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)
Two Minute Warning
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Two million miles across the land
Scattered to the highest high
Expect they'll either laugh or cry
No sex, no consequence, no sympathy
You're good enough to heat
When time has come my days are numbered
Two minute warning two minutes later
When time has come my days are numbered
The dawning of another year
Marks time for those who understand
One in four still here
While you and I go hand in hand
No radio, no sound, no sin, no sanctuary
So welcome to your last
Two minute warning two minutes later
When time has come my days are numbered
Two minute warning
The sun, the solitude, the cemetery
So welcome to your last
Two minute warning two minutes later
When time has come my days are numbered
Two minute warning two minutes later
When time has come my days are numbered
Two minute warning two minutes later
When time has come my days are numbered
The lyrics to Depeche Mode's Two Minute Warning paint a picture of a desolate world where there is no sex, no consequence, no sympathy, no sound, and no sanctuary. The singer lies with another person under an orange sky, two million miles across the land. They are scattered to the highest high, expecting that some will either laugh or cry. The clarity and directness of the song's message is quite disturbing. The singer is reflecting on their mortality, given that the dawning of another year marks time for those who can understand. It is also noted that one in four people are still here while others have passed on.
The phrase "two-minute warning" is repeated several times throughout the song, representing the idea that the singer has a very limited time left to live. The song creates a sense of urgency as if the singer is running out of time to do something before it's too late. The sun, the solitude, and the cemetery are all symbols of the end of life. The song's message is melancholy, but it still imparts a sense that one ought to appreciate life while we have it.
Interesting facts about the song Two Minute Warning:
Line by Line Meaning
We're lying by the orange sky
We are lying down and looking at the orange sky.
Two million miles across the land
The distance across the land is two million miles.
Scattered to the highest high
We are all over the place, at the highest point we can find.
Expect they'll either laugh or cry
We anticipate that they will either laugh or cry at us.
No sex, no consequence, no sympathy
There is no sex, no consequences, and no sympathy.
You're good enough to heat
Despite the lack of sex, consequences, or sympathy, you are good enough to keep me warm.
Two minute warning two minutes later
We have a warning that there are two minutes left, and two minutes later it will be over.
When time has come my days are numbered
When my time has run out, I will have no more days.
The dawning of another year
A new year is beginning.
Marks time for those who understand
This marks time for those who understand the significance.
One in four still here
Only one out of four is still here.
While you and I go hand in hand
You and I are together.
No radio, no sound, no sin, no sanctuary
There is no radio, no sound, no sin, and no sanctuary.
So welcome to your last
This is your last welcome.
The sun, the solitude, the cemetery
We see the sun, we are alone, and we are in a cemetery.
Two minute warning
We have a warning that there are two minutes left.
When time has come my days are numbered
When my time has run out, I will have no more days.
Two minute warning two minutes later
We have a warning that there are two minutes left, and two minutes later it will be over.
When time has come my days are numbered
When my time has run out, I will have no more days.
Two minute warning two minutes later
We have a warning that there are two minutes left, and two minutes later it will be over.
When time has come my days are numbered
When my time has run out, I will have no more days.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alan Wilder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind