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)
Halo
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse
I can feel
The discomfort in your seat
And in your head, it's worse
There's a pain
An aching to be free
Can't you see?
All love's luxuries
Are here for you and me
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
Bring your chains
Your lips of tragedy
And fall into my arms
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
In "Halo," Depeche Mode presents a comforting message to someone who's feeling burdened by guilt and is struggling to forgive themselves. The lyrics suggest that the person is carrying their guilt like shackles on their feet, and that it's causing them great mental pain. He describes the burden as a "halo in reverse," a reference to the idea that a halo usually signifies goodness and purity, but in this case, it's a symbol of darkness and shame.
Despite the pain they're experiencing, the singer urges the troubled person to realize that there is hope for them to be free, to experience love's luxuries, and that they don't have to carry their burdens alone. They encourage them to fall into their arms, regardless of the tragedy and chains that they wear, and that it will all be worth it in the end, even if they deserve some of the suffering they're experiencing.
The message of the song is one of hope, forgiveness, and compassion, and it encourages the listener to believe that it's possible to overcome their guilt and find redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
You wear guilt
You carry guilt with you
Like shackles on your feet
It weighs you down like heavy chains on your ankles
Like a halo in reverse
It's as if you're wearing a dark halo instead of a bright one
I can feel
I sense
The discomfort in your seat
You're uneasy and fidgety
And in your head, it's worse
Your thoughts are tormenting you
There's a pain
You feel a deep ache
A famine in your heart
Your heart is starving for something
An aching to be free
You long to break free from your burdens
Can't you see?
Don't you realize?
All love's luxuries
Love offers many comforts
Are here for you and me
We can experience them together
Bring your chains
Bring all of your burdens
Your lips of tragedy
Speak openly about your hardships
And fall into my arms
Let me comfort you
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When everything is falling apart in our lives
When the walls come tumbling in
When our safety and security crumble
Though we may deserve it
Even if we brought this upon ourselves
It will be worth it
The struggle and pain will be worth it in the end
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When everything is falling apart in our lives
When the walls come tumbling in
When our safety and security crumble
Though we may deserve it
Even if we brought this upon ourselves
It will be worth it
The struggle and pain will be worth it in the end
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When everything is falling apart in our lives
When the walls come tumbling in
When our safety and security crumble
Though we may deserve it
Even if we brought this upon ourselves
It will be worth it
The struggle and pain will be worth it in the end
And when our worlds, they fall apart
When everything is falling apart in our lives
When the walls come tumbling in
When our safety and security crumble
Though we may deserve it
Even if we brought this upon ourselves
It will be worth it
The struggle and pain will be worth it in the end
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Mi11imani
"Halo"
You wear guilt
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse
I can feel
The discomfort in your seat
And in your head it's worse
There's a pain
A famine in your heart
An aching to be free
Can't you see
All love's luxuries
Are here for you and me
And when our worlds
They fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
Bring your chains
Your lips of tragedy
And fall into my arms
And when our worlds
They fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
@joisfuneral
You wear guilt
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse
I can feel
The discomfort in your seat
And in your head it's worse
There's a pain
A famine in your heart
An aching to be free
Can't you see
All love's luxuries
Are here for you and me
And when our worlds
They fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
Bring your chains
Your lips of tragedy
And fall into my arms
And when our worlds
They fall apart
When the walls come tumbling in
Though we may deserve it
It will be worth it
@mikemaguire1368
Violator is one of the best albums, ever. RIP Fletch.
@trentderzerstorer1838
Just finding this out now, one of my Fav-O-Rite bands in High School (and beyond).
@depechebest
Brilliant album
@Willesden_Rab1_TV
sad news man
@oxyman10
I still have the cassette tape I bought as a teenager from Columbia House.
@jeffroberts4207
Truth
@MrNwango
This is art. And probably one of the strongest songs from an already untouchable album.
@elizandrolorensi6571
Neil Tennant once said he wish PSB would have recorded Violator
@sirvillar007
Thanks Depeche Mode for this masterpiece.
@hochzeitsfotografseychelle2986
You are welcome, Mr. White! 😎