Depeche Mode
Taking elements from post-punk and applying them to the post-Kraftwerk synth music of the 80s, Depeche Mode were the
quintessential alternative act of the late 80s. From rather touch-and-go electropop beginnings with Vince Clarke (who would
later go on to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet and Erasure with Andy Bell) to the mid-80s gothic stylings of such albums as
Black Celebration and Music For The Masses (which would cement their position as kings of alternative electronica
in Europe and beyond), Depeche Mode transformed effortlessly from avant-garde Euro-goths to stadium-f ...read more
Taking elements from post-punk and applying them to the post-Kraftwerk synth music of the 80s, Depeche Mode were the
quintessential alternative act of the late 80s. From rather touch-and-go electropop beginnings with Vince Clarke (who would
later go on to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet and Erasure with Andy Bell) to the mid-80s gothic stylings of such albums as
Black Celebration and Music For The Masses (which would cement their position as kings of alternative electronica
in Europe and beyond), Depeche Mode transformed effortlessly from avant-garde Euro-goths to stadium-filling alternative
synth-meisters, highlighted by the infamous 101 film, charting their success with clips from the 70,000 capacity
Rosebowl concert in Pasadena.
Their most successful and acclaimed effort was 1990's Violator, which spawned the massive hits 'Personal Jesus' and
'Enjoy The Silence'. The next effort, Songs Of Faith And Devotion, proved to be literally divisive; multi-instrumentalist
Alan Wilder left, while lead singer Dave Gahan sank deeper into drug addiction.
Later, with Gahan getting clean and the band regaining focus, they delivered the trip-hop influencedUltra (1997) and
the chilled-out Exciter (2001), and both Dave Gahan and Martin Gore released solo albums, before regrouping with Andy
'Fletch' Fletcher as Depeche Mode and going back to their roots in 2005, when they released Playing the Angel which
involved Ben Hillier as producer and included the hit singles 'Precious' and 'John The Revelator'. Plans for a new album were
announced in 2007, and following another Gahan solo effort (Hourglass), Sounds Of The Universe was completed in
late 2008. Ben Hillier, who had stayed to produce SOTU, returned for a third time with Depeche's as-yet untitled new album
in 2012. « hide |
