Depeche Mode is an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche Mode was formed by the lineup of Gahan, Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke, and released their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981, bringing the band onto the British new wave scene.
After founding member Clarke left following the release of the album, they recorded A Broken Frame as a trio. Depeche Mode have had 54 songs on the UK Singles Chart and 17 Top 10 albums in the UK chart; they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Q included the band in its list of the “50 Bands That Changed the World!” Depeche Mode also rank No. 98 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. On 4 October 2022, Depeche Mode announced their new album Memento Mori and a tour which will start on 23 March 2023.
What is Depeche Mode’s biggest hit?
“Enjoy the Silence,” No. 8, July 14, 1990.
Enjoy the Silence from the 1990 album Violator is probably Depeche Mode’s most widely recognised song. It’s about being satisfied with exactly what you have.
The stripped-back, poignant lyrics were initially going to be sung over a slow track, a ballad of sorts. However, Alan Wilder had the idea to speed it up and make it more disco which Gore was opposed to. He felt it contradicted the serenity and aesthetic of the lyrics, but he came around once he’d heard the new version.
Speaking to BONG in 1998, Gore said: “This was the only time ever in the studio when we thought we had a hit single.” They were obviously onto something, as ‘Enjoy the Silence’ won Best British Single at the 1991 BRIT Awards.