bob Timmons, a professional `intervention specialist', who worked with addicts in the entertainment business. They told him that he was being taken into rehab straight away. He pleaded for time. "All right, tomorrow," he said, "thinking I could go home and cook up before I went." They were insistent. "A couple of hours, I need to call my mum." Eventually they relented and Jonathan arranged to collect Dave later. "So I went home, did my last deal, had my last little party and checked into the rehab." It was hard. The Exodus Recovery Centre in Marina Del Ray, Los Angeles was more like a maximum-security prison. But that was just the sort of close monitoring and supervision that Dave needed to help him kick the habit. He would meet with his counselor and recovery group every day, and whilst he was in withdrawal, he would have seizures almost every hour. But he's clean now. No heroin, no dope, no pills, no alcohol, absolutely nothing. He took his martyr role to a literal extreme and was lucky to come out of it alive. "If God were handing out drugs and alcohol," he muses, "I had my share and I'm done." "The cleanest I’ve been” As if to announce a rebirth, or perhaps a reawakening, Barrel of a Gun was released on 3rd February 1997, reaching a very respectable number 4 in the UK chart. Commenting on it, Dave said "It's about understanding that you don't necessarily fit into somebody else's scheme of things. You can have slight diversions from your path, but I think there is something that is written for us, that is meant to be." Following the success of Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good was released on 31st March and climbed to the number 5 spot. The long awaited album, Ultra, wasn't very far behind it, greeting the world on 14th April, and, like the previous studio album, it too attained the number one spot in the UK. When asked if the recent troubles in the band had in anyway inspired the albums content, Martin explained, "I believe you are fatally inspired by all that's around, taking elements from your immediate environment. Although, I don't think that this album is marked by a depressive spirit. There is actually a positive note. I don't think that the events from past years have had a net influence." Home, another ballad with Martin on vocals, was the next single released, hitting the shelves on 16th June, but not in the US. It was a favourite track with Depeche Mode's UK record company, but only managed to get to number 23. It was this apparent lack of success that made Depeche Mode's American record company; Sire, cancel its release State-side. The fourth and final release off Ultra was Useless, on 20th October 1997. It reached 28. And to satisfy the bands American fans, the single was packaged together with Home for the US market, enhanced with videos of all four released singles. An album that some thought wouldn't happen. a career that's been filled with many highs but some awful lows. Where do the boys from Basildon go from here? Well, the next single, titled Only When I lose Myself is due for release in the Summer of 1998 together with a greatest hits album, a tour is also planned in support of it. What more is there to say? Very little, but I feel it only fair to leave the last word for Dave. "Depeche Mode is Martin's songs and my voice. The music is very much head music and then I bring the heartbeat. I love to sing the songs; I shall miss it when it's not there anymore." "New and Excited" It's rare to find bands capable of keeping their own best qualities to the fore while trying something new each time out, but Depeche Mode demonstrate that balance in full on the marvelous Exciter(released on May 15, 2001).Exciter signals a new era of creativity for Dave, Fletch and Gore. The sounds (electronic and acoustic) are strikingly varied, the songs are emotionally rich, and Gahan's vocals are even more resonant than before." Dream On"--set as the first single, due out in April--contrasts skittering beats with acoustic guitars. "The Sweetest Condition" mixes a deep groove with a snaky rhythm and mysterious, psychedelic sounds. The tension-building "When The Body Speaks" matches sparely plucked guitars with startlingly intimate vocals by Gahan who sings, "What the flesh requires keeps the heart imprisoned." Elsewhere, "Breathe," with Martin's lead vocal, has a torchy feel. And album closer "Goodnight Lovers" is a different kind of lullaby with bracing lines like "When you're born a lover you're born to suffer." After Dream On DM release I Feel Loved, Freelove and Goodnight Lovers. All the singles has worldwide success.(especially Dream On and I Feel Loved).One night in Paris(May 28,2002) is the perfect follow-up to Devotional for both Depeche Mode and director/designer Anton Cobijn. shot in high-definition video at a live performance in support of Exciter at Palais Omnisport in Paris on October 10, 2001, the film captures the band maturing gracefully and wonderfully. The DVD release of the film adds some wonderful bonus material on its second disc: fascinating band interviews, humorous fan interviews, Corbijn's analysis of photos taken during the tour, a performance of "Sister of Night" taken from the same night, and more. One Night in Paris is a fine addition to Depeche Mode's videography and an essential part of any fan's collection. In 2002 also they re-released The Videos 86>98 with the name The Videos 86>98 +.The DVD contains more videos and exclusives interviews. In 2003 Depeche Mode re-released their legendary concert 101 on DVD and CD. Solo Projects" In 2003 Martin L. Gore and Dave Gahan released their solo projects. The first full-length from DM's principal songwriter follows an EP he released 14 years prior. On that EP, Gore covered some of his favorite songs and made them sound unsurprisingly like his group circa that year. As one can tell from the title of this disc, this is the same concept, and even some of the most ardent fans no doubt breathed another sigh of relief with the knowledge that he decided once again to let other people provide the lyrics. Following Gahan's journey through both physical and mental rehabilitation, Paper Monsters is what many would expect — a collection of material culled from his addictions, failed relationships, and spiritual rebirth-Paper Monsters is like his own biography. Dave released 3 singles-Dirty Sticky Floors, I Need You and Bottle Living/Hold on, Martin released two-Stardust (cover of David Essex) and Loverman (cover of Nick Cave and the bad seeds). In the same year the third member of Depeche Mode-the keyboardist Andy Fletcher found his label Toast Hawaii. Client was the first group who signed to Toast Hawaii. Recoil After officially splitting from DM in 1995, longtime member Alan Wilder finally went ahead with his side project, Recoil. Wilder started Recoil in 1985, but efforts were halfhearted due to his responsibilities with DM. But despite such conflicts of interest, Recoil issued a set of early demos entitled 1+2 which coincided with the release of DM's 1986 album Black Celebration. As the '80s were coming to a close, Wilder and his original band mates were becoming international superstars with the chart-topping success of 1987's Music for the masses and 1990's Violator. Subsequent Recoil EP releases such as 1988's Hydrology and 1991's Bloodline were naturally lost in the scope of events. In 1997, Alan was freshly ready for Recoil, following up with the project's first album Unsound Methods. The album was critically labeled as "difficult" and "dark," but it didn't distract Wilder. Certainly that was the reaction he was searching for. Three years later, his cunning musical mystery continued on Liquid. TBC  |
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