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)
Martyr -
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I will die in the flames
As I draw my last breath
As I'm closing on death
I will call out your name
I've been a martyr for love
Nailed up on the cross
As the damage is done
I'm assessing the cost
I knew what I was letting myself in for
I knew that I could never even the score
I've been a martyr for love
I need to be by your side
I have knelt at your feet
I have felt your deceit
Couldn't leave if I tried
I've been a martyr for love
Tortured every hour
From the day I was born
I've been moved like a pawn
By the greatest of powers
I knew that I would have to suffer in vain
Aware that I would never outgrow the pain
I've been a martyr for love
I've been a martyr for love
I've been a martyr for love
The lyrics to Depeche Mode's "Martyr" speak to the experience of sacrificing oneself for the sake of love. The singer suggests that they have been a martyr for love, and that they will die for their love, calling out their name in their final moments. The lyrics suggest that love has caused the singer to suffer deeply, but they cannot help being drawn back to it. Despite experiencing deceit and torture from their lover, they feel a deep need to be by their side.
The lyrics suggest a sense of inevitability and acceptance of suffering for the sake of love. The singer acknowledges that they knew what they were getting into, and that they could never win out over the power of love. They describe being "moved like a pawn / By the greatest of powers" - a metaphor for the unrelenting, controlling force of love. Despite being aware that their love will cause them pain and suffering, they cannot resist its pull.
Overall, the lyrics suggest that the experience of being a martyr for love is simultaneously painful and beautiful. The singer may suffer deeply, but they are drawn to love's power nonetheless. The song captures the intense, sometimes masochistic, experience of being deeply in love and willing to endure anything for it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been a martyr for love
I have endured great suffering for the sake of love.
And I will die in the flames
I will meet a fiery end.
As I draw my last breath
As I take my final respiration.
As I'm closing on death
As I near my end.
I will call out your name
I will say your name one last time before I expire.
Nailed up on the cross
Metaphorically nailed to the cross like Jesus was.
While you're having your fun
While you are enjoying yourself at my expense.
As the damage is done
As the harm is already inflicted.
I'm assessing the cost
I'm evaluating the toll it has taken on me.
I knew what I was letting myself in for
I understood the consequences of my actions beforehand.
I knew that I could never even the score
I knew that I could never make it right or get revenge.
I need to be by your side
I need to be close to you always.
I have knelt at your feet
I have shown great reverence and submission to you.
I have felt your deceit
I have experienced your dishonesty.
Couldn't leave if I tried
I am unable to depart no matter how hard I try.
Tortured every hour
Suffering constantly without relief.
From the day I was born
From the moment I came into this world.
I've been moved like a pawn
I've been controlled like a chess piece by more powerful entities.
By the greatest of powers
By the most significant forces.
I knew that I would have to suffer in vain
I was aware that I would have to bear pain without any benefit.
Aware that I would never outgrow the pain
Aware that I would never find relief from the suffering.
I've been a martyr for love
I've endured great suffering for the sake of love.
I've been a martyr for love
I've endured great suffering for the sake of love.
I've been a martyr for love
I've endured great suffering for the sake of love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MARTIN GORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
koneko
I've been a martyr for love
And I will die in the flames
As I draw my last breath
As I'm closing on death
I will call out your name
I've been a martyr for love
Nailed up on the cross
While you're having your fun
As the damage is done
I'm assessing the cost
I knew what I was letting myself in for
I knew that I could never even the score
I've been a martyr for love
I need to be by your side
I have knelt at your feet
I have felt your deceit
Couldn't leave if I tried
I've been a martyr for love
Tortured every hour
From the day I was born
I've been moved like a pawn
By the greatest of powers
I knew that I would have to suffer in vain
Aware that I would never outgrow the pain
I've been a martyr for love...
Depeche Mode Channel
A very underrated track. Years go by, and I'm still waiting for them to perform it at a concert
Christopher Sarian
I wish!! Wife and I just heard Wrong live at their concert in Toronto❤ love the usuals of course, but that, question of lust and waiting for the night to fall blew us away. Seeing them in Hungary next!!
Collette Post
I agree I don't know why it wasn't released that techno on it is vital it reminds people of DM early years it's what people expect
Sue
It’s one of my favorites
VTR_monsterextremo
I think it has the same problem as People are People. As with People, they thought the song is too poppy, so they dont like to perform it. It was scrapped, until the Best Of Vol 1 was released as an unreleased track.
Chris Neufeld
This video is Depeche Mode’s career summed up in 3 minutes and 23 seconds. The way some of the lyrics are synced up with the footage as if they’re being sung is amazing.
Skye ID
DM has such a huge catalog of songs and videos that I'm not surprised that they were able to sync the video with the lyrics so perfectly
Isabelle Veilleux
Alan Wilder is nowhere to be seen though...
Isabelle Veilleux
Vv I know, but still he was part of their history.
ritapace attard
love this track...