Depeche Mode & "Enjoy the Silence": From Parody to Royalty | New British Canon
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In 1980 Depeche Mode arrived; Kids armed with synths and squeaky bubblegum tunes. By the end of the decade they had twenty UK top 40 hits and had grown progressively darker, moodier and more industrial, but still pop. However in the US they were not mainstream, known mostly by listeners of anglophile college radio DJs and seen along with The Smiths, Cure, New Order and XTC as “alternative.” This cult appeal had made them one of the biggest US concert draws of the late 1980s, but they couldn't back that up in album sales. 1990's Violator would change that. And alongside “Personal Jesus,” its second single would solidify that after a decade as a band they could have the biggest songs of their career, defining Modern Rock-crossover hits in the process. This is New British Canon and This is the story of "Enjoy the Silence."
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Soundtrack:
Luar - Citrine ( / luarbeats )
Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present
B-Side - Pen Unubis
Luar - Anchor ( / luarbeats )
0:00 Introduction
01:31 Depeche Mode: Saviours and Punchline
07:21 Every Cult Needs a Messiah: "Personal Jesus"
11:03 From Serene to Danceable: "Enjoy The Silence"
14:57 How Violator Cracked the Top Ten
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Ok this question nobody nobody knows and answer. WAY THE ROSE OF THE COVER ALBUM IS CUT IN 6 PIECES?🤔 DID YOU KNOW??
@@jackgahan149 : Great Question !
They’re just a good band that make music you can feel in a deep way.....!!!
Trash Theory ... thanks for this ! Well Done ! dm luv it ! ...
Annoying commenter here, on the topic of 'Einstürzende Neubauten' That pronounciation was so bad though. Love the video, but maybe plug German words into a text to speech for a sec before butchering them, because common letters are pronounced extremely different in German from English. FYI, it would be something like Uyn-shd-ür(both sounds don't exist in English)-ts-and-eh Noi(like in noise)-bow-ten. Sorry for being a grammar Nazi, I really love your vids!
If there's anything these episodes have taught me is that the British press is a cesspool of negativity and bullying towards new artists, with a tendency to go "it will never catch on", and that if they're clutching their pearls at something you do, you're probably doing something right.
Funny thing, I was so reminded of the incident where John McEnroe walked out on the press room in irritation at a British reporter who was trying to bait McEnroe's badboy temper, after which a heated argument between the that reporter and one of the American reporters led to light brawl in the press room. That being said, L.A.'s TV news coverage on the Violator LP release clearly highlighted a similarly repulsive trend in American news media. Perhaps if we made it a point to place American and British reporters in the same room together more often, we might hope to see them getting too distracted with getting butt-hurt at each other to indulge in their revoltingly vacuous demagogue impulses.
Oh my God, that's kinda hilarious in a twisted way xDDD But yeah, I don't understand why the press has such vitriol towards new artists and such.
Maybe that helped DM keep putting out quality new stuff though -- 'cos if the media had declared them 'genius' in 1981 they might have just rested on their laurels instead. The hostile media might have given them the fuel for the fire. To prove something and evolve.
@@nellsun2521 Yeah... no. There's a lot of middle ground between eviscerating a band on paper like the British news media does to a lot of artists, and calling them "genius". I'm a musician and artist myself, if the same vitriol was thrown my way for my artistic output I would get extremely discouraged.
You would think they being fucking wrong all the time would've costed their jobs. They're giving gaming journos a run for their money in the living joke department.
When it comes to ANY documentary on Depeche Mode, I just can’t get enough.
Do you got all the remastered double disc docs?
That's the policy of truth
@@MathasarSalazar2 haha yesss
Trash Theory really got stripped down to the bone with this video
That's probably love in itself...
“Violator” was their best album and one of the best albums of all time. “Violator” landed like an alien in the spring of 1990 given that since 1988, most popular music in North America was firmly in the grips of hair metal. I was graduating that summer but nixed going to my high school prom since it was the same night that Depeche Mode were playing Montreal that night for a sold-out-in-15-minutes show at the Montreal Forum. My high school was like a really bad John Hughes film and I would rather celebrate my favourite band of all time with 5th row seats that I had slept out for for 2 nights instead of spending all this money looking my best on a bunch of people I couldn’t stand being around. It paid off. After the concert, we went to the hotel where they were staying and I ended up meeting Martin and Fletch, took pictures and I ended up chatting with Martin for about 10 minutes. He told us which goth club they were going to and invited us along. We met them at the club and I actually danced with Fletch and Alan. Come Monday morning and I find out that prom was a bust, everyone hated it. When people asked me what I did, I told them and eventually showed them the pictures. NOT going to prom was the best decision of my life.
Do you still have those pictures with Martin and Andy?
@@jeshkam Yes I do, I posted them on my FB and I have the one with Martin and I enlarged and framed and it’s hanging over my work desk along with thank you letters that I have from Katherine Hepburn and Professor Noam Chomsky. And no I’m not posting them here.
@@fairdose Thank you.
Thank was a great story! Thanks for sharing!!
It's like a John Hughes teen fantasy movie !
I was a weird, goth kid in the US and I loved Depeche Mode (and The Cure, The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Siouxsie,, etc.) so while I was pleased they were getting their praise with Violator, I was mad all the kids who made fun of me loved them now
I knew people who called them the 'f' word who all of a sudden started bragging about seeing them live. That really sucked.
Were you into Coil too? 'Horse Rotorvator' and 'Scatology' both classic 80s goth/industrial albums.
Yeah it always sucked when that happened with bands you liked as a teen.
I never really considered myself golf but I was all into goth stuff like all their music.. and a lot of people made fun of me and like you said now they're all big fans LOL
Were you into The Bolshoi, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera (Specifically their first album) also? If not, then I recommend you check those out.
Depeche Mode are the perfect "Everyone's heard of them but nobody knows them like I do" band. Just that most ecstatic kind of band to be into when you're that age where everything seems like it might break your heart, and still immensely satisfying when you grow older, wiser but never leave that heart behind.
I guess it's true what they say....the bands you fell in love with in your teenage years stay with you forever.
@@PCT6566I fell in love when I was 23, I am 36 now and still adore them
“The serious UK music weeklies saw them as a joke" They literally saw every good band as a joke lol, music press has always been awfully elitist.
Literally??
Aren't all music jurnos like that? Even back then
I feel like British Press is usually overly pessimistic
@@mikeymikey4186 british press are just shite.. basically...
It made me think of Def Leppard when they said that - the press seemed to want them to be something other than what they are, a band should either be more poppy or more serious, which seems like the no man's land that Depeche Mode found themselves in (though at least Def Leppard deliberately positioned themselves in that way, while DM were trying to deliberately move away from the cheesy pop they started with)
Love that they consider themselves so unapologetically pop! Violator is such a fantastic album.
Bands who aren't afraid of that label and write their own stuff are often the greatest.
FINALLY. Trash Theory does Depeche Mode
That's what I've been waiting for ever since I've subscribed to the channel.
@@ArturVader Honestly can't believe we've gone through so much NBC before this point. Violator was the watershed moment for DM and I'm glad we're finally here
@Orwell 1984 true, i even did that few times
Seriously! One of my favorite groups.
This video was a wonderful birthday gift from a longtime fan.
Policy of Truth is one of the most nostalgically amazing songs for me. It always seems relevant.
That Rose Bowl concert was absolutely mental. Everyone was crying their eyes out, singing "Everything Counts" at the top of their lungs. There was also a giant food fight that almost everyone in the stands participated in! It rained but magically cleared up right before Depeche Mode came on. Best concert of my life on the weekend following my high school graduation. =)
6:48 still gives me goosebumps... Cheers Bro..
Seemingly half of my high school classmates went to that show. I joke at the amount. But the next time I saw them, there were so many concert tees. And several camera pan shots in the 101 film show them...oh there's ______. Though it was strange to see the cheerleaders with the shirts cause I feel they didn't get DM but just went to be cool.
Saw that tour in Denver. You could look around the arena and see every single hand raised. Someone commented later that DM could have told the crowd go go out that night and kill their parents and they would probably do it.
101 Concert ..!!!!! Yep.
I won tickets to that show from Richard Blade and The Poorman. I was in 9th grade, a friend of the family ended up having to drive me to the show *sigh*
8:30 Martin Gore: 'How we got anything done, I don't know.' Me: *Cough* Alan Wilder *Cough*
exactly! without alan wilder they would've never ever been so successful. not even close.
I mean... Facts.
Violator was like a loss of musical virginity, once I heard the first 3 seconds of World In My Eyes I never went back.
I feel the same but it was music for the masses for me
Personal Jesus did it for me…
I had just starting dating this girl back in 1990, the summer before I left for college when Enjoy The Silence started playing on the radio. The way she screamed out "I love this song" told me right then she was special. We've been together since then and just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary by going to a DM concert. I had goosebumps when they sang Strangelove.
The day after that Rose Bowl concert most of the students at my high school were wearing their DM concert shirts. It was a huge cultural event in L.A. for kids of that era.
I love the 101 doc
I still have that shirt. Bummed I didnt't save more concert/show shirts from my salad days.
@@PilarNarvaezalvarez Yeah, Dave the bus driver is hilarious 😂😁
the evolution of DM as a band is so spectacular and it's what makes them so special to me
Unlike the degeneration of Smashing Pumpkins when Billy tried to go drummer-less. I wish they didnt choose SPs "Ava Adore" as an example of DM influence. Pumpkins are a great band, but Ava Adore is by far their crappiest album.
@@charleebrown7188 Pretty much every Pumpkins album post-Zeitgeist has been demonstrably worse than 'Adore'.
@@rapabsinthe786 I haven't listened to anything of theirs since Adore. I wont try to, since I'm getting lots of negative feedback. But, hey, 4 or 5 (Mellon Collie) good records is great for a band
The only other bands I can think of that have developed like Depeche are Rush and Sonic Youth. Their albums just got better and better.
Unique and perculior, kind of clever, brilliant!
Yes, DM were huge in LA and NY, SF and other places where there were good clubs. But what was left out of the video, and something that helped the band gain world-wide acceptance, was their influence on Eastern-bloc countries and the folks within. Theiir earlier songs about the hypocracy of capitalism and even the corruption of government and media, as well as romantic ballads early on in the bands repetoire, allowed them to gain fans that identified with the lyrics. Most of the songs from Some Great Reward, and especially songs (and even album covers) from A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again, spoke to everyone, from those frustrated by materialist "Yuppy" culture to even those living under communist regimes! Truly universal lyrics led to a truly universal audience! It is not by coincedence that so many folks call DM music "the soundtrack to my life!" (It was, and still is...)
Couldn’t Agree more also the songs from Black Celebration
Yes, they were certainly a huge hit in Czech Republic
It was and still is biggest cult band in Poland!🖤
Violator is simply a masterpiece. In 31 years it hasn't aged a second. It could be released today and i think it would still be a hit.
This is a prime example of a band that matured well through the decades as it's fans did also.
Saw them in Atlanta in 2023 and it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Though I missed Alan and Andy.
I have to admit that my favourite song from Violator is Policy of Truth. The synths on that song sound so slick and perfect
I fucking love Depeche Mode, they got me through a lot of heavy times in my late teens.....thank you!!!!
I’m close to 50 and they still hold me through badtimes…
Me too 🖤🖤🖤
Me too bro
I went to the San Francisco show the week before. Cow Palace. Before that I saw Black Celebration in Berkeley, Still have the shirt. The 101 shirts were sold out.
One of the best bands ever! Last I saw them, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club opened for them, and Martin Gore sang Strangelove acapella. Gave me chills.
Love BRMC, great bands
My favorite song!
Depeche Mode could easily sell out any venue in LA to this day 🙂
They are very popular in Florida as well and will sell out just about anything
Well, I saw them back in 2004 in New York and it was as trivial as stopping by a Dunking Donuts. It was that era after Wilder where they released Exciter which was super null.
Hi Julio, I believe you are correct, they are well loved in L.A. As an English fan, I am really glad they moved to Berlin then long term L.A where they got the recognition they deserved. The UK music press were diabolical in their treatment of DM in the early days. I saw them on the "Back to Work" (Construction time again) tour in UK back in 1983 and they were awesome then. Some of my mates took the piss out of me for it but time has proven me right.
@@kmmining1359 Angeleno here. DM is the only band to sell out four nights at the Hollywood Bowl. It was in 2017, I was there for 2 shows :)
I scored section Us at the Santa Barbara Bowl show and took my brother; and we couldn't believe the freaking energy. It was like a revival meeting. That was the most profitable tour of 2017; and it was absolutely no surprise.
DM is perfection. People either know this already, or they will one day come to this conclusion.
One of Violator's great achievements is that it was a mostly electronic album that sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday, whereas most electronic music of the 80s and 90s is very much of its time. (Put on a rave compilation from the early 90s and get ready to cringe.) The band's almost perverse efforts to establish a signature sound throughout their early career truly paid off here. What a wonderful record.
I think Depeche Mode’s music getting darker and more experimental really has a weird wonderful effect on how I view them. I know them as a band who’s music is absolutely beautiful and dark and I love it so much.
The title “every cult needs a messiah” brings me so much joy
2:51 See, Fletch can play anything, including cash registers.. 😂😁
blue dress from the Album Violator is like the best song ever
Yes! It gives me chills to this day.
Also Halo, Clean and World in my eyes.
ENJOY THE SILENCE
@@sirvillar007 another great song is "things you said" music for the masses
@@deathakid little fifteen, behind the wheel, strangelove and never let me down
Black Celebration is my favorite Depeche Mode album & one of the best albums of the 80's. It had questions of lust & time & there was a 🪰on the windscreen. It's essential.
Same. And don't forget about "Stripped".
“Princess Di is wearing a new dress...”
Agreed
Yesss ... Black Celebration Here Is The House luv it ! But Not Tonight & Stripped Depeche Mode ...thx.
Princess Diana is Duran Duran She Said Love all Duranies ! ...
While i agree Violator is a great album, i think people tend to overlook Some Great Reward and Black Celebration a lot. Those two albums were absolute beasts that led to Music for the Masses and Violator.
Black Celebration is fantastic!
Black Celebration was their best album IMHO.
Hometown rock radio station in Los Angeles, KROQ, flexing its influence again. They pushed Depeche Mode over the top here in the US and made that Rose Bowl show possible. No part of the country loves Depeche Mode more than Southern California, just like Morrissey. For high school kids in SoCal in the 80s, "Somebody" was everyone's slow song at their prom. You could definitely do a video on KROQ and Rodney Bingenheimer, and their influence in breaking acts here in the US we otherwise would never have heard of. Rodney was playing the Cure and Adam Ant when Poison and Guns N Roses were reigning supreme.
I was just going to metion KROQ. I remember it being Richard Blade always talking about and playing DM, but I'm sure Rodney did too. KROQ was independent at that time and CBS had not yet put their slimy stain on the station.
I've read Richard Blade's book recently and Depeche Mode seems very grateful for the guy. He helped to put them on the map in the states
@@necronwarrior I'm embarrassed that I just forgot about Richard Blade. He is definitely huge on the list of people who were diversifying the the LA music scene in the 80s. I grew up on his Flashback Lunch show in the 90s and 00s.
Wrong part of the ‘80s. He played them when bands like REO Speedwagon and Journey were big.
YES! All of this! SoCal and KROQ are a huge part of DM success!
This song, along with Personal Jesus, and Policy of Truth are still staples of American alternative radio today. They're just great, timless songs.
My favorite band - Depeche Mode. I went thru a 3-year stage where I would only listen to Depeche Mode.**Never let me down** favorite song of all time! Einsturzende Neubauten played outside in a park in Seattle for free when I was about 20 years old. I had an invention with me called 'Vodka Tonic in a jar'.
Yes! I love that song. Every time I listen to it I feel like I can hear a new layer of rhythm in it.
That reminds me of my roomie freshman year, who would only listen to one song on repeat, which was a Depeche Mode minimal piano and vocal. Somewhat wistful, but comfortingly atmospheric; kinda similar to John Lennon's Imagine, but more downtempo, if perhaps somewhat more non-descript. Now I reckon I will have to hunt down the track for the nostalgia artifact, because my roomie was one of the sweetest people I ever met =]
I'm taking a ride with my best friend😘...
OK
That is a good choice for binge listening.
Actually it was Depeche Mode as well as Human League and New Musik that got me into synthesizers. Inspired me to do my own electronic music.
YESS !! New Musik mention 😍
Violator was the first album I ever owned, my mom gave me the cassette for Christmas when I was 7 years old in 1990 and I wore out the tape from listening to it over and over. Amazing album
Berserk fan and a Depeche Mode fan, what a glorious combo
Perfetta !
7?! Wow!
@@gerhardvaneeden5615 I know it's wild! Even at such a young age I was a fiend for music, I was fortunate enough to have a cool mom who shared awesome bands and albums with me (she still does btw, I've also shown her music as well over the years which she loves I'm fortunate to have that musical bond with her still all these years later🙏)
@@cloudbloom Oh wow! I wasn't expecting a reply from my reply to a year-old comment, nevermind almost immediately. That's awesome that your mom is so cool, and that you share such a bond. You must really love music, and probably have quite a vast and varied range in your collection.
Depeché Mode will always have a big place in my heart. My dad grew up with their music, and in turn, so did I. I'm very thankful for him sharing his love for this band with me, because DM will now always remind me of my father. I wish to one day go to another one of their concerts and, just like my dad, at least get ONE DM tattoo (dad is basically covered in DM tattoos). ♥
I have 2 DM tats
I'm English but grew up in Spain, was educated there. Depeche Mode was MASSIVE in Spain.
There is something so magical about song snippets... You may have heard that song a hundred times but when you hear a snippet, it's like you heard it for the first time but with the benefit of pre-established fondness that just makes you want to dig out this song and play it till you bleed...
The live version of " Everything Counts " blows the studio version away.
101 versions blow all studio versions away imho.
I love the Devotional version, is really rough.
World Violation tour version is my favourite
Pretty much every live DM song blows the album version away. One of the best live bands ever, of all time. BETTER in person.
The day my local radio station played ‘Enjoy the Silence’ I waited all night in my room for them to play it again so I could press record. I finally got it and wore that cassette tape down. As a kid, Depeche Mode were no longer ‘weird’.
Wow I remember those days , recording from radio
Oh yeah! I just hated it when they would put in jingles etc throughout or just before the song ended 😂😅😭 good times💪🏼💯
One of the greatest albums of all time. The perfect DM album. It deserves to be listened to straight thru from start to finish as there are no duds on it. It is that perfect.
I waa born in 1991 in Poland but My father is big DM fan and their music also as Talk Talk was all the time around Me. I love their music too. Since I was born its seems. My mum said that when she was pregnant My father sometimes turned loud Depeche Mode so before I was born I heard that music. This music is inside of many of us!
15:02 "Depeche Mode, smashing preconceptions" "Homer Simpson, smiling politely"
😆👍👍
I'm gonna need one of these about New Order that isn't about Blue Monday
How does it feel...?
@@chrisanagn.3584 oh, you cruel...
Or that Ian guy too...
It must be a temptation!
@@TheTwicezero It should be about their bizarre love triangle...
Great video! I'd love to see another on Songs of Faith and Devotion. The amount of turmoil and musical innovation that came on the record after Violator is often forgotten.
And heroin!
They are absolutely massive in Eastern Europe. I grow up listening to them I've always known them. Even my 70 year old mother who doesn't listen to English music at all knows them. Everybody knows them here.
Good to know but why do you think that was the case I mean their popularity compared to some other bands
@@zulfhashimmi2040 they were willing and allowed to play behind the Iron Curtain
Saw them in 98 with my mom and sister, it blew me away seeing my favorite band live and I still have the ticket! Incredible band
I remember them doing a live concert, and a local radio station just broadcasting the whole thing live and without commercials. I listened to the whole thing, not being a mega-fan or anything. They were just that good. Great video.
Violator - I'm an 80's kid and this ablum did something to me. As "World in my eyes" even begins, you can't help but know you're about to encounter something special, something different. The entire journey of that recording has magic in it. Thank you DM for taking me on that trip, around the world and back...
Huge part of Depeche Mode's appeal is Anton Corbijn, It kinda irks me when no one mentions him in videos about DM, Depeche Mode wouldn't be the same without him.
Their Image wouldn’t be the same but the music is all them!
Same with U2.
And this also began … with Joy Division =]
The reason is Anton is not responsible for the sound of DM, just the videos.
great video, but that pronounciation of einstürzende neubauten made me crack up
yep
And Milan. Lol
Same hehehe
It's a computer generated voice
Why underplay the input and influence of Alan Wilder?! He's the guy that lifted the DM sound up out of saccharine bubblegum pop.
This^^^^^^^
100% spot on. Gore and Gahan (and to some extent Fletch) are talented as hell. But the music wouldn't have evolved, or become as influential had Wilder not joined the band.
Yes. What about the fact he rewrote Enjoy the Silence from a folk ballad into a worldwide synth pop anthem? And did much more than that.
And Anton Corbijn he lifted the A-ha image of Depeche Mode to industrial, gothic, angst ridden post punk dark tortured image that every band since then copied.
true... but he kept his mouth shut for years.
Such a great analysis! Enjoy The Silence is a perfect song and Violator is a perfect album. Depeche Mode’s run from 83-93 is one of the best any band has ever done.
But is it better than SPK
I love "Violator", but my favorite album is "Music for the Masses". And my favorite song ever is "Strangelove".
The single or album version?
@@isaakwelch3451 Both 😂
I love both of those albums dearly but Ultra has that super dark edge that I really dig. Barrel of a Gun, Useless, It's No Good, Freestate... but even their newer stuff is really good. Such an underrated band.
@@Wraiven22 Underrated? Overrated rather
‘Never Let Me Down Again’ is one of their finest moments. Side note: ‘People Are People’ is most likely a nod to Fad Gadget’s ‘Collapsing New People’, also on Mute.
Let Fad Gadget be remembered!
Music For The Masses was my first DM album. Not that it was that long ago I listened to it, but when I heard Never Let Me Down Again, I was already hooked. Strangelove is easily my favorite though
Depeche Mode belong among the Greastest Bands,not only from the 80's but from all music History. They were Huge,and still are huge. Their music from 40 + years ago sounds so fresh that looks like it was released yesterday. That's the "Secret" of Depeche Mode and their Massive success. Awesome Musicians with Awesome Lyrics. The Formula for success. And they achived that despite many serious problems ( some personal) along the way. One of the Greastest Bands of All Time. Without any Doubt.
*Butthead* : 'Depeche Mode' is French for 'we're wusses.' *Beavis* : Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh... yeah
@ 6:35 Wait? "Hollywood's Rose Bowl" huh!! It's Pasadena's man. Hollywood has it's own Bowl, called Hollywood Bowl.
The last words should have been:- "Depeche Mode finally silenced the critics, and made them enjoy it"
30 years on and I defy anyone not to stretch their arms out like Dave when singing Personal Jesus - reach out and touch faith!
Or as I usually say, "Reach out and touch Dave!"
Dave Gahan Said - заебись ! ...
I absolutely love depeche mode, my personal fave is songs of faith and devotion,fave track is 'Rush' just a beautiful track, going to play it at my funeral for sure
Love this so much! So many of those late 80s/early 90s "college radio" bands were so influential in bridging the gap from Guns n Roses to Nirvana, and yet, they feel so forgotten. Glad to see them finally getting some deserved recognition after all this time.
Starting with pop and getting darker over time and then re-emerging with life affirming pop/rock based on lived experience is a wonderful playbook.
V cool
Depeche Mode is one of the greatest bands of all time. The music of Depeche Mode is timeless. . . . With that said, there are very very few people in the world at any given time in History who truly know anything about art. Most people or group of people who claim to know anything about art have absolutely NO clue what they are talking about.
Simply one of the finest bands to ever exist. Blessed to have seen them live
Ultra remains my favorite, it's the next step in the evolution of the group.
Agreed 100%.
"Ultra" - The album Dave made right on the cusp of being totally clean. It was almost, very nearly, a Martin Gore solo album. Which you can kind of tell, as most of the songs fit Martin's voice moreso on "Ultra" than any other album. "Home" being a perfect example, as well as it being a beautiful "Come back to us, Dave" kind of song. Martin Gore says it's not about Dave, though everyone else involved, such as the engineers and producer/s think otherwise. And in that context, it IS a heartbreaking, breathtaking song. On a different note, "Playing The Angel" is a seriously excellent album too, especially when stood next to "Exciter" - good but not great. "Playing The Angel" however, IS a great album! I caught them late, seeing them twice on that Touring The Angel tour. Wembley Arena - perfect size for them! And at Hyde Park too. Not my kind of venue, but they still rocked it.
"Gonna take my time... I have all the time in the world... To make you mine... It is written in the stars above..." Just fantastic, especially with that synth hook to it!
The Song Insight ! - best ..!!! Yer
@@nickthelick Playing The Angel is a stellar album, heck it just might be my favorite
I was in the army in 1989 and 1990, existing in a closed off bubble. I missed the fall of the Berlin Wall even, finding out about that months later. I missed a ton of new music and movie releases, leaving a gap in my life, but I did NOT miss the release of Violator. That album burst through all military constraints, pricking my isolated SADF bubble, leading to the purchase of my first Sony Walkman on my meagre army pay, just so I could listen to Depeche Mode's Violator in all it's glory. In the early 1990's Depeche Mode toured South Africa on their Devotional Tour, and my mom came to the concert along with my friends... yeah, my mom who grew up listening to Elvis was partying along to her favourite band of all time, Depeche Mode. RIP mom.
I remember when that wave hit... yes I knew their earlier stuff.. I was familiar with it.. In the States,, Violator hit like a tidal wave
My favorite cover: Rammstein's cover of "Stripped".
Katharina Nuttall's version is better. Till's English is not very great.
soundcloud.com/rac/depechemoderac
For me, this was the sound of the 90s. I guess I got into the band late, but I still have my original cds.
Love your in depth videos. “Enjoy the silence” is special to me, because it reminds me of my dad. It’s one of only a handful of pop songs my dad, who never really listened to music, actually liked. He even would stay up to watch the music video.
Depeche Mode is a one-hit wonder but everyone knows a different hit song 😂 love it, this is one of my favorite channels and I'm sitting in a grocery store parking lot because I saw the notification and couldn't wait til I got home. Please, please someday, make one about Factory Records/The Hacienda/Madchester/New Order... that whole thing. 💕
yes! I second the request for Factory Records/The Hacienda/Madchester, with another just on New Order
Only a non DM fan would say that they’re a one hit wonder band where everyone knows one song. You must be younger than 35 years old.
@@Sabricent I'm 16 years old and even I know that Depeche has a number of hits.
Alan Wilder was the real MVP of Depeche Mode but rarely gets any credit. His post-DM project Recoil is fucking awesome whereas their output has been average at best.
theyre all talented, Playing the Angel is another master piece
I can only speak for myself, but to me, their sound irrevocably changed after Wilder's departure & their discography has been inconsistent at best. They were a better band with Wilder (the only classically trained musician in the group) & imo, his post production work on each album is sorely missed in the work produced during DM's second act.
Recoil is awful. It really is
Pearls before swine.
Their post-Wilder albums don’t quite compare, but they’ve still managed to produce some great music. Ultra is a favorite of mine from their whole catalog. They’ve also maintained a high level of quality as a live act without Alan.
It's not humanly possible and no words can describe how much I love Depeche Mode. Favorite band from 1984 to today
When I was 13, I only had listened to top 40 radio pop. Then I got "Songs of faith and devotion" from my local library. It changed my life.
I've been a fan of DM since I was in high school back in 1983. I guess I was one of their "Cult" members as you put it. In college, I had a friend who was a DJ and he would mix me tapes with a lot of their music and he'd play them in the club. I love seeing their transition over the years and am still a fan. (I still miss Alan though...he's a musical genius!)
Johnny cash's version of personal Jesus is very special
I came here to say just that.
Black Celebration was the album that got me interested in DM, along with a lot of other folks, in the mid 80s. From there, it was only up. I never got around to seeing them until Playing the Angel.
Flood's work on Achtung Baby and Zooropa was also incredible.
I don't want to hear the phrase "All I've ever wanted, all I've ever need" for a good 6 weeks after this.
Ha, I was thinking the same. That clip was almost like a bad trip Acid flashback.
Would recommend to anyone getting Music For the Masses on vinyl. The most recent remasters are unbelievable!
Some additional info: Depeche Mode were very successful in Germany with several top 10 singles before they became famous in the US or UK. Also, Alan Wilder wrote and/or arranged many of their songs. I'm not trying to diminish Martin Gore's talent, but they would've been lost after Vince Clarke left, cause the other 3 weren't very tech-savvy and couldn't have programmed synthesizers the way Alan did.
As an introvert, Depeche Mode means a lot to me. Especially the song "Enjoy the Silence". First time hearing that song it was like there was someone out there who really understood. Also being with my life mate and spouse, that song is very personal for me. DP is such a great band.
The fact a song gets covered by all genres shows it's a classic. If it gets covered by more and more genres it's going to be remembered 200 years on.
My uncle, one of the band's cult fans in the interim between "People Are People" and "Personal Jesus", gave me a shirt from the Music for the Masses tour. Starwood Amphitheatre, Nashville, 24/05/1988 to be exact.
Omg! That's so cool. Go, Uncle!
I’d like to say Songs of Faith and Devotion. An even bigger album in all ways and the subsequent tour
Also Flood says in an interview that Depeche Mode outsold, GnR, U2, and Bon Jovi on the merchandise front in the late 80’s
Devotee
Every album DM released from ‘Some Great Reward’ to ‘Ultra’ is pretty flawless.. the quality of songwriting (not to mention the fckng tunes) is pretty insane. Christ, even the live album ‘101’ is great. They were untouchable during that period.
You're right, I always thought of them as a one hit wonder 80s curiosity. It would be really cool if you made a video about Killing Joke or Godflesh, 2 influential British bands that don't get enough love ;D
it makes me so happy when i see men like martin gore accepting that they are pop acts. pop is really the biggest and widest genre i can think of and it really sucks when people try to diminish its value, especially because there are a lot of bad acts in every genre.I started listening to depeche mode when I was a child cbc my mom is an 80s kid and I absolutely love all their music. imo the best artists are the ones that are constantly reinventing themselves
nothing has ever been the same since 10 y/o me heard Wrong on the radio. I was left speechless, and from now on, I was obsessed with finding out music that was as dark and hypnotizing as this track. Two years after, my dad made me listen to Blasphemous Rumours : I spent the summer of my 13th year at only listening to Depeche Mode. The band that started it all for me.
Damn, what a cool dad!
My ex got me into Depeche Mode, she would play Enjoy The Silence when we would go out on night drives & I would always call it “Spooky Halloween Song” because it reminded me of such, I didn’t know the name until months later. It quickly became one of my favorite songs of all time.
One of my favorite records of all time.
I had no idea that Depeche Mode were considered not famous before Violator! They were huge in my school. They filled huge venues. They were one of the bands that ruled Mtv (along with Duran Duran and Culture Club) . When I was 10, my music teacher (a nun) played "People are People" as an anti-racist lesson. If that was a cult, it was massive and involved all ages.
"Any reaction to it is valid" That's a great take.
I didn’t start listening to Depeche Mode til my 20s. My dad said Depeche Mode was playing in every club and at every party he went to as a kid/young adult.
One of the best songs from one of the best albums from one of the best bands, covered by one of the best channels!!! Great as usual, mate'!!! Thanx!!!
One of your best videos. Your usual in depth analysis was that much more epic when applied to a mega band like Depeche Mode. Would love to see you tackle their post Violator stuff in that awesomely intense voice that's full of menace and dread.
Thank you thank you for doing Depeche Mode. I was hoping that you would get to them eventually in the New British Canon. As always bro I love you channel and videos 😁
I'm from the eighties and I clearly remember that they were held in high regard. They did not disappoint.