Depeche Mode music is electronic music. Their songs are usually simple
melodic numbers backed up by solely synthesizers that is until recently
when guitars ( much to the horror of most fans ) come more and more into
play. The lyrics of their songs are pretty thought provoking and covers a
wide range of topics with politics being the most covered in the mid 80s
period but with sex and religion taking over later.
Depeche Mode has been around for about 17 years now. Yes! thats how
long they have been in existence long after their more successful
counterparts have perished. They have survived all types of transient music
styles from the New Romantic in the early 80's to Grunge in the late '80s
and early '90s where ironically they scored their biggest album hit, to
techno in mid '90s and at the moment electronica and groups like Hanson !
On contrary to what most people think,
Depeche Mode did not start off as an electronic band however but as a conventional guitar band. This
was in the late '70s period and they were not called Depeche Mode then but as Composition of Sound.
The original members were Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher. They decided to ditch their
guitars and become a full synthesizer group when they found it easier to transport their synthesizers for
gigs. Vince Clarke ( now with Erasure ) was their lead vocalist at that time.
With Vince Clarke always uneasy at the idea of being the front man, they scouted
around for somebody to take over as lead singer. They were impressed with David
Gahan when they saw him performed David Bowie's "Heroes". He was promptly recruited and till this day he
is still the front man for Depeche Mode. The group then changed its name to Depeche Mode after a suggestion by
David Gahan who liked the sound of it. The name is actually the name of a French fashion magazine ( that is still
in business today ) and it roughly translates to "Fast Fashion" or "Fashion Despatch" or "Hurry Up Fashion" and I
don't know which one is right as I do not know French! but you will roughly get the meaning from these 3
translations.
When Depeche Mode started off they were lumped in with groups of the then
emerging New Romantic movement which they scoffed at. And to show they were not
part of it they dumped their frilly shirts and started wearing
more conventional shirts, sometimes with bow ties! The
wearing of the bow ties has a very significant meaning
behind it. It is a statement against modernisation or something like that.
One of their tracks "Photographic" was
included in the Some Bizarre compilation
and it seemed to be the turning point as it attracted the attention of
Daniel Miller who is the boss of Mute Records. He persuaded them to
release an album under Mute and they were very keen as they felt with
Mute they could have more artistic freedom than with a major label
and besides they will not be bound to any contract. With Mute its just a handshake that's all. No obligations, no pressure and most
importantly, more artistic freedom. ( They actually signed a contract later around 1988 just in case Daniel Miller died of a heart
attack or something ).
Under Mute, the first Depeche Mode album was released in 1981 and it was
rightfully titled "Speak and Spell" as they were still new to the world of music
business and were learning to 'speak and spell' . ( That's my interpretation ).
With the exception of 2 tracks written by Martin Gore, all the tracks were written
by Vince Clarke. They scored a top ten hit with 'Just Can't Get Enough' a
song that unfortunately most radio DJs sill remember them for. With the success
came the touring and it is one thing that Vince thoroughly hated. He once said
that he finally decided to call it quits when fans started asking him what colour
