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)
Welcome To My World
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Step right through the door
Leave your tranquilizers at home
You don't need them anymore
All the drama queens are gone
And the devil got dismayed
He packed up and fled this town
His master plan delayed
And if you stay awhile
I'll penetrate your soul
I'll bleed into your dreams
You'll want to lose control
I'll weep into your eyes
I'll make your vision sing
I'll open endless skies
And ride your broken wings
Welcome to my world
Welcome to my world
Welcome to my world
Watch the sunrise set
And the moon begin to blush
Our naked innocence
Translucently too much
And I hold you in my arms
I keep you by my side
And we sleep the devil's sleep
Just to keep him satisfied
And if you stay awhile
I'll penetrate your soul
I'll bleed into your dreams
You'll want to lose control
I'll weep into your eyes
I'll make your vision sing
I'll open endless skies
And ride your broken wings
Welcome to my world
Welcome to my world
Welcome to my world
Welcome to My World by Depeche Mode expresses the desire of the singer to welcome someone into their own unique world, without judgment or fear. They urge the listener to step right in, leaving behind any tranquillizers that they may have been holding onto. The drama queens and the devil have already left, and their plan is delayed. The singer will then proceed to welcome the listener into their world, promising to penetrate their soul and bleed into their dreams, so they feel comfortable enough to let go and lose control. They promise to weep into the listener's eyes, opening up endless skies while riding on their broken wings.
The imagery in the song is quite evocative, as the sunrise is described as setting and the moon blushing, highlighting how everything in the singer's world is unique and beautiful. The idea of naked innocence being translucently too much adds to the fragile vulnerability that the song evokes. The singer promises to hold the listener close and sleep the devil's sleep, which could be interpreted as sleeping without fear or anxiety, merely being at peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Welcome to my world
Join me in experiencing life from my perspective
Step right through the door
Embrace the opportunity to explore my realm
Leave your tranquilizers at home
Don't worry, you don't need anything to calm you down in my world
You don't need them anymore
My world is free from stress and anxiety
All the drama queens are gone
I don't tolerate negativity and excessive drama in my world
And the devil got dismayed
Even the devil couldn't handle my world and had to leave it
He packed up and fled this town
The devil knows when to retreat and move on
His master plan delayed
My world is a roadblock on the devil's plans
And if you stay awhile
Stick around a bit and see what my world has to offer
I'll penetrate your soul
I'll reach deep inside you and touch your innermost self
I'll bleed into your dreams
My influence will seep into your subconscious thoughts and desires
You'll want to lose control
My world is so fulfilling that you'll want to let go of your inhibitions
I'll weep into your eyes
My emotions will move you to tears
I'll make your vision sing
My world will enlighten you and open your eyes to new possibilities
I'll open endless skies
The limitless potential of my world will be revealed to you
And ride your broken wings
I'll help you overcome your weaknesses and transform them into strengths
Watch the sunrise set
Observe the beauty of nature in my world
And the moon begin to blush
Even celestial bodies are affected by my world's enchanting atmosphere
Our naked innocence
In my world, we can be vulnerable and true to ourselves
Translucently too much
We can connect on a profound level beyond just physical appearances
And I hold you in my arms
I'll provide comfort and care for you
I keep you by my side
You can rely on me to guide you through my world
And we sleep the devil's sleep
Even in rest, we're protected from negativity in my world
Just to keep him satisfied
The devil is unable to disrupt the peace and tranquility of my world
Welcome to my world
Reiterating the invitation to explore and immerse yourself into my realm of happiness and contentment
Welcome to my world
Reiterating the invitation to explore and immerse yourself into my realm of happiness and contentment
Welcome to my world
Reiterating the invitation to explore and immerse yourself into my realm of happiness and contentment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind