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
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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
I've been a martyr for love
The lyrics to Depeche Mode's song "Martyr" are a reflection of unrequited love, painful sacrifice, and the unrelenting desire to be with someone at any cost. The singer speaks of being a martyr for love, willing to die in the flames and call out the name of their beloved as they draw their last breath. There is a sense of despair and hopelessness in the lyrics as the singer concludes that they have been sacrificed for love and must pay the price for it.
The singer goes on to explain their situation as being nailed to the cross while their lover has been having fun, with damage done that the martyr is left to assess the cost of. They knew what they were getting into and that they could never even the score, but they still need to be by the side of their love. They have felt the deceit of their lover but they couldn't leave even if they tried, tortured every hour and moved like a pawn by the greatest of powers. They knew they would have to suffer in vain and never outgrow the pain.
Overall, the lyrics speak to the lengths people will go for love and the pain and sacrifice that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been a martyr for love
I have endured severe pain and suffering for the sake of love.
And I will die in the flames
My love for you is so strong that I am willing to die in unbearable agony.
As I draw my last breath
In my dying moments, I am consumed by thoughts of you.
As I'm closing on death
As my life is coming to an end, you are the only thought on my mind.
I will call out your name
My final words and thoughts will be of you and your name.
Nailed up on the cross
I have been put through great pain and suffering for my love for you, like a martyr.
While you're having your fun
You are enjoying yourself while I suffer for your love.
As the damage is done
Despite the consequences of our love, I still continue to suffer for it.
I'm assessing the cost
I am realizing the extent of my suffering and the price I paid for my love for you.
I need to be by your side
Being near you is so essential to me that I will endure anything for it.
I have knelt at your feet
I have submitted myself to you, as a slave would kneel at the feet of their master.
I have felt your deceit
I have experienced and identified the false promises and betrayal in our love.
Couldn't leave if I tried
Despite the pain and betrayal I have faced, I cannot bring myself to leave you.
Tortured every hour
I have been in continuous pain and torment for my love for you.
From the day I was born
My life has been marked by this love and this pain since I was born.
I've been moved like a pawn
I have been manipulated and played with like a pawn in a game, by forces beyond my control.
By the greatest of powers
These forces are too great for me to overcome or resist.
I knew that I would have to suffer in vain
I was aware that my suffering would be pointless and fruitless, but I embarked on it anyway for love.
Aware that I would never outgrow the pain
I knew that the pain from this love would never fade away, and I would never overcome it.
I've been a martyr for love
I've been suffering intense pain and torture for the sake of this love.
I've been a martyr for love
Repeated line to emphasize the central theme of the song.
I've been a martyr for love
Repeated line to emphasize the central theme of the song.
I've been a martyr for love
Repeated line to emphasize the central theme of the song.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind