Depeche Mode is an English band founded in 1980, originally from Basildon, … Read Full Bio ↴Depeche Mode is an English band founded in 1980, originally from Basildon, Essex, United Kingdom. They are one of the most enduring and successful bands that emerged during the 80s, particularly from the new wave/new romantic era. The band name is derived from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode, which means "fashion dispatch."

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)

Fly On The Windscreen Final
Depeche Mode Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Death is everywhere
There are flies on the windscreen
For a start
Reminding us
We could be torn apart
Tonight

Death is everywhere

There are lambs for the slaughter
Waiting to die
And I can sense
The hours slipping by
Tonight
Come here
Kiss me
Now

Come here
Kiss me
Now

Death is everywhere
The more I look
The more I see
The more I feel
A sense of urgency
Tonight

Come here (touch me)
Kiss me (touch me)
Now (touch me)
(Touch me)
Come here (touch me)
Kiss me (touch me)
Now (touch me)
(Touch me)

There are flies on the windscreen

There are lambs for the slaughter
There are flies on the windscreen

Come here (touch me)
Kiss me (touch me)
Now (touch me)
(Touch me)
Come here (touch me)
Kiss me (touch me)
Now (touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)
(Touch me)

Come here (touch me)
Kiss me (touch me)
Now (touch me)
(Touch me)

Come here (touch me)
Kiss me (touch me)

Now (touch me)
(Touch me)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Depeche Mode's song "Fly on the Windscreen" explore the theme of mortality and the inevitability of death. The song is a bleak and unsettling reflection on the fleeting nature of life, with death omnipresent and lurking around every corner. The imagery of flies on the windscreen and lambs for the slaughter underscore the idea that we are all vulnerable and at the mercy of fate. The repeated exhortation to come here and kiss me suggests a desperate desire for connection and intimacy in the face of an uncaring universe.

The song's use of mechanical and electronic instrumentation creates a cold and ominous atmosphere, further underscoring the sense of foreboding and unease. The disjointed and fragmented structure of the lyrics adds to the overall feeling of fragmentation and dislocation. Ultimately, "Fly on the Windscreen" is a powerful and haunting meditation on the fragile and fleeting nature of existence.

Line by Line Meaning

Death is everywhere
The inevitability of death is a constant presence

There are flies on the windscreen
Symbols of death on the surface of life are visible

For a start
This is only the beginning of the discussion about death

Reminding us
The flies make us aware of death's imminence

We could be torn apart
A brutal, violent end may be our fate

Tonight
The discussion takes place now, in the present moment

There are lambs for the slaughter
The vulnerable are always in danger

Waiting to die
Their fate is out of their hands

And I can sense
The artist is aware of this danger

The hours slipping by
Time is running out and death draws closer

Come here
The desire for human connection in the face of mortality