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| Birth Name(s) : Dave Gahan |
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Full Dave Gahan Biography
David Gahan (born May 9, 1962 in Epping, Essex, England) is the baritone lead singer for the English electronic band Depeche Mode.
Born into a working class family to Sylvia and Len, David Gahan was 6 months old when his Jewish father left the family. Sylvia and Len divorced 2 years later and his mother moved David and sister Sue (born 1960) to Basildon after Sylvia met and married her second husband Jack. The Gahan family continued to grow with the birth of two more brothers Peter (born 1966) and Phil (born 1968). David and Sue were raised under the impression that their mother's second husband (Jack Gahan; from whom Dave takes his second name, and after whom Dave's own son Jack is named) was in fact his real father. Legally and morally this was true, Jack had adopted both Sue and Dave and raised them as his own children. Tragedy struck in 1972 when Jack, the elder Gahan died when David was ten. Gahan recalls how he "came home one day and found this bloke at home". Of the incident, he has said: "I'll never forget that day. When I came home from school, there was this stranger in my mum's house. My mother introduced him to me as my real dad. I remember I said, that was impossible because my father was dead. How was I supposed to know who that man was? From that day on, Len often visited the house, until one year later he disappeared again. Forever this time. Since then he had no contact with us. By growing older, I thought about him more and more. The only thing my mother would say, was that he moved out to Jersey to open a hotel".. "Mum had kept it back from me 'til there was a need to tell me about my birth father, it's a different generation and you can understand I guess she thought she was doing the right thing."
Gahan compensated for the loss of his father by becoming something of a "real wild boy with a chip on my shoulder, a real yob". His crimes as a youth included stealing cars, vandalism, and spray-painting graffiti on walls. As a result he had visited juvenile court three times before he was 14.
Circa 1980, Vince Clarke was, at one point, a member of two bands; French Look, with Robert Marlow, and Composition Of Sound with future Depeche Mode member Andy Fletcher. Martin Gore drifted between the two bands, until eventually both groups fell out (and French Look fell apart; consequently Martin later joined Composition Of Sound), as they both wanted Gore to be part of their band and -- in an attempt to please everyone -- he had been unwilling to choose one over the other.
Since then, the band has continued to explore new musical directions, and their sound has evolved immensely since their inception. They have released eleven studio albums, four greatest hits compilations (The Singles 81>85, The Singles 86>98, Catching Up with Depeche Mode The Best Of, Volume 1), a remix album (Remixes 81 - 04) and are now considered elder statesmen of their craft, who inspired an electronic movement.
The album was a moderate success. The first single "Dirty Sticky Floors" became a Top 20 hit on the World Singles chart selling over 200,000 copies, as well as hitting the Top 20 in the UK. The album itself became a Top 10 hit on the European album chart and a Top 40 hit in the UK. This success was backed by a world tour and a live DVD titled Live Monsters which was released in 2004. A year later, he also appeared as model and spokesperson of the European mid-range fashion retailer J Lindeberg and its S/S 2006 menswear line. The ads featured both him and seemingly random quotes like "What would happen if we all told the truth", "You can tell he's lying because his lips are moving", etc. These ads appeared prominently in international fashion press.
In July 2007, Side-Line Magazine revealed that Gahan has been working with a new project called MIRROR, which is produced by Vincent Jones. Along with Jones, who played with Gahan's touring band and mixed the live DVD Live Monsters, MIRROR features another Gahan collaborator, Knox Chandler (Siouxsie And The Banshees, Pyschedelic Furs), as well as piano by Bowie favourite Mike Garson, and a monologue by Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro. Gahan sings vocals on the track "Nostalgia".
Gahan is a noted body-modifier, perhaps most famous for having his "gooch" pierced, a regular talking point for Depeche Mode fans.
On August 17, 1995, Gahan allegedly "attempted suicide" with a razor blade -- he later stated that this was more of a "cry for help", rather than a suicide attempt. At one point during this episode Gahan was known to spend 12 hours a day inside his wardrobe, watching The Weather Channel and talking to 'The Tin Man', a doll he was convinced could talk (later on and after recovery, he would refer to these "conversations" in his solo single Dirty Sticky Floors).
Gahan currently lives in New York City, with his third wife Jennifer, their daughter Stella Rose (b. July 29, 1999), and Jennifer's son Jimmy. He also has a son, Jack (b. October 14, 1987), from his first marriage.
Studio albums: Speak & Spell | A Broken Frame | Construction Time Again | Some Great Reward | Black Celebration | Music for the Masses | Violator | Songs of Faith and Devotion | Ultra | Exciter | Playing the Angel
Compilations: People Are People | The Singles 81>85 | Catching Up with Depeche Mode | The Singles 86>98 | Remixes 81 - 04 | The Best Of, Volume 1 | The Complete Depeche Mode |
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