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| Birth Name(s) : Depeche Mode |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Actor |
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Full Depeche Mode Biography
Depeche Mode (pronounced /dəˌpɛʃˈmoʊd/) are an electronic music group that formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, England. The group's original lineup consisted of David Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81). Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (lead keyboards) who played with the band from 1982 to 1995. Following Wilder's departure, Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have performed as a trio.
Depeche Mode's origins can be traced back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called "No Romance In China", with Clarke on vocals/guitar and Fletcher on bass. In 1978, Clarke played guitar in an "Ultravox rip-off band", The Plan, with school friend Robert Marlow on vocals and Vince on guitar/keyboards. In 1978–79, Gore played in an acoustic duo, Norman and The Worms, with school friend Philip Burdett (who now sings on the folk circuit) on vocals and Gore on guitar. In 1979, Marlow, Gore, Clarke and friend Paul Redmond formed a band called "The French Look", Marlow on vocals/keyboards, Gore on guitar, Clarke and Redmond on keyboards. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called "Composition of Sound", with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. "The French Look" and "Composition of Sound" once played live together in June 1980 at St. Nicholas School Youth Club in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.
During the touring and promotion for "Speak & Spell", Clarke began to privately voice his discomfort at the direction the band was taking. He later expressed his agitation that "there was never enough time to do anything". In late 1981, Clarke publicly announced that he was leaving Depeche Mode. Soon afterwards, he joined with blues singer Alison Moyet to form Yazoo (Yaz in the US) and later, the duo Erasure with Andy Bell, in 1985. With their primary songwriter gone, Depeche Mode needed a new direction. Martin Gore, who had written "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff" for their debut album, took over as the band's new songwriter. In January 1982, the band released "See You", their first single without Clarke, which against all expectations, managed to beat all three Clarke-penned singles in the UK charts, reaching #6. In the ensuing months of that year, two more singles were released ("The Meaning of Love", and "Leave in Silence"), and the band embarked on their first world tour - known as the "See You" tour. Their second album A Broken Frame was eventually brought out in September.
During the early stages of recording for A Broken Frame, the band recognised that it needed a fourth member for touring and other commitments. In late 1981, they placed an ad in Melody Maker stating "Keyboard player needed for established band - no timewasters." Alan Wilder, a 22-year old keyboardist from West London responded - and after two auditions with Daniel Miller, he was accepted as the fourth member of Depeche Mode. Despite this, Daniel Miller informed Wilder that he was not needed for the recording of the album, as the band wanted to prove that they could succeed without Vince Clarke. Wilder's first musical contribution to the band was in 1983, on the non-album single "Get the Balance Right!".
1987's Music for the Masses saw further alterations in the band's sound and working methods. Dave Bascombe (who had previously worked with Tears for Fears) was brought in as a producer (although his role ended up being more that of an engineer),and the band (for the most part) abandoned sampling in favour of more musical experimentation. Although the chart performance of the singles ("Strangelove", "Never Let Me Down Again" and "Behind the Wheel") was disappointing in Great Britain (whereas those singles were big hits in countries such as Canada, West Germany, South Africa, Sweden or Switzerland, reaching the Top 10 there), the album was almost universally praised by the music press - far more so than any other album the band had released. Record Mirror described it as "the most accomplished and sexy Mode album to date". and it made a breakthrough in the American market, something which the band had failed to achieve with their previous albums.
In 1991 Depeche Mode made a one-off contribution to the Wim Wenders film, Until the End of the World, entitled "Death's Door" and a third solo album was released by Alan Wilder under the Recoil moniker bridged the gap between albums.
On April 3, 2006, remastered editions of Speak & Spell, Music for the Masses, and Violator were released, featuring remastered audio in two-channel stereo and 5.1 multichannel on Super Audio CD and DVD, extra tracks and B-sides. In addition, each album comes with its own documentary charting the history of the band and the production of each album. The second installment of remastered albums were A Broken Frame, Some Great Reward and Songs of Faith and Devotion, all of which were released on October 2, 2006. Construction Time Again and Black Celebration were released on March 26, 2007. Both Ultra and Exciter were released on October 1, 2007. |
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