Depeche Mode Bong 48 (2001-06)
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THE STORY OF DEPECHE MODE (PART 1)
[From Bong 48, June 2001. Words: Tony Wood.]
On May 7th at 3.00pm, BBC Radio London Live 94.9 broadcast a two hour documentary – “The Story Of Depeche Mode”. Producer Tony Wood, who has followed the band’s career from an Essex pub to the biggest stadiums around the world, said, “I’ve gone all out to make sure that the programme is a fitting celebration of one of the country’s finest bands.” The show was presented by narrator Gary Crowley, whose involvement with the Band began early on in their career – when as a Radio One DJ he never missed an opportunity to plug Depeche Mode. More recently, he has interviewed the band for the EPK for “Exciter” and is also the author of the “Exciter Tour” programme notes. You can hear the documentary in its entirety on the website
You’re listening to London Live 94.9 – I’m Gary Crowley and this is the Depeche Mode story.
Over the next 2 hours we’ll be celebrating the phenomenal rise and rise of one of the UK’s most important and influential outfits.
As the punk era gradually faded in early 1980 and the excitement surrounding electronic pioneers such as Kraftwerk escalated, Gary Numan and Spandau Ballet were forging two completely different musical directions. Whilst Numan and indeed David Bowie explored and championed the electronic scene, Spandau were leading the New Romantics. At the same time, the Pretenders made Brass In Pocket the first number one of the new decade.
Watching and absorbing from afar were three teenagers from Basildon, Essex. Unemployed Vince Clarke, Andrew Fletcher, an administrator for a life insurance company, and Martin Gore, a bank worker in the city, formed a guitar-based band by the name of Composition Of Sound. As was the trend of the time, Composition was not their sole project – all three of them were active with other bands around the time. Martin had the added advantage of being the owner of a synthesiser.
Andy Fletcher recalls how he, Martin and Vince knew each other, and how they became converts to synths: “I was actually at school with Martin and Vince was quite involved in the church, this was from the age of about 11 or 12. We used to regularly go to church and there was a whole group of young people sort of praising the Lord basically. So I knew Vince from that and Martin from school but we all lived about 300 or 400 yards from each other. We started off as a conventional band. I was playing bass, Vince was playing guitar but Martin did have a synth, which even to this day, I think is a bit weird because he’s actually a really good guitarist and he still isn’t a good keyboard player but then he made me get a synth as well. At the time, punk had sort of ended and new wave had come and gone and there was this new scene, with early Human League, Kraftwerk, Visage and Steve Strange and this new romantic thing and people were really getting into synthesisers. But I think the main reason why it suddenly became popular at that time was because previous to that, to buy a synthesiser it was very, very expensive – the Rick Wakeman style synthesiser. But what happened in about 1980/81 you could buy a monophonic synthesiser for about ?150. You didn’t even need an amplifier, cause all you did was stick it into a PA system, so it was really easy. We used to carry them around in suitcases to gigs.”
But the band was still a 3-piece, with Vince on vocals – a role he was never completely comfortable with. The man who would become the fourth member and voice of the band was Dave Gahan, an art college student who had been through his fair share of part time jobs.
Vince is in no doubt why the band took Dave on: “Dave Gahan was the local fashion accessory of Basildon. He was the New Romantic. He was rumoured to have attended the club Blitz in London, so it was all very glamorous. So, we decided to get him in as a front man because he was flamboyant and extrovert and very, very confident. So, we auditioned him.”
Modest as ever, Dave himself insists the band were destined for glory the moment he came on board: “I always felt like I was a big star in my own right, right from the beginning to be quite honest… if ever there was two men and a dog there in the pub.”
A couple of weeks after joining Composition Of Sound, Dave spotted a French magazine by the name of Depeche Mode, and the band adopted the tag. With Vince writing the material, they continued to gig extensively. London Live’s Robert Elms, a major player in the Spandau movement of the time, was witness to one of the first Depeche live performances – in the strangest of locations. “This place was above a greengrocers or dry cleaners or something. It really was. It was a room 8ft by 10ft with about 10 people in with silly haircuts and baggy trousers. I thought there can’t be a band playing here. We went in and then these four, frighteningly young boys, I mean I was young, I was only 18 or 19 and these looked like my little brother. These were skinny school kids basically standing around some ten bob keyboards. They started to play and I thought this is really good, they are going to be really terrible, cause that’s what you hoped, it was like going to see the opposition football team and they started to play and they weren’t terrible.”
Whilst Martin and Fletch carried on with their day jobs in the city, Vince and Dave spent their time trying to get record companies interested in their exploits.
In the autumn of 1980, armed with a demo tape, they turned up at Rough Trade in West London and had their first meeting, albeit brief, with the man who would later turn out to be their mentor – the founder of Mute Records, Daniel Miller: “I was at the Rough Trade shop and the late Scott Piering, who became very well known as a radio promoter and a very important part of the independent music industry said ‘Daniel you might be interested in these guys’. There was these horrible, spotty little new romantics, and I hated new romantics with a vengeance at the time, and I had some problem with the printing of the Fad Gadget sleeve and just looked at them and thought I don’t need to listen to this stuff now and went off to whatever it was. Then about, it must have been within weeks or maximum a couple of months, Fad Gadget was playing at the Bridge House in Canning Town and Terry Murphy, the guy who booked the Bridge House, had booked Depeche Mode to support. Now I didn’t know… the two things hadn’t clicked in my mind at all, but anyway that’s the connection with Fad Gadget, that’s when I first saw Depeche at the Bridge House in Canning Town.”
[From Bong 48, June 2001. Words: Tony Wood.]
On May 7th at 3.00pm, BBC Radio London Live 94.9 broadcast a two hour documentary – “The Story Of Depeche Mode”. Producer Tony Wood, who has followed the band’s career from an Essex pub to the biggest stadiums around the world, said, “I’ve gone all out to make sure that the programme is a fitting celebration of one of the country’s finest bands.” The show was presented by narrator Gary Crowley, whose involvement with the Band began early on in their career – when as a Radio One DJ he never missed an opportunity to plug Depeche Mode. More recently, he has interviewed the band for the EPK for “Exciter” and is also the author of the “Exciter Tour” programme notes. You can hear the documentary in its entirety on the website
You must be registered for see links
but for those without Internet access, we’ve decided to print the transcript which we have split into three parts as it was quite extensive.You’re listening to London Live 94.9 – I’m Gary Crowley and this is the Depeche Mode story.
Over the next 2 hours we’ll be celebrating the phenomenal rise and rise of one of the UK’s most important and influential outfits.
As the punk era gradually faded in early 1980 and the excitement surrounding electronic pioneers such as Kraftwerk escalated, Gary Numan and Spandau Ballet were forging two completely different musical directions. Whilst Numan and indeed David Bowie explored and championed the electronic scene, Spandau were leading the New Romantics. At the same time, the Pretenders made Brass In Pocket the first number one of the new decade.
Watching and absorbing from afar were three teenagers from Basildon, Essex. Unemployed Vince Clarke, Andrew Fletcher, an administrator for a life insurance company, and Martin Gore, a bank worker in the city, formed a guitar-based band by the name of Composition Of Sound. As was the trend of the time, Composition was not their sole project – all three of them were active with other bands around the time. Martin had the added advantage of being the owner of a synthesiser.
Andy Fletcher recalls how he, Martin and Vince knew each other, and how they became converts to synths: “I was actually at school with Martin and Vince was quite involved in the church, this was from the age of about 11 or 12. We used to regularly go to church and there was a whole group of young people sort of praising the Lord basically. So I knew Vince from that and Martin from school but we all lived about 300 or 400 yards from each other. We started off as a conventional band. I was playing bass, Vince was playing guitar but Martin did have a synth, which even to this day, I think is a bit weird because he’s actually a really good guitarist and he still isn’t a good keyboard player but then he made me get a synth as well. At the time, punk had sort of ended and new wave had come and gone and there was this new scene, with early Human League, Kraftwerk, Visage and Steve Strange and this new romantic thing and people were really getting into synthesisers. But I think the main reason why it suddenly became popular at that time was because previous to that, to buy a synthesiser it was very, very expensive – the Rick Wakeman style synthesiser. But what happened in about 1980/81 you could buy a monophonic synthesiser for about ?150. You didn’t even need an amplifier, cause all you did was stick it into a PA system, so it was really easy. We used to carry them around in suitcases to gigs.”
But the band was still a 3-piece, with Vince on vocals – a role he was never completely comfortable with. The man who would become the fourth member and voice of the band was Dave Gahan, an art college student who had been through his fair share of part time jobs.
Vince is in no doubt why the band took Dave on: “Dave Gahan was the local fashion accessory of Basildon. He was the New Romantic. He was rumoured to have attended the club Blitz in London, so it was all very glamorous. So, we decided to get him in as a front man because he was flamboyant and extrovert and very, very confident. So, we auditioned him.”
Modest as ever, Dave himself insists the band were destined for glory the moment he came on board: “I always felt like I was a big star in my own right, right from the beginning to be quite honest… if ever there was two men and a dog there in the pub.”
A couple of weeks after joining Composition Of Sound, Dave spotted a French magazine by the name of Depeche Mode, and the band adopted the tag. With Vince writing the material, they continued to gig extensively. London Live’s Robert Elms, a major player in the Spandau movement of the time, was witness to one of the first Depeche live performances – in the strangest of locations. “This place was above a greengrocers or dry cleaners or something. It really was. It was a room 8ft by 10ft with about 10 people in with silly haircuts and baggy trousers. I thought there can’t be a band playing here. We went in and then these four, frighteningly young boys, I mean I was young, I was only 18 or 19 and these looked like my little brother. These were skinny school kids basically standing around some ten bob keyboards. They started to play and I thought this is really good, they are going to be really terrible, cause that’s what you hoped, it was like going to see the opposition football team and they started to play and they weren’t terrible.”
Whilst Martin and Fletch carried on with their day jobs in the city, Vince and Dave spent their time trying to get record companies interested in their exploits.
In the autumn of 1980, armed with a demo tape, they turned up at Rough Trade in West London and had their first meeting, albeit brief, with the man who would later turn out to be their mentor – the founder of Mute Records, Daniel Miller: “I was at the Rough Trade shop and the late Scott Piering, who became very well known as a radio promoter and a very important part of the independent music industry said ‘Daniel you might be interested in these guys’. There was these horrible, spotty little new romantics, and I hated new romantics with a vengeance at the time, and I had some problem with the printing of the Fad Gadget sleeve and just looked at them and thought I don’t need to listen to this stuff now and went off to whatever it was. Then about, it must have been within weeks or maximum a couple of months, Fad Gadget was playing at the Bridge House in Canning Town and Terry Murphy, the guy who booked the Bridge House, had booked Depeche Mode to support. Now I didn’t know… the two things hadn’t clicked in my mind at all, but anyway that’s the connection with Fad Gadget, that’s when I first saw Depeche at the Bridge House in Canning Town.”
After arranging to see Depeche for a second mind-blowing time, Miller was convinced of their pedigree, and decided he wanted to work with them: “I went backstage and said ‘let’s put out a single’ and they said ‘OK then, alright’. That was it. There was some kind of conversation, with me saying ‘you could be a pretty big pop band, what you’re doing is fantastic, it’s really new but it’s still pop. We’ve never had a pop hit. But I really believe in what you do. Let’s put out a single and see how it goes. I don’t want to tie you down to anything more than that because I don’t know what I can do.’ That was it really, it was as simple as that.” [1]
But the appeal was mutual – the band would soon be the subject of major labels seeking their signatures , but Vince Clarke and the boys had already decided that Mute was where they wanted to be: “I don’t know, we just felt that we wanted to make a record, we didn’t want to get involved in a big record company and Mute Records at the time was incredibly credible. It had Fad Gadget, there was the Normal, Silicon Teens and all the kinds of records we were listening to.”
Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode hit the studio to record the track “Dreaming Of Me”, and in the same session produced “Photographic” which became the band’s contribution to the legendary Some Bizzare futurist album. But this new level of success didn’t go straight to their heads. Martin and Fletch decided to continue with their day jobs, coming into the studio when they could get away from the office.
Daniel Miller recalls: “Because Fletch and Martin were still working, Vince, me and Dave were there, Vince learnt really fast about technology and I knew a bit more about it when we started cause I’d been doing it a bit longer. He picked it up really fast and he started to lay down the tracks and I was helping him with the sounds and then Fletch and Mart would come in with a take-away from their city jobs. Martin would go down and play the machine saying ‘oh no, do I have to go in the studio, oh alright then’. Martin was obviously very musical. You could get him in the studio for five minutes and he would play something that would bring a track alive, even if it wasn’t the lead line. I remember, he had a Chinese take-away in one hand and he was playing the synth with the other hand, just wanting to eat his meal really and not wanting to do anything.”
“Dreaming Of Me” was released as their first single on 20th February 1981, peaking at number 57 in the UK charts. It gave both Miller and the band a firm base on which to carve out a plan for a second single. That record turned out to be the massive “New Life”, which shifted half a million copies and climbed to just outside the top ten. The single also gave them that coveted first appearance on Top Of The Pops!
The success of “New Life” convinced Fletch and Martin to make Depeche Mode their full time occupation, and they promptly resigned from their jobs in the city. [2] The prolonged spell in the charts of “New Life” meant that despite them having already recorded the follow up single, they had to wait almost four months before they could release it. During the stop-gap, the New Musical Express decided to put Depeche Mode on their front cover. [3] Vince Clarke’s noted absence from the interview indicated what was soon to come from the band’s songwriter. But why did he not take part?
“Basically, the whole thing went to my head and suddenly everybody, me included, assumed that the reason things were going well was because of our own great talent and I’m not sure why I stopped doing interviews, I think because I got fed up with what everyone else was saying. Well everybody had a right to put their oar in, I suppose I got jealous with everyone else putting their oar in.” [4]
On 7th September, the band released their third single – the unforgettable “Just Can’t Get Enough”, which gave them their highest chart position so far. Peaking at number 8, they’d broken into the top ten for the first time.
Vince Clarke: “Everything happened for us very, very quickly. We had these massive egos by that time and you know sitting inside the van was intolerable for all of us. We were all intolerable to each other. We were all pretty young, it just went to our heads.”
Ironically, Vince had had enough, and announced that he was leaving the band. Shock waves went through the music press. But Dave, Martin & Fletch had no doubt in their mind that they wanted to continue.
Andy Fletcher: “I’ve known Vince since the age of 5. He’s been one of my best friends and again it was like ‘I’m leaving the band’ – ‘OK then fair enough’. It wasn’t a big thing. Then Vince said ‘I’m going to leave but I’m going to do the tour’. It was very amenable. ‘I’m going to continue to write songs for you’. It was all very nice. We should have been really worried. But we weren’t.”
Vince played his last gig with Depeche Mode on 16th November 1981, the same month that Mute released the band’s debut album, “Speak And Spell”. On the whole, the record was well received by the critics, and it went on to reach number 10 in the UK album charts.
But now Vince had left, there was the small matter to be resolved of who would start writing the band’s material. Martin Gore took up the reigns as chief songwriter – a discipline he was not unfamiliar with. Having written songs since the age of 13, the band were confident of his ability and would soon be proven justified in their belief.
With no intention of finding a permanent replacement for Vince, the band did however need a deputy to perform live work for a forthcoming American tour that had been booked for January 1982.
Fletch remembers the recruitment process: “We put an advert in Melody Maker. Electronic group needs new keyboard player. Daniel sort of vetted them and the funniest thing, they had to be under 21.”
Up stepped West London boy Alan Wilder, who made it onto Miller’s shortlist.
Andy Fletcher: “Well, Daniel met the people first, then we had an audition at Blackwing. It was down to about five people, heaven knows the ones Daniel booted out. The funny thing is, Alan lied about his age. He was over 21 but he was easily the best. There were some real Depeche Mode fans there but Alan is a really great classically trained musician and we went ‘what you have to do, you play this little one… ‘de de de’ but the hardest thing, you have to sing this as well’. We were going ‘what, that’s amazing, in two seconds he’s done that!’. It was really funny. We put him on about ?50 a week, plus expenses. He came to New York – I remember, it was so funny. He had a little jacket on and a woolly scarf and I think New York was minus 40 degrees.”
But even after becoming the successful candidate, Alan remembers that in those early days, trying to fit in with the band was not an easy task: “It was difficult to integrate myself because we came from different backgrounds and I sensed there was quite a tension there as Vince had just left at such a crucial time for the group. I think they felt quite nervous about bringing in a new person at that stage. They also felt they had something to prove to Vince and to the press. Nobody thought the group would be able to carry on having lost their chief songwriter. So initially, they employed me as a sort of part-time member. Someone who could appear on the TV shows, who could go on tour, play the parts live, all this sort of thing. But they didn’t really want to be seen as bringing in some musician to take over and take control, so I didn’t partake in any of the studio sessions for another nine months after that.”
But the appeal was mutual – the band would soon be the subject of major labels seeking their signatures , but Vince Clarke and the boys had already decided that Mute was where they wanted to be: “I don’t know, we just felt that we wanted to make a record, we didn’t want to get involved in a big record company and Mute Records at the time was incredibly credible. It had Fad Gadget, there was the Normal, Silicon Teens and all the kinds of records we were listening to.”
Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode hit the studio to record the track “Dreaming Of Me”, and in the same session produced “Photographic” which became the band’s contribution to the legendary Some Bizzare futurist album. But this new level of success didn’t go straight to their heads. Martin and Fletch decided to continue with their day jobs, coming into the studio when they could get away from the office.
Daniel Miller recalls: “Because Fletch and Martin were still working, Vince, me and Dave were there, Vince learnt really fast about technology and I knew a bit more about it when we started cause I’d been doing it a bit longer. He picked it up really fast and he started to lay down the tracks and I was helping him with the sounds and then Fletch and Mart would come in with a take-away from their city jobs. Martin would go down and play the machine saying ‘oh no, do I have to go in the studio, oh alright then’. Martin was obviously very musical. You could get him in the studio for five minutes and he would play something that would bring a track alive, even if it wasn’t the lead line. I remember, he had a Chinese take-away in one hand and he was playing the synth with the other hand, just wanting to eat his meal really and not wanting to do anything.”
“Dreaming Of Me” was released as their first single on 20th February 1981, peaking at number 57 in the UK charts. It gave both Miller and the band a firm base on which to carve out a plan for a second single. That record turned out to be the massive “New Life”, which shifted half a million copies and climbed to just outside the top ten. The single also gave them that coveted first appearance on Top Of The Pops!
The success of “New Life” convinced Fletch and Martin to make Depeche Mode their full time occupation, and they promptly resigned from their jobs in the city. [2] The prolonged spell in the charts of “New Life” meant that despite them having already recorded the follow up single, they had to wait almost four months before they could release it. During the stop-gap, the New Musical Express decided to put Depeche Mode on their front cover. [3] Vince Clarke’s noted absence from the interview indicated what was soon to come from the band’s songwriter. But why did he not take part?
“Basically, the whole thing went to my head and suddenly everybody, me included, assumed that the reason things were going well was because of our own great talent and I’m not sure why I stopped doing interviews, I think because I got fed up with what everyone else was saying. Well everybody had a right to put their oar in, I suppose I got jealous with everyone else putting their oar in.” [4]
On 7th September, the band released their third single – the unforgettable “Just Can’t Get Enough”, which gave them their highest chart position so far. Peaking at number 8, they’d broken into the top ten for the first time.
Vince Clarke: “Everything happened for us very, very quickly. We had these massive egos by that time and you know sitting inside the van was intolerable for all of us. We were all intolerable to each other. We were all pretty young, it just went to our heads.”
Ironically, Vince had had enough, and announced that he was leaving the band. Shock waves went through the music press. But Dave, Martin & Fletch had no doubt in their mind that they wanted to continue.
Andy Fletcher: “I’ve known Vince since the age of 5. He’s been one of my best friends and again it was like ‘I’m leaving the band’ – ‘OK then fair enough’. It wasn’t a big thing. Then Vince said ‘I’m going to leave but I’m going to do the tour’. It was very amenable. ‘I’m going to continue to write songs for you’. It was all very nice. We should have been really worried. But we weren’t.”
Vince played his last gig with Depeche Mode on 16th November 1981, the same month that Mute released the band’s debut album, “Speak And Spell”. On the whole, the record was well received by the critics, and it went on to reach number 10 in the UK album charts.
But now Vince had left, there was the small matter to be resolved of who would start writing the band’s material. Martin Gore took up the reigns as chief songwriter – a discipline he was not unfamiliar with. Having written songs since the age of 13, the band were confident of his ability and would soon be proven justified in their belief.
With no intention of finding a permanent replacement for Vince, the band did however need a deputy to perform live work for a forthcoming American tour that had been booked for January 1982.
Fletch remembers the recruitment process: “We put an advert in Melody Maker. Electronic group needs new keyboard player. Daniel sort of vetted them and the funniest thing, they had to be under 21.”
Up stepped West London boy Alan Wilder, who made it onto Miller’s shortlist.
Andy Fletcher: “Well, Daniel met the people first, then we had an audition at Blackwing. It was down to about five people, heaven knows the ones Daniel booted out. The funny thing is, Alan lied about his age. He was over 21 but he was easily the best. There were some real Depeche Mode fans there but Alan is a really great classically trained musician and we went ‘what you have to do, you play this little one… ‘de de de’ but the hardest thing, you have to sing this as well’. We were going ‘what, that’s amazing, in two seconds he’s done that!’. It was really funny. We put him on about ?50 a week, plus expenses. He came to New York – I remember, it was so funny. He had a little jacket on and a woolly scarf and I think New York was minus 40 degrees.”
But even after becoming the successful candidate, Alan remembers that in those early days, trying to fit in with the band was not an easy task: “It was difficult to integrate myself because we came from different backgrounds and I sensed there was quite a tension there as Vince had just left at such a crucial time for the group. I think they felt quite nervous about bringing in a new person at that stage. They also felt they had something to prove to Vince and to the press. Nobody thought the group would be able to carry on having lost their chief songwriter. So initially, they employed me as a sort of part-time member. Someone who could appear on the TV shows, who could go on tour, play the parts live, all this sort of thing. But they didn’t really want to be seen as bringing in some musician to take over and take control, so I didn’t partake in any of the studio sessions for another nine months after that.”
With Alan recruited as their live session player, Martin, Fletch and Dave returned to the studio, as a 3-some, to record their first single without Vince Clarke. “See You” was the end product, and it gave them their highest chart placing so far, peaking at number 6.
In between touring, the band, still as a three part set up, released “Meaning Of Love” and locked horns with Vince Clarke’s new outfit Yazoo, which saw him team up with Alison Moyet on release of the classic “Only You”. Vince’s song reached number 2 in the charts whilst “Meaning Of Love” was perched at number 12. The twist behind it hall was that Depeche had rejected “Only You” when Vince offered it to them following his departure from the band.
In the summer of ’82m the three band members recorded their second album, “A Broken Frame”, whilst Alan continued to be frustrated that he wasn’t allowed to contribute in the studio. Some protagonists claimed the band were still trying to prove a point to Vince that they could carry on without him. Whilst the band are defiant that wasn’t the case, Fletch agrees the album was an unusual experience: “It was a bit of a weird album that, because a lot of songs Martin had written when he was 14 or 15, like ‘See You’ which he’d written when he was 15, ‘Photograph Of You’ and ‘Meaning Of Love’ he’d written when he was very young. Already they were starting to get a more darker side, so it was a bit of a weird album. You had half pure pop and half really odd. I suppose it was an album of getting to grips with Vince not being there. But it had some good tunes in it.”
Whilst the album made the top 10, the studio trio decided that Alan should now become a full time member of Mode… and by the end of ’82, they were back to being a foursome again.
The enigmatic “Everything Counts” – taken from the next album, “Construction Time Again”. The band brought on board engineer and experimentalist Gareth Jones and together with Daniel Miller, charted new territory in technological advances.
Daniel Miller: “We were all very keen on pushing technology, the electronic music side, and the sounds, as far as we could, and trying to be original and create our own sound for Depeche Mode, rather than just sound like lots of other groups. Because we started to work with sampling around that time, it was just coming to the fore and because they’d been listening to bands like Test Department and more experimental things, we pulled all those elements together and tried to keep it in a pop format but using very interesting context sounds, textures and things like that. I think it succeeded and it’s a very good experimental pop album.”
Importantly, as Fletch explains, the entire Depeche unit took the project to Germany to produce the final cut on the album: “We mixed that album in Berlin and this was the start of Depeche Mode branching out of Britain. We’d grown up in Essex, hardly an of us had ever been out of Essex or London for a long time, so going to all these new places was so interesting for us, especially Berlin in those days. The studio overlooked the wall, guards with binoculars watching us, we were playing the music on this big patio and it was a really good feeling… you were on the edge. All these weird people. When People say about Martin’s clothes and how we were dressed in those days, living and recording in Berlin did have a big impression because there were so many weird and interesting people there.”
After the release of the album, the band set off on tour again. Before long they were playing to crowds of 10,000 people around venues in Europe. The signs were beginning to show that Depeche Mode were building a firm and committed fan base.
Martin Gore: “The fans are… what’s the word… most of our fans are crazy. They’re so dedicated, they’ll go out on day one and buy the records. We often suffer because of that, we do have such a huge fan base, so the record obviously just drops after that but they are fanatical.”
The bonus that came with touring was that the Depeche Mode phenomenon in America was really beginning to gain momentum. By early 1985, the band were playing to sell-out crowds there almost every night. Fletch believes that Depeche bridged a gap in the music scene over in the states: “America had missed punk. Not in New York and LA, but generally, American radio and American youth had missed punk, and didn’t really have the new wave or anything like that. So basically, in the early ’80s, they were still listening to Chicago, REO Speedwagon, that sort of progressive yuk. What happened is the kids started desperately looking around for something. They started to buy UK imports, of which we were one of the bands. Then these college radio stations went on to start playing alternative music, because we were different to what they had been forced to listen to up until then. So all this started in 1985 and we were one of the main groups caught up in it. Now, bands like Limp Bizkit cite us as their influences. Although we don’t sound anything like them, when they were growing up we were one of the only alternative bands around.”
KROQ is one of the most influential radio stations in America and subscribed to the Depeche revolution. Based in Southern California, their emphatic support gave the band serious credibility and headway in the US. One of KROQ’s main presenters was Richard Blade. He believes that Depeche Mode’s appeal in the states was their unique blend of Kraftwerk-like melodies, and Martin’s unmistakeable lyrics – a combination finely exemplified in “A Broken Frame”, that struck a chord with thousands of Americans: “From their second album onwards, people started to wake up to them and then with their third album it was just all over. Suddenly the phones at KROQ were going absolutely nuts, people were saying ‘we love this band’ and unlike Duran Duran who were happening at the same time and Spandau Ballet, it wasn’t ‘oh my God I love Martin Kemp’ or ‘oh my God I love John Taylor’ this was ‘oh my God, I love the music of Depeche Mode’.”
In some unlikely places, Depeche Mode were experiencing similar escalation in their popularity. Radio presenter Yegor Shishkovski was one of the first DJ’s in Russia to play Western music – he’s adamant that the band had already started building a firm following there after their first two albums. In explaining just how big they are in Russia, Yegor is happy to stick his neck out: “I will risk and say that Depeche Mode is the biggest band in Russia since the Beatles. I can’t think of anyone bigger than they are, not only a band but I can’t think of any artists.”
(to be continued…)
In between touring, the band, still as a three part set up, released “Meaning Of Love” and locked horns with Vince Clarke’s new outfit Yazoo, which saw him team up with Alison Moyet on release of the classic “Only You”. Vince’s song reached number 2 in the charts whilst “Meaning Of Love” was perched at number 12. The twist behind it hall was that Depeche had rejected “Only You” when Vince offered it to them following his departure from the band.
In the summer of ’82m the three band members recorded their second album, “A Broken Frame”, whilst Alan continued to be frustrated that he wasn’t allowed to contribute in the studio. Some protagonists claimed the band were still trying to prove a point to Vince that they could carry on without him. Whilst the band are defiant that wasn’t the case, Fletch agrees the album was an unusual experience: “It was a bit of a weird album that, because a lot of songs Martin had written when he was 14 or 15, like ‘See You’ which he’d written when he was 15, ‘Photograph Of You’ and ‘Meaning Of Love’ he’d written when he was very young. Already they were starting to get a more darker side, so it was a bit of a weird album. You had half pure pop and half really odd. I suppose it was an album of getting to grips with Vince not being there. But it had some good tunes in it.”
Whilst the album made the top 10, the studio trio decided that Alan should now become a full time member of Mode… and by the end of ’82, they were back to being a foursome again.
The enigmatic “Everything Counts” – taken from the next album, “Construction Time Again”. The band brought on board engineer and experimentalist Gareth Jones and together with Daniel Miller, charted new territory in technological advances.
Daniel Miller: “We were all very keen on pushing technology, the electronic music side, and the sounds, as far as we could, and trying to be original and create our own sound for Depeche Mode, rather than just sound like lots of other groups. Because we started to work with sampling around that time, it was just coming to the fore and because they’d been listening to bands like Test Department and more experimental things, we pulled all those elements together and tried to keep it in a pop format but using very interesting context sounds, textures and things like that. I think it succeeded and it’s a very good experimental pop album.”
Importantly, as Fletch explains, the entire Depeche unit took the project to Germany to produce the final cut on the album: “We mixed that album in Berlin and this was the start of Depeche Mode branching out of Britain. We’d grown up in Essex, hardly an of us had ever been out of Essex or London for a long time, so going to all these new places was so interesting for us, especially Berlin in those days. The studio overlooked the wall, guards with binoculars watching us, we were playing the music on this big patio and it was a really good feeling… you were on the edge. All these weird people. When People say about Martin’s clothes and how we were dressed in those days, living and recording in Berlin did have a big impression because there were so many weird and interesting people there.”
After the release of the album, the band set off on tour again. Before long they were playing to crowds of 10,000 people around venues in Europe. The signs were beginning to show that Depeche Mode were building a firm and committed fan base.
Martin Gore: “The fans are… what’s the word… most of our fans are crazy. They’re so dedicated, they’ll go out on day one and buy the records. We often suffer because of that, we do have such a huge fan base, so the record obviously just drops after that but they are fanatical.”
The bonus that came with touring was that the Depeche Mode phenomenon in America was really beginning to gain momentum. By early 1985, the band were playing to sell-out crowds there almost every night. Fletch believes that Depeche bridged a gap in the music scene over in the states: “America had missed punk. Not in New York and LA, but generally, American radio and American youth had missed punk, and didn’t really have the new wave or anything like that. So basically, in the early ’80s, they were still listening to Chicago, REO Speedwagon, that sort of progressive yuk. What happened is the kids started desperately looking around for something. They started to buy UK imports, of which we were one of the bands. Then these college radio stations went on to start playing alternative music, because we were different to what they had been forced to listen to up until then. So all this started in 1985 and we were one of the main groups caught up in it. Now, bands like Limp Bizkit cite us as their influences. Although we don’t sound anything like them, when they were growing up we were one of the only alternative bands around.”
KROQ is one of the most influential radio stations in America and subscribed to the Depeche revolution. Based in Southern California, their emphatic support gave the band serious credibility and headway in the US. One of KROQ’s main presenters was Richard Blade. He believes that Depeche Mode’s appeal in the states was their unique blend of Kraftwerk-like melodies, and Martin’s unmistakeable lyrics – a combination finely exemplified in “A Broken Frame”, that struck a chord with thousands of Americans: “From their second album onwards, people started to wake up to them and then with their third album it was just all over. Suddenly the phones at KROQ were going absolutely nuts, people were saying ‘we love this band’ and unlike Duran Duran who were happening at the same time and Spandau Ballet, it wasn’t ‘oh my God I love Martin Kemp’ or ‘oh my God I love John Taylor’ this was ‘oh my God, I love the music of Depeche Mode’.”
In some unlikely places, Depeche Mode were experiencing similar escalation in their popularity. Radio presenter Yegor Shishkovski was one of the first DJ’s in Russia to play Western music – he’s adamant that the band had already started building a firm following there after their first two albums. In explaining just how big they are in Russia, Yegor is happy to stick his neck out: “I will risk and say that Depeche Mode is the biggest band in Russia since the Beatles. I can’t think of anyone bigger than they are, not only a band but I can’t think of any artists.”
(to be continued…)
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STARS IN THEIR EYES
[From Bong 48, June 2001. Words: Jez Bailey.]
For the benefit of those who live outside the UK, “Stars In Their Eyes” is a very spectacular and popular show, in which five ordinary members of the public, who have a talent of sounding like a particular famous singer, get to “be that famous singer” for a few minutes on national television. It’s difficult to get an audition for the show, and you have to be exceptional. Jez Bailey is one such person and this is his story.
Having watched “Stars In Their Eyes” for many years close friends have always said that I should apply for the programme. I have been a fan of Depeche Mode since the early 80’s it is fair to say that the band formed part of my adolescence. Just as my Mum!!! Although the programme is based on sounding like a famous person, people have told me I look like Dave – I’m not so sure!
As far as I was aware Dave Gahan had never been done and although I say it now I genuinely felt that I would at least get a first audition. After all in order for the show to continue it needs new acts. I applied for the programme back in May of 2000 (along with 30,000 other hopefuls) and sent a tape of three songs, all a capella covering the band’s 20 or so years. They were “Just Can’t Get Enough”, “Enjoy The Silence” and “It’s No Good”. Who’d ever thought then that I would actually get on the show and perform as my idol! I sent the tape off and to be honest tried to forget about it never thinking that I would hear anything.
Sometime in July the programme called and said that I had an audition. Of the 30,000 applications they only audition 400, so to get this far was in itself a great achievement. This was just so exciting but also quite scary. The production team selected “Just Can’t Get Enough” as the song because they felt it was the most commercial – a song that a lot of people would know. I went to the audition following a meeting at work dressed in a business suit! I went in the room and there was a table with the production team i.e. Producer, Executive Producer and Camera Man!! It had been a long day for them at this stage and they must have been thinking what have we got here? I’d practiced the song along with some choreography because as we all know Dave is a performer and doesn’t just sing on the spot. Off went the jacket and tie and I just performed the song as best as I could. I don’t think they could believe what they were witnessing but you have to make an impression so that they remember you. Later on the Producer told me that the performance did help to get me to the second stage.
The second audition was to be held at Granada TV in August. I was told that they only second audition about 100 people. Of that they are only looking for 52 (50 contestants and 2 reserves). I just had to go for it and so performed the song again, but this time there was a room full of people, including Producer, Make Up, Choreographer, Costume and 3 cameras. When I finished the number they said thank you and that was it. The following day I flew to the States for a family holiday and tried as hard as I could not to think about what might be. It was actually on the last day of the holiday that I phoned home to be told that there was a letter from Granada TV. I told my friend to open it and WOW I had made it!!! Well all I can remember is dancing around the living room shouting I’m going to be on TV!!!
The next stage was to visit Granada for “Routining” which is where they tell you the format and explain all the processes that I would be going through. It was then that it started to dawn on me just what I had achieved and that this was going to be an experience of a lifetime – to perform my idol on national TV. It was also at this stage that I went into Costumes / Make Up and recorded the song to the arrangement composed by the Musical Director. As each song is limited to 2.30 minutes they have to cut certain segments. Within the “Stars” team they have a research department who collate the history of the band along with video footage. Attention to detail is of paramount importance. We sat down and went through all the material they had of the early days along with all my memorabilia and decided on the costume etc. The first problem we hit was that me being 33, my hair is slowly falling out and it was therefore decided that a wig would be required. A wig fitting in London then followed along with a visit to the show Choreographer to finalise the routine. The finished routine was not that different to the one I performed at my first audition. The Choreographer thought that it was great! It was then just a question of practice, practice, practice!!
The show was to be recorded in November 2000 over a full weekend. Upon arriving I was shown my dressing room and there on the door were those two words written on a gold star “David Gahan”. I immediately did the “we are not worthy” actions from Wayne’s World!!! This was just so surreal, here I was about to perform as the man himself, something that just seemed like a dream was about to turn into reality. I had mixed emotions, excited, nervous and very apprehensive. It was also an opportunity to meet my fellow contestants, who were “Kylie Minogue”, “Julie London”, “Cliff Richard” and “Axl Rose”. You do seem to forget that there has to be a winner but as far as I was concerned I was going to achieve what I set out to achieve and that was it. I was then introduced to Matthew Kelly who is a genuinely nice chap who makes you feel very much at ease. [1] Then again he has been through this many times. To perform on TV is something very few people have the opportunity to do, but to perform as your idol is just fantastic. I was assigned a chaperone whose job it was to look after me and make sure I had everything I needed. They really do treat you like Stars to such a point that I actually started to believe I was Dave Gahan.
[From Bong 48, June 2001. Words: Jez Bailey.]
For the benefit of those who live outside the UK, “Stars In Their Eyes” is a very spectacular and popular show, in which five ordinary members of the public, who have a talent of sounding like a particular famous singer, get to “be that famous singer” for a few minutes on national television. It’s difficult to get an audition for the show, and you have to be exceptional. Jez Bailey is one such person and this is his story.
Having watched “Stars In Their Eyes” for many years close friends have always said that I should apply for the programme. I have been a fan of Depeche Mode since the early 80’s it is fair to say that the band formed part of my adolescence. Just as my Mum!!! Although the programme is based on sounding like a famous person, people have told me I look like Dave – I’m not so sure!
As far as I was aware Dave Gahan had never been done and although I say it now I genuinely felt that I would at least get a first audition. After all in order for the show to continue it needs new acts. I applied for the programme back in May of 2000 (along with 30,000 other hopefuls) and sent a tape of three songs, all a capella covering the band’s 20 or so years. They were “Just Can’t Get Enough”, “Enjoy The Silence” and “It’s No Good”. Who’d ever thought then that I would actually get on the show and perform as my idol! I sent the tape off and to be honest tried to forget about it never thinking that I would hear anything.
Sometime in July the programme called and said that I had an audition. Of the 30,000 applications they only audition 400, so to get this far was in itself a great achievement. This was just so exciting but also quite scary. The production team selected “Just Can’t Get Enough” as the song because they felt it was the most commercial – a song that a lot of people would know. I went to the audition following a meeting at work dressed in a business suit! I went in the room and there was a table with the production team i.e. Producer, Executive Producer and Camera Man!! It had been a long day for them at this stage and they must have been thinking what have we got here? I’d practiced the song along with some choreography because as we all know Dave is a performer and doesn’t just sing on the spot. Off went the jacket and tie and I just performed the song as best as I could. I don’t think they could believe what they were witnessing but you have to make an impression so that they remember you. Later on the Producer told me that the performance did help to get me to the second stage.
The second audition was to be held at Granada TV in August. I was told that they only second audition about 100 people. Of that they are only looking for 52 (50 contestants and 2 reserves). I just had to go for it and so performed the song again, but this time there was a room full of people, including Producer, Make Up, Choreographer, Costume and 3 cameras. When I finished the number they said thank you and that was it. The following day I flew to the States for a family holiday and tried as hard as I could not to think about what might be. It was actually on the last day of the holiday that I phoned home to be told that there was a letter from Granada TV. I told my friend to open it and WOW I had made it!!! Well all I can remember is dancing around the living room shouting I’m going to be on TV!!!
The next stage was to visit Granada for “Routining” which is where they tell you the format and explain all the processes that I would be going through. It was then that it started to dawn on me just what I had achieved and that this was going to be an experience of a lifetime – to perform my idol on national TV. It was also at this stage that I went into Costumes / Make Up and recorded the song to the arrangement composed by the Musical Director. As each song is limited to 2.30 minutes they have to cut certain segments. Within the “Stars” team they have a research department who collate the history of the band along with video footage. Attention to detail is of paramount importance. We sat down and went through all the material they had of the early days along with all my memorabilia and decided on the costume etc. The first problem we hit was that me being 33, my hair is slowly falling out and it was therefore decided that a wig would be required. A wig fitting in London then followed along with a visit to the show Choreographer to finalise the routine. The finished routine was not that different to the one I performed at my first audition. The Choreographer thought that it was great! It was then just a question of practice, practice, practice!!
The show was to be recorded in November 2000 over a full weekend. Upon arriving I was shown my dressing room and there on the door were those two words written on a gold star “David Gahan”. I immediately did the “we are not worthy” actions from Wayne’s World!!! This was just so surreal, here I was about to perform as the man himself, something that just seemed like a dream was about to turn into reality. I had mixed emotions, excited, nervous and very apprehensive. It was also an opportunity to meet my fellow contestants, who were “Kylie Minogue”, “Julie London”, “Cliff Richard” and “Axl Rose”. You do seem to forget that there has to be a winner but as far as I was concerned I was going to achieve what I set out to achieve and that was it. I was then introduced to Matthew Kelly who is a genuinely nice chap who makes you feel very much at ease. [1] Then again he has been through this many times. To perform on TV is something very few people have the opportunity to do, but to perform as your idol is just fantastic. I was assigned a chaperone whose job it was to look after me and make sure I had everything I needed. They really do treat you like Stars to such a point that I actually started to believe I was Dave Gahan.
The first day was a technical rehearsal where each act performs his / her number five times. This is for the lighting, camera positions and an opportunity to work on the stage and walk through those “Famous Doors”. Putting on the costume / wig I have to say that I was so excited about the whole thing and couldn’t wait to record the show. This was going to be the best thing that I have ever done!!! Much to my delight the Producer had decided to have three keyboard players on my set, which looked superb with my own lighting rig. All part of the attention to detail.
Day 2 started with me having my wig fitted and then cut and styled. Following Make Up I then put on the costume to complete the transformation. The finished item looked superb with as much detail as possible. More rehearsals follow giving all the contestants a chance of winning but it is down to the studio audience on the night who goes through?? Throughout the day there are opportunities to have five minutes, a few pinches just to make sure it’s not a dream and to try and keep a level head.
The recording took place on a Sunday evening with the studio audience, along with your four guests. I then had the opportunity to tell my family all about the proceedings thus far. The whole show takes about 4 hours to record. It begins with each contestant doing their little chat with Matthew Kelly which I felt was the worst part of the two days. As each contestant does their chat they go through into Make Up and then Costume. Uttering those famous words “Tonight Matthew I’m going to be David Gahan from Depeche Mode” made me feel very proud as if this was my personal tribute to a fantastic Front Man. I just hoped my performance lived up to it and fellow DM fans could say, “Great job.” Standing in my dressing room in front of the mirror with 10 minutes to go I have to say my legs were beginning to go. I just kept telling myself enjoy it and give it your best! Then the 5 minute call came and I was taken to the “Famous Doors”. During rehearsals this is very disconcerting because with all the lights and dry ice you cannot see where to go. You have to count seven steps, which takes you to the top of the stage. Miscount and you could look rather silly!!
Finally it was time, I stood behind the door, nervous and excited but I knew if it didn’t go well I had a second chance. Yes, each contestant has two opportunities to perform their song. This means that for the final version you see on TV it should show you off in the best light. The guy who controls events behind the door asked me to grip his arm with both hands to relieve the tension but also as I was using a radio mike if you are nervous the mike shakes and the nerves show on camera. I then heard the words “Tonight singing live Jeremy Bailey is David Gahan”. I walked through the doors and the nerves seemed to vanish. Having performed on stage for many years and being a vocalist you learn to cope and just go for it!! The audience seemed to love it, and at one point the keyboard players all raise their hands and clap and the audience did the same. It was the biggest high for me and I’m not ashamed to say it but I could have cried such was the emotion of it all. The second time went really well and I could have carried on all night. When I came off stage if I could bottle that feeling and market it I would be a rich man!! I was just so excited and felt that I had entertained the audience. I felt that I had done my job and couldn’t have performed it any better, hope all those DM fans agree!!
The rest of the evening is spent waiting for the contestants to finish and then it’s time for the vote… We were all sitting there on the couch hoping we would be the one walking through the doors. My heart was beating ten to the dozen as they say and then the winner is announced… which was “Kylie Minogue”.
As far as I was concerned the last six months had been fantastic and I can always look back and say that I was the “first” person to perform as “David Gahan” on national TV, an experience I shall never forget. So, if there are any more budding “Dave Gahans” out there, go on go for it!!
Day 2 started with me having my wig fitted and then cut and styled. Following Make Up I then put on the costume to complete the transformation. The finished item looked superb with as much detail as possible. More rehearsals follow giving all the contestants a chance of winning but it is down to the studio audience on the night who goes through?? Throughout the day there are opportunities to have five minutes, a few pinches just to make sure it’s not a dream and to try and keep a level head.
The recording took place on a Sunday evening with the studio audience, along with your four guests. I then had the opportunity to tell my family all about the proceedings thus far. The whole show takes about 4 hours to record. It begins with each contestant doing their little chat with Matthew Kelly which I felt was the worst part of the two days. As each contestant does their chat they go through into Make Up and then Costume. Uttering those famous words “Tonight Matthew I’m going to be David Gahan from Depeche Mode” made me feel very proud as if this was my personal tribute to a fantastic Front Man. I just hoped my performance lived up to it and fellow DM fans could say, “Great job.” Standing in my dressing room in front of the mirror with 10 minutes to go I have to say my legs were beginning to go. I just kept telling myself enjoy it and give it your best! Then the 5 minute call came and I was taken to the “Famous Doors”. During rehearsals this is very disconcerting because with all the lights and dry ice you cannot see where to go. You have to count seven steps, which takes you to the top of the stage. Miscount and you could look rather silly!!
Finally it was time, I stood behind the door, nervous and excited but I knew if it didn’t go well I had a second chance. Yes, each contestant has two opportunities to perform their song. This means that for the final version you see on TV it should show you off in the best light. The guy who controls events behind the door asked me to grip his arm with both hands to relieve the tension but also as I was using a radio mike if you are nervous the mike shakes and the nerves show on camera. I then heard the words “Tonight singing live Jeremy Bailey is David Gahan”. I walked through the doors and the nerves seemed to vanish. Having performed on stage for many years and being a vocalist you learn to cope and just go for it!! The audience seemed to love it, and at one point the keyboard players all raise their hands and clap and the audience did the same. It was the biggest high for me and I’m not ashamed to say it but I could have cried such was the emotion of it all. The second time went really well and I could have carried on all night. When I came off stage if I could bottle that feeling and market it I would be a rich man!! I was just so excited and felt that I had entertained the audience. I felt that I had done my job and couldn’t have performed it any better, hope all those DM fans agree!!
The rest of the evening is spent waiting for the contestants to finish and then it’s time for the vote… We were all sitting there on the couch hoping we would be the one walking through the doors. My heart was beating ten to the dozen as they say and then the winner is announced… which was “Kylie Minogue”.
As far as I was concerned the last six months had been fantastic and I can always look back and say that I was the “first” person to perform as “David Gahan” on national TV, an experience I shall never forget. So, if there are any more budding “Dave Gahans” out there, go on go for it!!