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)
Shake The Disease
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't you see it's misery and torture for me?
When I'm misunderstood
Try as hard as you can, I've tried as hard as I could
To make you see
How important it is for me
Here is a plea from my heart to you
You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue in situations like these
Understand me, understand me
Understand me, understand me
Some people have to be permanently together
Lovers devoted to each other forever
Now I've got things to do
And I've said before that I know you have too
When I'm not there
In spirit, I'll be there
Here is a plea from my heart to you
Nobody knows me as well as you do
You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue in situations like these
Understand me, understand me
Understand me, understand me
Here is a plea from my heart to you
Nobody knows me as well as you do
You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue in situations like these
Here is a plea from my heart to you
Nobody knows me as well as you do
You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue in situations like these
Here is a plea from my heart to you
Nobody knows me as well as you do
You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue in situations like these
The lyrics to Depeche Mode’s “Shake the Disease” reflect the anguish and torment of being unable to express oneself in a relationship. The first stanza describes the singer’s reluctance to beg for attention, as it leads to torture and misery. The essence of the message here is that communication is key in any relationship, as it reassures the partners of the importance to one another.
In the second stanza of the song, the singer makes a plea to his lover, stating that he/she is the only one who truly knows him, and how difficult it is to hold back his true feelings. The “disease” mentioned refers to the difficulty of expressing himself, leading to frustrations in the relationship.
In the final stanza, the singer acknowledges the bond they share, but also admits that there are things to do on one’s own. He/she promises to not be too far away, and reiterates the plea for understanding in tough circumstances. In summary, “Shake the Disease” is about the challenges faced in communication, and the potential breakdown of a relationship when such challenges are not addressed.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not going down on my knees, begging you to adore me
I refuse to grovel and plead for your affection
Can't you see it's misery and torture for me?
Don't you understand how painful this situation is for me?
When I'm misunderstood, try as hard as you can, I've tried as hard as I could to make you see how important it is for me
Even when I've done my best to make myself clear, you still don't see how much this matters to me
Here is a plea from my heart to you, nobody knows me as well as you do, you know how hard it is for me to shake the disease that takes hold of my tongue in situations like these
I'm begging you to understand me because nobody knows me as well as you do. I struggle to communicate my feelings in situations like this
Understand me, understand me
I implore you to understand me
Some people have to be permanently together, lovers devoted to each other forever, now I've got things to do and I've said before that I know you have too, when I'm not there in spirit, I'll be there
Not everyone has to be joined at the hip. We both have our own lives, but even when we're not physically together, I'll always be with you in spirit
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gabrielbrosnan9353
I'm not going down on my knees
Begging you to adore me
Can't you see it's misery
And torture for me
When I'm misunderstood
Try as hard as you can
I've tried as hard as I could
To make you see
How important it is for me
Here is a plea
From my heart to you
Nobody knows me
As well as you do
You know how hard it is for me
To shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue
In situations like these
Understand me
Some people have to be
Permanently together
Lovers devoted
To each other forever
Now I've got things to do
And I've said before
That I know you have too
When I'm not there
In spirit I'll be there
@rammysaturn
Love how many people are commenting about showing this to their kids. My parents are gen X and raised me on this stuff when I was little, which I'm eternally grateful to them for. 17 years old now and I still come back to this songs all the time, and I'll keep coming back to them for as long as I can.
@TheKeerBear
Real
@michaellorenzen8200
you have a lot of deep diving go backwards to the 80s
@maureencholewka9755
I’m gen x and my daughter knows all the groups that started all the goth emo Darkwave Coldwave and alternative music! You rock
@nathalieloebel7776
My son is also 17 years old. And yes, we are Gen X . Best times, best music, best movies we grew up with
@kombijr
How old are your parents? They had you late as hell 😂
@fabi7013
The song that changed my life. September 1985, 15 years old, a lazy and sunny holiday with my parents in Liguria (Italy) between sunshine, sand and beach umbrellas then suddenly this song on air on the radio. Something new, something different blew my mind...bought with my tip the singles 81-85 tape cassette, listened to this song hundreds of times...and then blasphemous rumours and all...started to dress more and more in black, approaching to new wave and wasn’t enough, embracing goth and then my first true beloved girlfriend, dancefloors, black celebration , the gig in Milan on October 1987, the goosebumps and the tears, new people, new friends, so many other bands, gigs, festivals, experience, deep sadness and overwhelming joy...nothing has been the same anymore, nothing. Always thankful to DM to free up my soul and to this song for changing a chrysalis in a butterfly. It’ always with deep and nostalgic feelings that I listen to this evergreen and eternal masterpiece.
@kissjudit8471
Bár magyar lévén, ém nem sokat értek mindebbòl, de 1985-ben ezt hallgattuk az akkori NDK-ban; s azóta is imàdom!
@mariopantoja8259
Para mi....tenia 14 años ...enserado en el garage en el verano de '87 ...en Chicago.... con bosinas fuerte
@mickadatwist1620
@@kissjudit8471 es ugye abban az evben volt az elso DM concert Budapesten.