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)
New Life
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I watched that man to a stranger
If you you only know me when you turn on the light
Now the room is lit, red danger
Complicating, circulating
New life, new life
Operating, generating
Transition to another place
So the time will pass more slowly
Your features fuse and your shadow's red
Like a film I've seen, now show me
Complicating, circulating
New life, new life
Operating, generating
New life, new life
Your face is hidden and we're out of sight
And the road just leads to nowhere
The stranger in the door is the same as before
So the question answer's nowhere
Complicating, circulating
New life, new life
Operating, generating
New life, new life
I stand still stepping on the shady streets
And I watched that man to a stranger
You think you only know me when you turn on the light
Now the room is lit, red danger
Complicating, circulating
New life, new life
Operating generating
New life, new life
The lyrics to Depeche Mode's "New Life" are somewhat ambiguous, allowing for multiple interpretations. However, one idea that can be gleaned from the lyrics is the notion of transformation and reinvention. The song seems to suggest that life is full of constant change and that a person can never truly know themselves or others completely. The first verse talks about watching a man who is a stranger, suggesting that even people we think we know well can be mysterious and unknowable. This idea is reinforced later in the song when the singer describes a face that is hidden and a road that leads to nowhere.
It seems as though the singer may be struggling with his own sense of identity and may be yearning for a new start or a new direction in life. The lines "complicating, circulating" and "operating, generating" could be seen as representative of the complexities and challenges of everyday life, while the refrain of "new life, new life" suggests a desire for something fresh and unknown. The final lines of the song, which repeat the refrain about "complicating, circulating" and "new life," leave the listener with the sense that life is a cycle of transformation and renewal.
Line by Line Meaning
I stand still, stepping on the shady streets
The singer is standing in a dubious part of town
And I watched that man to a stranger
The singer watches an unknown man
If you only know me when you turn on the light
The singer wants others to see them in the dark and light
Now the room is lit, red danger
When the light is turned on, it's alarming
Complicating, circulating
Life is complex and always moving
New life, new life
The singer wants to start over with a new life
Operating, generating
The singer wants to make changes to start a new life
New life, new life
The artist continues to repeat the desire for a new start
Transition to another place
The artist wants to go to another location
So the time will pass more slowly
The artist wants to slow down time
Your features fuse and your shadow's red
The change in setting affects one's appearance
Like a film I've seen, now show me
The artist wants this new experience
Complicating, circulating
Life is always in motion
New life, new life
The singer wants to start anew
Operating, generating
The singer wants to change things to make a new life
New life, new life
The artist continues to repeat their desire for a fresh start
Your face is hidden and we're out of sight
The artist and the unknown person are unseen
And the road just leads to nowhere
The path to a new life seems to be unknown
The stranger in the door is the same as before
The person at the door is still unknown
So the question answer's nowhere
The answer to the question is unknown
Complicating, circulating
Life continues to present challenges
New life, new life
The artist is still seeking a fresh start
Operating generating
The singer wants to take action to make changes for a new life
New life, new life
The artist wants to start over
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Vince Clarke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tomasaki2298
I stand still stepping on the shady streets
And I watched that man to a stranger
You think you only know me when you turn on the light
Now the room is lit, red danger
Complicating, circulating
New life, new life
Operating, generating
New life, new life
Transitions to another place
So the time will pass more slowly
Features fuse and your shadow's red
Like a film I've seen now show me
Your face is hidden and were out of sight
And the road just leads to nowhere
The stranger in the door is the same as before
So the question answers nowhere
I stand still stepping on the shady streets
And I watched that man to a stranger
You think you only know me when you turn on the light
Now the room is lit, red danger
@photoshoott2022
I am 57 now and was a teen when I first heard their sound, their music, dancing to it in the new wave club, dressing into clothes to fit the music and just had fun. We used to enjoy going to their concerts and all that was about 80s brings back amazing memories and part of those memories is DM. They were a huge part of it, we just couldn't get enough of their music. Still listen to it all the time.
@burnmedina
amen
@pavelmeridian3428
Аналогично ! Привет из России и Германии 🤝
@photoshoott2022
@Pavel Meridian 👍👍🤚
@pavelmeridian3428
@Photoshoott Photography 😁🌹🔨
@MampsUK
Depeche mode 1 of my fav bands of all time so many brilliant tunes I struggle to make a top 5 of my fav tunes. Whats ur fav tunes
@rw8733
I was 16 in 1981 and I still remember how exciting this new sound was. I'd do anything to go back there. ☺
@davidhickman2451
With you on that kid👍
@traceyhaze75
Defo would like to be there with all the amazing songs
@rw8733
@modern tart Sadly yes. We all did! 🤣