Current DM:Martin Gore, David Gahan,
Andrew Fletcher
Following this shocking news, Depeche Mode recruited talented musician Alan
Wilder to fill the void left by Vince, but not as a full-time member.
Depeche Mode's next single, with Martin now writing the songs, 'See
You', proved that the band could survive without Clarke. This was followed
with 'The
Meaning of Love', and 'Leave
in Silence.' These singles came off of the 1982 album, "A
Broken Frame." At this point, Alan Wilder was announced to the public
as a new full-time member of Depeche Mode.
After a world tour, Depeche Mode returned with a new single, 'Get
the Balance Right' in early 1983. After more touring, Depeche Mode began
recording their third album, "Construction
Time Again," with new ideas and emerged with a more industrial sound.
Singles like 'Everything
Counts,' and 'Love,
In Itself' demonstrate this new approach. Depeche Mode scored their first
American 'hit' with the classic song, 'People
Are People,' which prompted them to release a compilation of their earlier
British hits in America on a new album, fittingly titled "People
Are People." Depeche Mode followed 'People Are People' with a new
controversial song, 'Master
and Servant,' off a new album also released in 1984, "Some
Great Reward." Following the two previous successful singles, Martin
Gore took his first stab at singing lead vocals on a single with the ballad, 'Somebody.'
Another controversial hit was the next single off of "Some Great
Reward," entitled 'Blasphemous
Rumours.' After touring, Depeche Mode was prompted to release another
'Greatest Hits' collection, so they recorded two more singles for the
compilation, 'Shake
the Disease' and 'It's
Called a Heart.' The compilation was aptly titled, "The
Singles 81>85", but was released in North America under the title:
"Catching
Up With Depeche Mode."
After several years apart, the band reconvened to record songs for their
upcoming album, "Violator."
Months before the "Violator" release in 1990, Depeche Mode released
the first single to widespread acclaim, 'Personal
Jesus,' which showed a rockier approach, enhanced by their new producer,
Flood. The single became the band's best selling single of all time, giving them
instant credibility with mainstream music. 'Enjoy
the Silence' was the next single off the "Violator" album, which
also was well received. 'Policy
of Truth', and 'World
In My Eyes' were the next singles off the album, helping push it over the
top as the best selling Depeche Mode album to date. Following the 'World
Violation' tour in 1990, many things happened that would change Depeche Mode
forever.
Directly following the end of the tour, lead singer Dave Gahan decided to
divorce his wife and move from England to Los Angeles, California, leaving a
young son behind as well. During this time, Dave began to get heavily into the
grunge scene, partying non-stop and getting involved in drugs, mainly heroin. By
1992, when Martin contacted Dave to talk about recording another album, Dave
felt severely detached from things that he used to do. He claimed that he no
longer liked the music of Depeche Mode, how he wanted to do rock 'n' roll. But
deciding to give the band a second chance, Dave joined the group in Spain to
record the new album, "Songs
of Faith and Devotion." The songs that Martin had composed were mainly
rock 'n' roll, which pleased Dave greatly. He convinced Alan, a keyboard player
previously, to learn to play the drums, and Alan did. The new look and sound for
the band debuted on the first single, 'I
Feel You', shocking fans and critics everywhere. 'I Feel You' was followed
by 'Walking
In My Shoes', the gospel-like 'Condemnation',
and the rocky 'In
Your Room.' The band decided to do a HUGE tour, larger than any other they
had done, to promote the album. During this time Andrew Fletcher, who also
handled band finances, began to have a mental breakdown, leaving the tour half
way through. To everybody near him, Dave was clearly self-destructing. As the
tour winded down after over a year of touring, it was obvious Dave was not
healthy. After the end of the tour, Dave attempted suicide by slashing his
wrists. After a brief hospital stay, he was released. In 1995, Alan Wilder
announced that he was leaving the group, citing the fact that he didn't get
enough credit for the amount of work he did, and was tired of working within the
confines of a band..
In 1996, Martin tracked down Dave, and the trio (Dave,
Martin, and the healthy Fletch) proceeded to try to record new material for the
next album, "Ultra."
But due to David's continuing addiction to drugs, recording of vocals became
practically impossible. The group took a break from recording, and Dave returned
to America, where he promptly overdosed on heroin. Reportedly, he flatlined for
two minutes, was revived, and promptly arrested. He entered a drug
rehabilitation program, and cleaned his life up. Later in 1996, he returned to
Depeche Mode, clean and sober, ready to reclaim his life and career. In February
1997, the first single from the "Ultra" album was released, entitled 'Barrel
of a Gun.' The popular dance hit 'It's
No Good' followed shortly. After these releases, it was obvious to everyone
that Depeche Mode was back from the brink. The singles 'Home'
and 'Useless'
were the final releases from "Ultra."
Depeche Mode released another 'Greatest Hits' compilation in 1998, called "The
Singles 86 > 98", featuring the new single, 'Only
When I Lose Myself.' DM also embarked on their first concert tour in 4 years
in support of the compilation album.
Over the course of 2000, the 3 Mode members met in London, New York, and Santa Barbara, recording their album "Exciter", which hit stores in May of 2001. The first single, 'Dream On', was a surprise April hit, charting well in most countries. While Exciter failed to do as well as previous Mode releases, it hit number 1 in several countries, and for the first time, charted higher in the United States (#8) than in Britain (#9). Their next single, 'I Feel Loved', is slated for a July 16th release, and should be a big hit. Depeche Mode began their tour in support of "Exciter" with a secret warm-up show at the Roxy in Los Angeles, and will continue through the US and Canada until August, when the European leg of the tour will begin. (Click here to see the scheduled tourdates)
Well, that's the history for now...
