Depeche Mode Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Depeche Mode is a synth pop band founded in 1980 in the town of Basildon, England.
The four founding members are:
- Vince Clarke (songwriting, keyboards, backing vocals)
- Andrew Fletcher (keyboards, backing vocals)
- David Gahan (vocals)
- Martin Gore (songwriting, keyboards, vocals)
What does Depeche Mode mean?
The band's name (pidgin French for "Fast Fashion", or "Fashion Today/Now/Dispatch" which meant "Fashion News" in common french was inspired by a French fashion magazine of the same name.
Verbally contracted to Daniel Miller's Mute label, Depeche Mode are one of the most successful of the New Wave/New Romantic bands.
The Songwriters
After the release of Speak & Spell;, their first album, song-writer Clarke left the band and went on to form Yazoo (Yaz in the US) with Alison Moyet, The Assembly with Feargal Sharkey, Dave Clempson and Eric Radcliffe, and later Erasure with Andy Bell.
Martin Gore took over as the band's primary song-writer, and in 1982 the album A Broken Frame was released. After this, Alan Wilder joined the band as a permanent replacement for Clarke.
Martin Gore did contribute a single track to the first album whilst Alan Wilder contributed some b-sides and two tracks to the first studio album he helped record 'Construction time again'.
Early History
In the early 1980s the band's popularity was largely confined to Europe (particularly Germany) and their style was Synth pop. In 1984 Depeche Mode made in-roads into America, which spawned the US-only release of Catching Up With Depeche Mode.
Middle History
In the intervening years between the mid-80s and 90s, the band's popularity in the US grew to massive proportions. The 101 tour culminated in a final concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl with a sell-out attendance of 80,000 (the highest in 8 years for the venue). The tour was documented in a film by D.A. Pennebaker, recently released on DVD, which is notable for an element of fan interaction.
Influence on Techno music
Depeche Mode had a great influence on the emergence of the techno and electronica music scenes through the late 80s and 90s. Techno pioneers such as Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins regularly quoted Depeche Mode as an influence in their development of proto-techno during the Detroit Techno explosion in the late 80s.
A strange album
1993's Songs Of Faith And Devotion was released to huge acclaim and went straight to number one in the US. But, the style of the record was perhaps not what was expected of Depeche Mode and did not fit with the band's happy image at all. The synths were hidden among layered arrangements and muted and the record featured complex melodies and cerebral lyrics. An example from "Walking in My Shoes" follows illustrating the new and very different style of lyrics, marking a shift away from their pop roots:
| Verse
Morality would frown upon |
Chorus
I'm not looking for a clearer conscience |
Fans of an earlier Depeche Mode have expressed disappointment or anger with this record, which didn't match with the happy image they had of the band. Indeed, the album opens with a screeching sound that seems designed to torture those who unwittingly have the volume turned up too high.
"Just Can't Get Enough", an upbeat record with positive lyrics, seems only a distant happy memory of a decade past when compared with the significantly darker tone of this and other albums of this period. Ultimately, though, Songs Of Faith And Devotion has been recognized as artistically among the best records Depeche Mode has produced - with almost all the songwriting done by Martin Gore.
Farewell to keyboards
One marked change in the style of music throughout the history of this band has been a move away from keyboards and heavily synthpop-influenced sound... indeed, in a CD booklet, Dave Gahan is instead pictured lovingly holding an acoustic guitar - a far cry from the synthpop ideal of 'keyboards with everything'. After the much earlier departure of Vince Clarke, a gradual change away from their roots can hardly have been unexpected.
Turmoil within the band
In June 1995 after the Devotional tour, Alan Wilder left the band citing unsatisfactory internal working conditions, while continuing to work on his personal project Recoil. It has been suggested that a failure of the band to recognize its own brand appeal in releasing previous records may have played some part in his departure, with other factors including the drug addiction issues of Dave Gahan; Martin Gore's admission of "battling his own demons" at this time; and growing tensions between Wilder and Andrew Fletcher. Wilder himself has stated that he contributed a lion's share of work while receiving the least credit on past albums.
Solo Careers
2003 saw the release of Dave Gahan's solo album, Paper Monsters, followed by a worldwide tour and a DVD taken from it, titled Live Monsters, Martin Gore continued his solo career with the release of Counterfeit 2, and Andrew Fletcher launched his own label, Toast Hawaii. However, the group insists that Depeche Mode is still together, and plans to release another album soon.
This is an Article on Depeche Mode. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Depeche Mode Depeche Mode Today
August 2004 group's record company ( Mute ) announced , DVD release of "Devotional" and new remix completion album "Remixes 81-04" that covers some new & unreleased promo mixes of the singles from 1981 to 2004Discography
Albums
Singles/EPs
External links