" “Violator” has received mixed reviews from the music papers, but then the band have never needed the crutch of a sympathetic press. "
Listing of the 100 items commanding the highest price in 1990, along with a resume of the band's career with especial attention to the formats of the releases, and advice to collectors on DJ remixes. Please note that the actual listing has not been transcribed here although it is included in the page scans.
As last month’s poll results illustrated, Depeche Mode have grown considerably in popularity since we last looked at their career a year ago. At that time, the band had recently completed possibly their most ambitious project – the live double offering “101” and its accompanying movie – after a sell-out U.S. tour to nearly half a million people. 1990 has already spawned a new album, “Violator”, and from it, another it single; no doubt, the new decade will produce items just as scarce as those in our Top 100 Rarities list below.
The rest of 1989 was notable only for the band’s first studio release in two years, the excellent single “Personal Jesus”, which reached No. 13 in September. Produced jointly by the band and Flood, the 12” also included an acoustic version of the song along with another new track, “Dangerous”, all remixed with the help of Francois Kevorkian, best known for his work with Kraftwerk. The group were buried in a Denmark recording studio at the time and were probably unaware that the title of the single caused problems during the promotional campaign. Some regional newspapers refused to accept ads on the grounds that it may cause offence, although the classified ad simply featured the words “Your Own Personal Jesus” followed by a phone number which, when dialled, played the song.
SILENCE
“Violator” has received mixed reviews from the music papers, but then the band have never needed the crutch of a sympathetic press. Accompanying its release, the group broke their silence and have been uncharacteristically talkative, reflecting on ten years of consolidated success, while still sitting on the sidelines of mainstream pop. Keen to emphasise the total control they’ve kept through Mute’s independent status, David Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder and Andrew Fletcher looked back on their early days of “Smash Hits” gimmicks or Gore’s obsession with women’s clothes with humour and hindsight.
Having survived the departure of songwriter Vince Clarke, Gore (perhaps awkwardly at first) assumed this role, steering the band away from synth pop through to a more sombre, almost gloomy sound, more aligned with the industrial music of Test Department and S.P.K. than the “new romantics” they were grouped with. And while other British acts fall over themselves to adopt a U.S.-oriented dance sound, it is ironic that Depeche Mode’s development into what has been described as “heavy industrial dance” has been credited as an enormous influence by “house” supremos from Chicago, Detroit and New York to Belgium and Berlin. [1]
REMIX
Aside from the Top 100 Rarities list, we’ve also included ten of the more worthwhile DJ remix items currently on the market, an area that has attracted a lot of interest from collectors recently. Produced with the permission of the band or label concerned, DJ remixes are normally recorded from other discs (unless master tapes are available) for use via DJ mail order services. Many of them leave a lot to be desired in terms of both technical and musical quality, and tend to be offered at, in many people’s view, vastly inflated prices. The ten items below represent the cream of the crop, though, and provide a good starting point for anyone who’s interested in collecting DJ remixes but doesn’t know where to start.
Indeed, collectors who’ve just started buying Depeche Mode releases could well be daunted by the enormous range of items on offer. The logical starting place, of course, would be the standard LPs and singles – and since it’s not Mute’s policy to delete titles, every standard 7”, 12” and LP can still be ordered from the local record shop. To give an indication, though, of what to look out for, here’s a rundown of the various formats that have already surfaced for the band’s latest single, “Enjoy The Silence”, aside from the 7”, 12” and CD:
limited edition 12” (L12BONG18) £5; 2nd limited edition 12” (XL12BONG18) £6, limited edition CD (LCDBONG18) £5; 2nd limited edition CD (XLCDBONG18) £6; promo 3” CD (CDBONG18R) £8; 12” promo (S12BONG18) £15; promo cassingle £12; U.S. 12” £6; U.S. 12” promo £9; U.S. cassingle £3.50; U.S. CD £7; U.S. promo CD £12; promo poster £6; DJ remix 12” double set £20.
With “Violator” the band have nurtured the harder, more gutsy sound that made 1987’s “Music For The Masses” a more serious contender than previous efforts. Their U.S. profile has highlighted their individuality – “Personal Jesus” reached the Top 30 after six months in the clubs; and still U.S. mainstream radio wouldn’t touch it!
The only disappointment is the news that the band declined Clive Selwood’s offer of releasing their 1981 BBC Radio session on Strange Fruit so, unfortunately, the only access to the session is via inferior quality bootleg tapes. [2] That aside, the future looks promising for the band and fans alike. Having grown up in public, Depeche Mode appear outwardly confident with their new material, and rightly so. With a decade of independence and an almost unrivalled string of releases under their belts, Basildon’s finest will no doubt continue to expand their already considerable worldwide following in the years to come.
Thanks to Robert from Esprit for his invaluable help, and to Stan at Mute.
[1] - In this respect, this
article is the standard regarding house DJ's appreciation of Depeche Mode.
With regards to the US dance music scene and how Depeche Mode fit in at the end of the Eighties, Andy's 1988 US interview is very informative.
[2] - In 1992, the British radio station Radio 1 released a sampler CD to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and one of the tracks is a 1981 Peel Sessions performance of Boys Say Go!, presumably from the session mentioned here. As far as I am aware, this is the only official release of any material from the session.
