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)
Broken
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How long will you suffer?
How long will you wait?
You see the friend that I knew
He cannot be found
Replaced by another
Wearing his crown
Without any sand
Only you can reach me
Only you're allowed
And you're so far away
You're so far from here
Do you remember
A time without tears?
When you're falling I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken for the start
And you were a child
You dream all day long
You dream of the future
Get lost in your sounds
Now that time is gone
It's lost for you now
Words long forgotten
Forgotten somehow
When you're falling I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken for the start
When you're falling I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken for the start
When you're falling I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken for the start
The lyrics of Depeche Mode's song "Broken" convey a message of comfort and support to someone who is struggling with pain and feelings of sadness. The opening lines of the song suggest that the person has been seeking control without wanting to experience any pain, but the singer asks how long this can go on for. The chorus shifts to a tone of reassurance, with the singer offering to catch the person if they fall and reminding them that they were "broken for the start."
The second verse touches on the theme of nostalgia, with the singer reflecting on a time when the person was a child and had dreams of the future. The lines "Now that time is gone / It's lost for you now" suggest a sense of regret or longing for a time that has passed. However, the chorus once again offers a message of hope and support, with the singer promising to be there for the person and help them through their struggles.
Overall, "Broken" is a song that offers a message of comfort and support to anyone who is struggling with pain or sadness. The lyrics suggest that it's okay to feel broken sometimes, and that there are people who care and want to help you through it.
Line by Line Meaning
If you want control without any pain
You desire power without suffering or complications
How long will you suffer?
How much pain are you willing to endure?
How long will you wait?
How much time are you willing to waste?
You see the friend that I knew
The person I once knew has changed
He cannot be found
The familiar version of this person no longer exists
Replaced by another
Someone new has taken their place
Wearing his crown
Assuming the same responsibilities and expectations
There's a place where I go
A physical or emotional retreat
Without any sand
A place without problems or stress
Only you can reach me
You are the only one who understands me
Only you're allowed
No one else is permitted in this private space
And you're so far away
You are distant and separated from me
You're so far from here
You are physically and emotionally distant
Do you remember
Do you recall a particular memory or emotion?
A time without tears?
A time before sadness and pain
When you're falling I will catch you
I will help you through difficult times
You don't have to fall that far
I can intervene before you hit rock bottom
You can make it
I believe in your ability to overcome any obstacles
I will be there
I won't abandon or betray you
You were broken for the start
You've been struggling since the beginning
And you were a child
You were once innocent and carefree
You dream all day long
You have big aspirations and hopes
You dream of the future
You envision a better tomorrow
Get lost in your sounds
Music and imagination help you escape reality
Now that time is gone
That sense of freedom and creativity is absent
It's lost for you now
That carefree attitude is no longer present
Words long forgotten
Memories and experiences that have faded away
Forgotten somehow
Those memories slipped through your fingers
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David Gahan, Kurt Uenala
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BM-zu3ph
If you want control without any pain
How long will you suffer?
How long will you reign?
You see the friend that I knew?
He cannot be found
Replaced by another
Wearing his crown
There's a place where I go
Without any sound
Only you can reach me
Only you're allowed
And you're so far away
You're so far from here
Do you remember
A time without tears?
When you're falling
I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken from the start
When you were a child
You'd dream all day long
You'd dream of the future
Get lost in your songs
Now that time is gone
It's lost for you now
Words long forgotten
Forgotten somehow
When you're falling
I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken from the start
When you're falling
I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken from the start
When you're falling
I will catch you
You don't have to fall that far
You can make it
I will be there
You were broken from the start
@nykhlfc6times632
I am 50 and Depeche Mode have been the soundtrack of my life. my highs, my lows. my tragedies my triumphs. my darkness my light. the brothers I never knew. advising chastising never judging my failings always there in my dreams and heartbeats giving love without wanting, taking pain without question. heroes come and go. my brothers are eternal.
@csrader
Stephen Beament yes
@morag2808
Yes Stephen , i so feel you here , ty for your post
@NextWorldVR
Stephen Beament Yay! Me too. 48 and can remember so many days rollerblading in Santa Monia and Venice Beach listening to the early albums over and over. Those unexpected tonal journeys he takes with his voice, the classic sounding synth, they really have continued to create quality. I wonder if radiohead admits openly, how inspired by Depeche they are. I love both, but recognize which came first.
@magdalenc.6593
I like a lot what you wrote about your soul friendship with 'the brothers you never knew', I have always felt something similar but called them a bit differently ' my playground friends '. When I was 13 I heard 'Somebody' and I locked up that song in my heart, thinking that it was written only for me. I am 48 and I still think and belive it was written only for me, please do not tell me that Im wrong.
@climbinabruzzo
bro, you said it in the best possible way
@alicja985
Depeche Mode is not music, it’s religion 🖤
@olsamb
The king🔥
@landofthelivingskies3318
More of a spiritual journey for me.
@carlota3221
Its true🌚