Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode which means fashion dispatch or hurried fashion, was formed in 1980 at Basildon, Essex, England. Depeche Mode is an English electronic music band which currently consist of the trio of Dave Gahan, Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore who play the roles of lead vocal, keyboardist, and guitarist of the band respectively.

Depeche Mode’s debut album release titled “Speak & Spell” brought them into limelight. After the launch of their debut album, Vince Clarke who was one of the band’s founding member left because he was not comfortable with the direction the band was taking and was replaced in 1982 by Alan Wilder. With Martin Gore taking up the responsibility of being the band’s primary song writer.

It was Wilder who created the band’s musical direction and he developed the sound for the band until he left in 1995.

The band released “See You” in 1982. “See You”, was the first single written and released after Clarke’s exist. It eventually beat three other singles penned by Clarke to number 6 on the UK chart.

Depeche Mode relied heavily on artistic influences from within the UK and beyond. From Elvis Presley to Davide Bowie, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, The Velvet Underground, Blues and Roxy music.

Like other bands, Depeche Mode experimented with popular genres like Pop, Soul, Heavy Metal, Avant-Garde and Industrial rock but these many genres became mashed into their style and led to Sdance-rock, arena rock, pop rock, new wave and electronic rock which, is testament to the versatility and creativity that abound in the band.

Depeche Mode has to their credit a total of 6 live albums, 14 studio albums, 13 videos albums, 10 compilation albums, 8 box sets, 71 music videos, and 54 singles. Depeche Mode have also played live to over 30 million fans and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Depeche Mode have had prominent features on the UK Singles Chart with over 50 songs. They have had one US and two UK number-one albums. All of their studio albums crossed the Top 10 mark in the UK. Depeche Mode was also ranked as No. 2 on Electronic Music Realm’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Electronic Music. They were also ranked as No. 158 on Acclaimed Music’s list of top 1000 artist of all time. Depeche mode was one of few who were ranked by Q magazine on their list of “50 bands that changed the world.” The band was also tagged as the most popular electronic band the world has ever known.

Beyond music, Depeche Mode actively contributes their quota to making the world a better place by applying their cultural and celebrity status to help promote, create awareness, and raise funds for various charity projects. Depeche Mode has always been at the frontlines of these projects and has successfully managed them through the support of various organizations.

Depeche Mode’s music celebrates diversity as well as inclusion and will go down as one of the best bands that has ever graced our stages.