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)
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Exploding in my heart
Is this a love in disguise?
Or just a form of modern art?
From the skies, you could almost hear them cry
Tora! Tora! Tora!
In the town, they were going down
I had a nightmare only yesterday
You played a skeleton
You took my love then died that day
I played an American
From the skies, you can almost hear them cry
Tora! Tora! Tora!
In the town, they were going down
Tora! Tora! Tora!
I played an American (I played an American)
I played an American (I played an American)
I played an American (I played an American)
I played an American (I played an American)
I played an American (I played an American)
I played an American (an American)
I played an American
I played an American (an American)
The lyrics of Depeche Mode's 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' have a figurative and literal meaning. The verses recount the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 from two different perspectives--from the skies where Japanese bombers rained down destruction, and on the ground where the Americans were helpless as their ships were blown apart. The lyrics are dripping with irony and meaning, as the melody is energetic and danceable. The words are bleak and haunting. 'They were raining from the sky, exploding in my heart. Is this love in disguise, or just a form of modern art?'. What starts by sounding like a romantic sentiment transforms-- are the bombs love, or something impersonal and destructive? When you hear the Japanese bombers cry 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' in the sky, you can't help but feel the rising tension of the scene. The lyrics are a set of impressionistic images rather than a literal narrative, allowing the listener to imagine the horror of the event. The chorus-- 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' in a repetitious drone, gives the impression of an invasion, transforming the lead singer's voice into a warning signal.
Line by Line Meaning
They were raining from the sky
Bombs were falling from the sky
Exploding in my heart
The bombs made him feel intense emotions
Is this a love in disguise?
He is wondering if the intensity of emotion is love or something else
Or just a form of modern art?
He questions if this destruction is really just a meaningless display
From the skies, you could almost hear them cry Tora! Tora! Tora!
As the bombs fell, he imagines hearing the Japanese cries of 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'
In the town, they were going down Tora! Tora! Tora!
He sees the bombs hitting the town and feels the destruction
I had a nightmare only yesterday
He had a bad dream recently
You played a skeleton
In the dream, someone he loved played a scary role
You took my love then died that day
The dream involved someone taking his love and then dying
I played an American
In the dream, he was an American
I played an American
He repeats that he was playing the role of an American in the dream
I played an American
He emphasizes that he was acting as an American
I played an American
He repeats this phrase several times as if to convince himself of something
I played an American
He repeats the line one last time and trails off, perhaps indicating uncertainty or doubt
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Lee Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind