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)
I Sometimes Wish I Were Dead
Depeche Mode Lyrics
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You can hear it too
Getting hot, never stop
Just for me and you
Playing on my radio and saying that you had to go
New day turn away
Wipe away the tear
Knowing that you're here
Dancing with you all the time, and don't you think that it's a crime
Back street never meet
Never say goodbye
I know where you go
But I don't know why
You say that it's from above, and I say this is modern love
The lyrics of "I Sometimes Wish I Were Dead" by Depeche Mode express a sense of longing for someone who is no longer present. The opening lines suggest a newfound excitement in hearing a "new sound all around" that both the singer and their partner can hear. They continue to describe their desire to never stop the music, as it is just for them, and how much it means to both of them. However, things take a turn with the line "playing on my radio and saying that you had to go," indicating that the person who used to share the love of the music is no longer around.
The second verse picks up where the first left off, but with a sense of reconciliation. The singer acknowledges a "new day" and tries to wipe away the tears from their absence, feeling that they can find solace in the idea that the person is still with them in some way. The line "new night, feel right, knowing that you're here" suggests that the music is as significant to the singer as the memory of the person, and that they can find pleasure in both. The final lines of the verse describe the act of dancing with them, but also express the sadness in the fact it is now "a crime" to do so, presumably because they are no longer physically present.
Line by Line Meaning
New sound all around
There is a new sound that can be heard everywhere
You can hear it too
You can also hear the new sound that is all around
Getting hot, never stop
The sound is getting hotter and never stops playing
Just for me and you
It feels like the music is being played just for the two of us
Playing on my radio and saying that you had to go
The music is playing on the radio, but at the same time, you are telling me that you have to leave
New day turn away
A new day has arrived, so let's turn our attention away from the past
Wipe away the tear
Let's try to move on from our sadness and wipe away our tears
New night, feel right
The new night feels right and full of possibilities
Knowing that you're here
It's comforting to know that you are here with me
Dancing with you all the time, and don't you think that it's a crime
Dancing with you feels so good that I wish we could do it all the time, even though it's not necessarily socially acceptable
Back street never meet
We come from different walks of life and will never meet in the way that we want to
Never say goodbye
Let's just never say goodbye and try to keep this moment forever
I know where you go
I have an idea where you go when you're not with me
But I don't know why
But I don't understand why you have to go there
You say that it's from above, and I say this is modern love
You believe that what we're experiencing is some sort of divine intervention, while I think it's just a product of our modern times
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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