The band has been highly influential in the electronic dance music scene, especially synthpop, techno, and trance, partly due to their innovative work, recording techniques, and use of sampling. Their most successful album is arguably 1990's Violator, which reached the #2 position in the UK, #7 in the US, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The band has released a long series of high-charting singles over their three-decades long career. Enjoy the Silence is their most recognized song and one of history's most covered songs.
The original line-up was Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke. In December 1981, Clarke left the band and later formed Yazoo, The Assembly, and Erasure. Alan Wilder joined the group initially in January 1982 as a live keyboardist but became an official member in December 1982. He left in mid-1995 to fully concentrate on his Recoil project, and the band continued as a trio. In 2010 Wilder re-joined Depeche Mode on stage after 16 years for a performance of Somebody during a show at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Depeche Mode's origins date back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore, and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards, and Fletcher on bass. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke, and Fletcher switched to synthesizers. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes" and Depeche Mode was born.
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records, approached the band, who proposed a verbal contract. The result was their first single, Dreaming of Me, recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981, reaching number 57 in the UK charts and followed soon by a real contract with Mute.
To date, Depeche Mode have released:
15 studio albums: Speak & Spell (1981), A Broken Frame (1982), Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1986), Music For the Masses (1987), Violator (1990), Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993), Ultra (1997), Exciter (2001), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), Delta Machine (2013), Spirit (2017), and Memento Mori (2023);
8 compilations: People Are People (1984), The Singles 81-85 (1985), Catching Up with Depeche Mode (1985), Greatest Hits (1987), The Singles 86>98 (1998), Remixes 81-04 (2004), The Best Of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006), The Complete Depeche Mode (2006);
5 live albums: 101 (1989), Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993), Recording the Angel (a series of live recordings; 2006), Tour Of The Universe: Barcelona 20/21:11:09 (2009) and Live In Berlin (Soundtrack) (2014) ;
Over 50 singles: including Just Can't Get Enough, Everything Counts, People Are People, Master and Servant, Shake the Disease, Stripped, A Question of Time, Strangelove, Never Let Me Down Again, Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, World in My Eyes, Policy of Truth, I Feel You, Walking in My Shoes, In Your Room, Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good, Home, Dream On, Freelove, Precious, Wrong and Heaven ;
14 live / video collections (VHS/DVD/Blu-ray): The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985), Some Great Videos (1985), Strange (1988), 101 (1989), Strange Too (1990), Devotional (1993), The Videos 86>98 (1998), One Night in Paris (2002), The Videos 86>98 (2002), Touring the Angel: Live in Milan (2006), The Best of - Volume 1 (2006), Tour of the Universe : Barcelona 20/21.11.09 (2009), Live in Berlin (2014) and Video Singles Collection (2016)
Black Celebration
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Black celebration
Tonight
To celebrate the fact
That we've seen the back of another black day
I look to you, how you carry on when all hope is gone
Your optimistic eyes seem like paradise to someone like me
I want to take you in my arms
Forgetting all I couldn't do today
Black celebration
Black celebration
Tonight
To celebrate the fact
That we've seen the back Of another black day
I look to you and your strong belief
Me, I want relief tonight
Consolation I want so much
Want to feel your touch tonight
Take me in your arms
Forgetting all you couldn't do today
Black celebration
Black celebration
Tonight
Black celebration
(I'll drink to that)
Black celebration
Tonight
Black celebration
(I'll drink to that)
Black celebration
Tonight
The song Black Celebration by Depeche Mode is an anthem for the celebration of life's struggles, the hope that comes after overcoming difficult situations. The beginning of the song is a call for a black celebration, to commemorate the end of yet another hard day. The lyrics go on to praise the strength of a loved one who carries on even when all hope seems to be gone. The optimism in their eyes is described as paradise, a source of relief and consolation for the singer. They desire to be held by their loved one, wanting to forget everything that they could not accomplish that day. It is a song about finding hope, love, and joy after facing adversity.
The lines, "I want to take you in my arms, forgetting all I couldn't do today" can be interpreted as a call for comfort, seeking refuge in the arms of a lover after a long day. The words "black celebration" can evoke negative or ominous connotations, but here, it is a celebration of the dark times, a recognition of the struggles that life entails, and the strength required to overcome them. As the song repeats, with the added lines "I'll drink to that," it signifies a moment of unity and closure between the singer and their loved ones, as they drink to the celebration of all their hardships.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's have a black celebration
Proposing to have a night of revelry and rejoicing.
Black celebration
A celebration of the darker aspects of life.
Tonight
On this particular evening.
To celebrate the fact
Acknowledging and commemorating.
That we've seen the back of another black day
Relieved that a particularly trying day is over.
I look to you, how you carry on when all hope is gone
Observing someone's resilience in the face of adversity.
Can't you see?
Asking for confirmation and understanding.
Your optimistic eyes seem like paradise to someone like me
Finding inspiration and hope in someone's positivity.
I want to take you in my arms
Desiring companionship and comfort.
Forgetting all I couldn't do today
Putting aside regrets and focusing on the present moment.
I look to you and your strong belief
Recognizing someone's confidence and trust in themselves or a higher power.
Me, I want relief tonight
Expressing one's desire for release from stress and anxiety.
Consolation I want so much
Longing for comfort and solace.
Want to feel your touch tonight
Craving physical reassurance and human connection.
Take me in your arms
Asking for intimacy and affection.
Black celebration (I'll drink to that)
Raising a glass to the joy found in life's darker moments.
Black celebration tonight
An evening dedicated to reveling in the beauty of life's challenges and hardships.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Lee Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@peliche77
Lyrics:
Let's have a black celebration
Black celebration
Tonight
To celebrate the fact
That we've seen the back
Of another black day
I look to you
How you carry on
When all hope is gone
Can't you see?
Your optimistic eyes
Seem like paradise
To someone like
Me
I want to take you in my arms
Forgetting all I couldn't do today
Black celebration
Black celebration
Tonight
To celebrate the fact
That we've seen the back
Of another black day
I look to you
And your strong belief
Me, I want relief
Tonight
Consolation
I want so much
Want to feel your touch…
@modegirl4779
RIP Fletch, thank you for your contributions to the BEST music in the world! Depeche Mode will live on forever, no matter what!
@mariauspensky2027
@@MrOz1275 Actually, you're really wrong! Yes , he didn't write music , as Martin Gore or was the name vocal as Dave but he was the mane bone of the DM from the beginning! Fletch is the one who set up , created and keep running the band DM even in the darkest moments ! So RIP well dear Alan F.!
@Garylpool1
@@mariauspensky2027 Fletch will be remembered for breaking up one of the best song writing partnerships this country has produced since Steven Morrissey and Johnny Marr and becoming a hand clapper on stage while pioneering the skill of playing keyboards and singing into microphones that were turned off
@beatatomaszewska5009
The best LP in history of music ❤
@alejandromezaflores719
What Sort if contribution are ya' talking bout'?
Tours is but the childish line of a newcomer. Ya' Rookie...
@velvetbruise
I have LOVED this album since I was 13, and I am almost 48...
@richardgambill1737
Found them when I was 14, now 48. Changed my life
@velvetbruise
@Simon Barnett thank you I am ok I hope you are as well! And yes Dave is amazing :)
@user-mz4qy9gx9c
51-here I think I was 15-16 when it came out , still my top 10 .
@diegocarsalade6653
Love it too