Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Depeche Mode

...This band along with Duran Duran and U2, more than any other is what most people associate with the new music explosion during the 1980's (at least the commercial side of it), and why not. They were popular, sold a shit load of albums, the chicks loved em, and the music wasn't half bad. I'll write a few words about them because sooner or later I have to. You can't really write about the New Wave movement without paying homige to this band. They were extremely good, and made positive contribution to the genre, a major factor in the explosive upheaval the occurred during this era. I'm not sure it's nessissary to write a whole lot about Depeche Mode because their history is well documented, there's a Gazillion web sites devoted to them already, most of which are alot better than mine, but here goes.
....They are from Essex England and are of course one of THE quintessential New Wave / Electronica bands. At one point during the 80's they were actualy classified as Industrial, but that term has long since been confiscated by other bands far different in sound and style than Depeche Mode, and I'm not even gonna start down that frickin road. Suffice to say that they are likely the most popular band of their type in all history, selling over 100 million albums and scoring #1 single in the UK, Europe as well as North America.
...The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81). Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums) with Gore taking over songwriting. The band made their recording debut in 1980 on the Some Bizzare Album with the song "Photographic", which was later re-recorded for their debut album Speak & Spell which was released under the Mute Records label in 1981. Also in 1981 just prior to the release of there debut album the band scored their first top ten single, "Just Can't Get Enough", the song remains popular to this day, and just about any bar that hosts an eighties night will play this catchy little tune regularly.
....To date the band has release twelve studio albums the most recent being Sounds of the Universe released in 2009. They continues to tour, and their loyal fans provde ample support, in fact just last summer they played to a sold out crowd at the Molson Amphetheater in Toronto. I had to miss that show but I'm sure they'll be back, something tells me this bands gonna stick around awhile longer. Depeche Mode is proof there's still a demand for real musicians, that write real music, and who actually really sing during their live concerts. Something we don't see a whole lot of today.
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Depeche Mode are...
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David Gahan
Martin Gore
Andrew Fletcher
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Former members
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Vince Clarke
Alan Wilder

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