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.
Who wrote most of Depeche Mode’s songs?
Almost all Depeche Mode’s songs were written by Martin L. Gore, with a few being written by Alan Wilder, most of the first album, “Speak & Spell”, being written by Vince Clarke, and another few more recent ones written by Dave Gahan and a single one co-written by Gore and Gahan.
Depeche Mode has done very, very few covers. There is “Dirt”, the b-side of 2001 single “I Feel Loved”, “So Cruel”, a U2 cover contributed to a special U2 tribute project, and then “John The Revelator” which isn’t really a cover but it’s a reworking of a 1930’s gospel song.
Martin L. Gore’s two solo albums, Counterfeit and Counterfeit 2, on the other hand, are 100% covered.