Personal? Jesus!
[Q, March 1997. Words: Phil Sutcliffe.]
SPEAK & SPELL
(1981, Number 10)
A start which scared the hell out of A Flock Of Seagulls. Mostly written by Vince Clarke who was soon off to Erasure, although Martin Gore's odd Big Muff was a taster for things to come. They all looked absolutely lovely, but sounded a bit plinky in truth. Very Essex, quite New Romantic. лл
Leathery lyric: "New life, new life"
Key track: Just Can't Get Enough
A BROKEN FRAME
(1982, Number 8)
Things were slowly beginning to take shape, but there was still little indication of what was to come. Martin Gore does everything. More gloom than perversion. Farewell New Romantics, hello being a touch Teutonic. Not quite there. ллл
Leathery lyric: "Going to lock myself in a cold black room / Going to shadow myself in a veil of gloom"
Key track: Leave In Silence
CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN
(1983, Number 6)
Ha! A stride is hit. New boy Alan Wilder writes a song (Two Minute Warning). No jollity whatsoever and folk begin to notice Depeche Mode were not as other groups. Impressively Stakhanovite sleeve imagery. The fear of nuclear war is everywhere. Brr. Positively Prussian. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Do you ever get that feeling / When the guilt begins to hurt?"
Key track: Everything Counts
SOME GREAT REWARD
(1984, Number 5)
Just the one Alan Wilder tune (If You Want). Elsewhere, Martin Gore gets personal: Master & Servant brought S&M into the charts, Blasphemous Rumours upset God and Somebody is, quite frankly, a personal advertisement. Recorded, inevitably, in Berlin. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I'd put your leather boots on / I'd put your pretty dress on."
Key track: People Are People
THE SINGLES '81-'85
(1985, Number 6)
Straightforward chronological compilation that shows their musical ascent from the dabbling Essex kids who bashed out Dreaming Of Me to the tortured souls of It's Called A Heart. As if governed by a mixture of magic and cliche, the best was yet to come. So British the Americans retitled it Catching Up With. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I can't stand this emotional violence..."
Key track: they all have their place
BLACK CELEBRATION
(1986, Number 4)
Really dark. Even by comparison. No Alan Wilder songs. Martin Gore at his most scary and most adult. Part contact-mag fare, part lost little boy, part cynical overload. Ideal soundtrack for anti-Stalin 'documentary'. Muscovites liked this one. Probably. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Death is everywhere / There are flies on the windscreen for a start."
Key track: A Question Of Lust
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
(1987, Number 10)
Illusory loss of sales momentum, but America began to get interested. Still no Alan Wilder songs. Swinging, layered tunes meant that Depeche Mode, briefly, became lightweight. Dance music featured slightly. Mixed in Denmark, so this is their Danish album. All bands have one eventually. ллл
Leathery lyric: "I'm as safe as houses / As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers."
Key track: Strangelove
101
(1989, Number 5)
Recorded at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1989. Obviously much more a band effort. Slightly unnerving to hear fans singing along to everything like mad Americans. For a live album, unbelievably exciting. California lives and squeals. No extra songwriting royalties for Alan Wilder. лллл
Leathery live moment: The first few bars of Strangelove pretending to be Word Up by Cameo.
Key track: A Question Of Lust
VIOLATOR
(1990, Number 2)
Still their biggest seller, despite absence of Alan Wilder songs. Dark as ever, but 101 and the rogering of America had bred more confidence. The result was Depeche Mode's smoothest album to date, made for humping around the stadiums of the world. Drugs were involved at some point. Globally. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Let me show you the world in my eyes."
Key track: Personal Jesus
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION
(1993, Number 1)
Band photos on the sleeve! Alan Wilder had no songs here. More rocky than usual and there's uillean pipes on Judas. Gahan was beginning to look like Perry Farrell: trouble in anyone's book, but Gore's songs were still up for it. Recorded in Spain. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I'm not proud of what I do / When I come up / When I rush / I rush for you."
Key track: Condemnation
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION LIVE
(1993, Number 46)
Somewhat overlooked affair detailing, in exact running order, Songs Of Faith & Devotion in a live setting. Hardly a disaster, but ultimately pointless. They do sound like gods though. Recorded in Copenhagen, Milan, New Orleans and Lievin (wherever that is). Other-worldly. ллл
Leathery live moment: Those operatic backing vocals on I Feel You
Key track: Judas
When they got bored...
RECOIL
HYDROLOGY PLUS 1+2
(1988, did not chart)
Frustrated by lack of songwriting opportunities, Alan Wilder turned himself into Recoil. Very ambient they were too. The first two mini-albums, Hydrology and 1+2 are sensibly thrown together on one CD. A bit like Depeche Mode without the vocals and the interesting bits. Drivel. л
Leathery lyric: Doh!
Key track: hard to tell, but there's much scraping on 1
BLOODLINE
(1992, did not chart)
Much better, mainly because vocalists (Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy, Curve's Toni Halliday, pre-metal Moby and a lengthy Bukka White sample) flesh out Wilder's doodlings, and Faith Healer is really rather good. ллл
Leathery lyric: "Broken limbs fill a body full of badness"
Key track: Faith Healer
MARTIN L. GORE
COUNTERFEIT
(1989, Number 51)
An affectionate six-song cover version orgy. Dazzled by the prospect of unfettered power (even more unfettered power), Gore did everything himself and filled the tiny coffers of Sparks (Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth), Comsat Angels (Gone) and Durutti Column (Smile In The Crowd). He's a serviceable singer and "L" stands for Lee. Unsurprisingly, there's pubic hair on the inner sleeve. ллл
Leathery lyric: "When she's on her best behaviour / Don't be tempted by her favours."
Key track: Motherless child
[Q, March 1997. Words: Phil Sutcliffe.]
SPEAK & SPELL
(1981, Number 10)
A start which scared the hell out of A Flock Of Seagulls. Mostly written by Vince Clarke who was soon off to Erasure, although Martin Gore's odd Big Muff was a taster for things to come. They all looked absolutely lovely, but sounded a bit plinky in truth. Very Essex, quite New Romantic. лл
Leathery lyric: "New life, new life"
Key track: Just Can't Get Enough
A BROKEN FRAME
(1982, Number 8)
Things were slowly beginning to take shape, but there was still little indication of what was to come. Martin Gore does everything. More gloom than perversion. Farewell New Romantics, hello being a touch Teutonic. Not quite there. ллл
Leathery lyric: "Going to lock myself in a cold black room / Going to shadow myself in a veil of gloom"
Key track: Leave In Silence
CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN
(1983, Number 6)
Ha! A stride is hit. New boy Alan Wilder writes a song (Two Minute Warning). No jollity whatsoever and folk begin to notice Depeche Mode were not as other groups. Impressively Stakhanovite sleeve imagery. The fear of nuclear war is everywhere. Brr. Positively Prussian. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Do you ever get that feeling / When the guilt begins to hurt?"
Key track: Everything Counts
SOME GREAT REWARD
(1984, Number 5)
Just the one Alan Wilder tune (If You Want). Elsewhere, Martin Gore gets personal: Master & Servant brought S&M into the charts, Blasphemous Rumours upset God and Somebody is, quite frankly, a personal advertisement. Recorded, inevitably, in Berlin. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I'd put your leather boots on / I'd put your pretty dress on."
Key track: People Are People
THE SINGLES '81-'85
(1985, Number 6)
Straightforward chronological compilation that shows their musical ascent from the dabbling Essex kids who bashed out Dreaming Of Me to the tortured souls of It's Called A Heart. As if governed by a mixture of magic and cliche, the best was yet to come. So British the Americans retitled it Catching Up With. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I can't stand this emotional violence..."
Key track: they all have their place
BLACK CELEBRATION
(1986, Number 4)
Really dark. Even by comparison. No Alan Wilder songs. Martin Gore at his most scary and most adult. Part contact-mag fare, part lost little boy, part cynical overload. Ideal soundtrack for anti-Stalin 'documentary'. Muscovites liked this one. Probably. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Death is everywhere / There are flies on the windscreen for a start."
Key track: A Question Of Lust
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES
(1987, Number 10)
Illusory loss of sales momentum, but America began to get interested. Still no Alan Wilder songs. Swinging, layered tunes meant that Depeche Mode, briefly, became lightweight. Dance music featured slightly. Mixed in Denmark, so this is their Danish album. All bands have one eventually. ллл
Leathery lyric: "I'm as safe as houses / As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers."
Key track: Strangelove
101
(1989, Number 5)
Recorded at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1989. Obviously much more a band effort. Slightly unnerving to hear fans singing along to everything like mad Americans. For a live album, unbelievably exciting. California lives and squeals. No extra songwriting royalties for Alan Wilder. лллл
Leathery live moment: The first few bars of Strangelove pretending to be Word Up by Cameo.
Key track: A Question Of Lust
VIOLATOR
(1990, Number 2)
Still their biggest seller, despite absence of Alan Wilder songs. Dark as ever, but 101 and the rogering of America had bred more confidence. The result was Depeche Mode's smoothest album to date, made for humping around the stadiums of the world. Drugs were involved at some point. Globally. лллл
Leathery lyric: "Let me show you the world in my eyes."
Key track: Personal Jesus
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION
(1993, Number 1)
Band photos on the sleeve! Alan Wilder had no songs here. More rocky than usual and there's uillean pipes on Judas. Gahan was beginning to look like Perry Farrell: trouble in anyone's book, but Gore's songs were still up for it. Recorded in Spain. лллл
Leathery lyric: "I'm not proud of what I do / When I come up / When I rush / I rush for you."
Key track: Condemnation
SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION LIVE
(1993, Number 46)
Somewhat overlooked affair detailing, in exact running order, Songs Of Faith & Devotion in a live setting. Hardly a disaster, but ultimately pointless. They do sound like gods though. Recorded in Copenhagen, Milan, New Orleans and Lievin (wherever that is). Other-worldly. ллл
Leathery live moment: Those operatic backing vocals on I Feel You
Key track: Judas
When they got bored...
RECOIL
HYDROLOGY PLUS 1+2
(1988, did not chart)
Frustrated by lack of songwriting opportunities, Alan Wilder turned himself into Recoil. Very ambient they were too. The first two mini-albums, Hydrology and 1+2 are sensibly thrown together on one CD. A bit like Depeche Mode without the vocals and the interesting bits. Drivel. л
Leathery lyric: Doh!
Key track: hard to tell, but there's much scraping on 1
BLOODLINE
(1992, did not chart)
Much better, mainly because vocalists (Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy, Curve's Toni Halliday, pre-metal Moby and a lengthy Bukka White sample) flesh out Wilder's doodlings, and Faith Healer is really rather good. ллл
Leathery lyric: "Broken limbs fill a body full of badness"
Key track: Faith Healer
MARTIN L. GORE
COUNTERFEIT
(1989, Number 51)
An affectionate six-song cover version orgy. Dazzled by the prospect of unfettered power (even more unfettered power), Gore did everything himself and filled the tiny coffers of Sparks (Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth), Comsat Angels (Gone) and Durutti Column (Smile In The Crowd). He's a serviceable singer and "L" stands for Lee. Unsurprisingly, there's pubic hair on the inner sleeve. ллл
Leathery lyric: "When she's on her best behaviour / Don't be tempted by her favours."
Key track: Motherless child