It was through good friend Hilbrand Wouters (aka DepGlobe) that I first came into contact with the music of Depeche Mode in the early eighties. Not only did Paul McCartney once call Depeche Mode a great band, I was also sold forever.
I have seen Depeche Mode live about six times. I just can't get enough.
On 10 May 2020, the album "Violator" was spinning on the turntable at our Sunday Morning Classics.
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode is a British band that makes electronic music. The synthpop group was founded in 1980 in Basildon (England). In the Netherlands and Belgium, the band scored several hits, including People are People, Just Can't Get Enough and Enjoy the Silence. The band's name comes from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode, which means "fashion news." In 1976, Clarke and Fletcher started a band called No Romance in China. Meanwhile, Gore was part of a group at school called Norman & the Worms. In 1979, Clarke started a new band with Gore called French Look. When Fletcher joined them, the name changed to Composition of Sound. In 1980, Dave Gahan also became a member, after which the band adopted its current name. Gore said the name was chosen after seeing a French magazine called Depeche Mode, which he thought sounded quite good.
Depeche Mode's first contribution was for the Some Bizzare Album, which featured various talents each providing a track. Depeche Mode contributed "Photographic."
In 1981, Depeche Mode released their first album, Speak & Spell, under the Mute Records label. After this album, Clarke, the main songwriter, left the band. He later founded other music groups, including Yazoo with Alison Moyet and Erasure with Andy Bell.
Gore became the band's main songwriter, and in 1982 the group released the album A Broken Frame. After this album, Alan Wilder joined. He wrote, among others, Two Minute Warning for the third album, Construction Time Again, released in 1983.
At this time, Depeche Mode was mainly successful in Germany, but in 1984 the group also broke through in America and the rest of the world with the hit People are People, from the album Some Great Reward released in 1984. In America, the band was long associated with the Goths. But techno pioneers like Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Moby also say they were influenced by Depeche Mode's electronic sound.
Death of Fletch
On 27 May 2022, the terrible news came that Andy Fletcher had passed away on 26 May 2022 at the age of 60.
As keyboardist of one of the biggest electronic pop bands in the world, Fletcher was one of the pioneers of synthpop in the early nineties. The band he founded in 1980 together with Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Vince Clarke dominated the British charts for years.
On Twitter, the band members expressed their shock at Fletcher's death. ‘We are overwhelmed with grief over the early passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate,’ wrote the British band. ‘Fletch had a heart of gold and was always there for you if you needed him, whether you wanted a good chat, a laugh or a cold beer.’
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, Depeche Mode holds the following positions:
http://www.depechemode.com/
source: Wikipedia
photo: Anton Corbijn Source: EMI Music Germany (album cover) and DMargoto
