 David Gahan |
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 Martin Gore |
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 Andy Fletcher |
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 Alan Wilder |
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David Gahan 
Born
in Epping on May 9, 1962, David Gahan had experienced somewhat of an religious
upbringing. His mother's side of the family was closely tied to the Salvation
Army, but Dave rejected it out of hand. Gahan would rather spend his early
childhood riding his bicycle around with his friends. Dave was only five when
his family broke up, his father left home and was never to be heard of from
again. The young Dave Gahan compensated for the loss of his father the only way
he could - by becoming what he describes as "a real wide boy with a chip on
my shoulder, a real yob." His rap sheet included
stealing cars, vandalism, and spray-painting graffiti on walls, all of which saw
Dave visit juvenile court three times before he was 14 years old. Within six
months of leaving St. Nicholas school in July 1978, Gahan passed through an
astonishing twenty jobs, everything from selling soft drinks to working
construction. By 1979, Dave applied for a place at Southend Art College,
studying window design, hoping for a future in the fashion industry. In 1980, at
a drop-in band jam session, Vince Clarke noticed Dave's fantastic singing
ability and invited him to join the band, then titled "Composition of
Sound". Dave agreed. In the 20 years since, Gahan has enjoyed the great
worldwide success of Depeche Mode, but there has been some bad times along the
way. In 1991, Dave separated from his first wife and long-time love, Joanne,
leaving their only son Jack to live with his mother. Gahan relocated to Los
Angeles and would marry former Depeche press liason Theresa Conway in 1993. The
darkest moment came on May 28, 1996, when he overdosed on heroin in a Los
Angeles hotel room. Gahan was revived by paramedics and was then arrested upon
his release from hospital two days later. By court order, Gahan completed 9
months of rehabilitation and has been clean and sober for over three years.
Gahan completed the vocal tracks for the latest album, Ultra, while in recovery.
The drug charges against Gahan were dropped in September of 1997, marking the
beginning of a new and improved life for Dave. In February 1999, Dave re-married
again, this time to girlfriend Jennifer. In July of 1999, they welcomed a new
daughter, Stella Rose, into the family.
Martin Gore 
Martin Lee Gore was born in London on July 23, 1961. Martin spent his early
years growing up in Dagenham, the London suburb that existed solely to house a
massive Ford car plant. Martin was a relative newcomer to Basildon, mostly
because his parents moved there in search of a better life. As a child, Martin
was somewhat of a school bully, and was caught one day smashing a brick over one
of his schoolmates heads. An excellent scholar with a propensity for languages,
Martin enrolled in a student exchange program, allowing him to make several
visits to Germany. Martin can speak fluent German, as well as some French.
Martin left St. Nicholas's Comprehensive School in 1977 and took a teller job at
the local bank. Not finding it the most exciting of jobs, Martin decided that it
was a safe option to make a lengthy career in the banking industry. Working
during the day, Martin engaged in the musical group "Norman and the
Worms" at night. He used the money earned from his job to buy new musical
equipment, mostly synthesizers. After meeting Fletch at the Van Gogh club in
1980, Martin soon was recruited into his new band, "Composition of
Sound". Martin had been writing several songs since he was 14, but on
Depeche Mode's first album, Gore only contributed two songs, Big Muff and Tora!
Tora! Tora!. After the departure of Vince Clarke in 1981, Martin took the full
responsibility to write songs for the band. Under tremendous pressure to
complete songs for the band's second album, Martin offered a vastly different
sound in his songs, touching on everything from political views to sex and love
to religion. Gore, not at all interested in the production side of making music,
would let the band, especially Alan Wilder, take control of the songs, leading
them to new musical levels. Leaving his lyrics open and vague for
interpretation, Martin's songs appeal to a wide audience, many of whom can
personally relate to the songs that touch on such realistic subjects.
Andrew Fletcher
Date of Birth: 1st June
1959
Place of Birth: Hammersmith, London
Eye Color: Sometimes blue / grey, sometimes very
green
Height: 6 ft.
Family Details: 2 children, Paris and Stanley, by
long-term partner, Hepzibah. 2 brothers, Andrew, Stephen -both musicians.
Hobbies:Wine, women and song, Collecting 20th
century furniture, playing tennis.
Previous Jobs: Tape Op. (studio assistant) at DJM
studios in London.
Previous Bands:The Dragons, Reel To real, Dafne and
the Tenderspots, The Hitmen, Depeche Mode
Favourite city visited: I've liked most of the
cities I've been privilaged to visit but as I'm presently answering your
questions from Barcelona. I also like Capetown, Berlin, Paris, New York and
Tokyo.
Favourite country visited: If I had to mention one
country that was collectively enjoyable just by sheer volume of interesting
cities etc. and frequency of visits, then I'd have to say the USA. However,
there are many other parts of the world that I would look forward to seeing
more, or think of first as a possible holiday destination
Favourite food: Cheese
Favourite drink: Moscow Mule: Vodka, fresh lime
juice, ginger ale
Greyhound: Vodka and grapefruit
Wine ..........actually, pretty much anything that gets me pissed.
Favourite sport: Football(soccer)
Favourite Colours: Come on now, don't
start......are you practising for a job with 'Bravo'?
Favourite Film: Too many to
mention...........Anything by the Coen Brothers or Woody Allen or Mike Leigh,
most Kubrick stuff (except 'Eyes Wide Shite'). As a rule, I don't like 'romantic
comedies' and I can't stand musicals.
Favourite Book:Haven't had the chance to read much
lately but in the past I enjoyed 'American Psycho' and some of the novels by
Iain Banks.
Favourite TV Show: Oh, the usual.......Fast Show,
Harry Enfield, Big Train etc. (off-field English humour), documentaries, Footy
matches
Favourite Radio Stations: I rarely listen to the
radio but if I do, it's GLR - Greater London Radio or more appropriately:
G......rown-up
L.......acking in irritating, unfunny, over-familiar, moronic DJ's who say
things like "Hey, yeah, here's the totally awesome new track by the Manics"
R......elevant to the needs of listener's other than those who think Boyzone are
"...actually quite good"
Favourite Magazine: Time Out
Favourite song: What? Ever? You're straying even
further into Smash Hits land now, Mr. Modeman. I suggest you wind this up pretty
soon......
Favourite DM song: 'Walking...', 'In Your Room',
'Stripped', 'Never Let Me Down', 'Clean'
Favourite Album: The White album - The Beatles
Favourite DM Album: SOFAD
Favourite DM Video: (Sorry, Alan
left this one blank)
Favourite Band: Don't have one
Pet Peeves: Check out Forum - Q + A archives on the
official Recoil website, Shunt
, for all the gory details and info. about what I can and can't stand......
Alan Wilder's press statement regarding departure from DM
"Due to increasing dissatisfaction with the internal relations and
working practices of the group, it is with some sadness that I have decided to
part company from Depeche Mode. My decision to leave the group was not an easy
one particularly as our last few albums were an indication of the full potential
that Depeche Mode was realising.
Since joining in 1982, I have continually striven to give total energy,
enthusiasm and commitment to the furthering of the group's success and in spite
of a consistent imbalance in the distribution of the workload, willingly offered
this. Unfortunately, within the group, this level of input never received the
respect and acknowledgement that it warrants.
Whilst I believe that the calibre of our musical output has improved, the
quality of our association has deteriorated to the point where I no longer feel
that the end justifies the means. I have no wish to cast aspersions on any
individual; suffice to say that relations have become seriously strained,
increasingly frustrating and, ultimately, in certain situations, intolerable.
Given these circumstances, I have no option but to leave the group. It seems
preferable therefore, to leave on a relative high, and as I still retain a great
enthusiasm and passion for music, I am excited by the prospect of pursuing new
projects. The remaining band members have my support and best wishes for
anything they may pursue in the future, be it collectively or
individually."
June 1st/1995
