Depeche Mode, 10 successes to prepare for the new album Memento Mori

More than forty years have passed since the birth of the Depeche Mode: the iconic British band formed in Basildon in Essex, near London. Today, i pioneers of synth pop they come back with the eagerly awaited new album of unreleased tracks, Memento Mori (Columbia Records/Sony Music). The fifteenth work in the studio of the group and the first one he sees Dave Gahan and Martin Gore alone without the keyboard player and founder Andy “Fletch” Fletcherwho passed away last May at the premature age of 60. The release of the disc is anticipated by My Cosmos Is Mine: opener of 12 tracks And second excerpt later Ghosts Againthe single presented at the last San Remo Festival.

Produced by James Ford and by the sound engineer from Brescia Marta Salogni, Memento Mori was born during the Covid-19 pandemic. Result? A majestic and gloomy work, starting from the title, a warning from the Latin: “remember that you must die”. In support of the new album, a world tour that will stop in Italy in the month of July: The 12 at the Olympic of RomeThe 14 at San Siro, Milanand the 16 July at the Stadio dall’Ara in Bologna. With over 100 million records sold, Depeche Mode made chart history worldwide influencing artists such as The Killers, Lady Gaga and Nine Inch Nails. From Just Can’t Get Enough passing through Enjoy the Silencehere are 10 great achievements of Gahan and associates.

Just Can’t Get Enough (Speak and Spell1981)

From the debut album, a love song with bouncing synths. In terms of lyrics and musicality, Just Can’t Get Enough differs from the rest of Depeche’s production. The song bears the signature of Vince Clark, one of the founding members who promptly left the band after the release of the album.

Everything counts (Construction Time Again1983)

Single-opener from the third studio album, Everything counts it is a critique of greed and corruption in Britain, as Margaret Thatcher’s first term faded into her second. In the piece, author Martin Gore plays the very expensive Synclavier: an FM synthesizer that integrates a digital synthesizer and sampler. The band sampled musical sounds and noises recorded on the street.

People are People (Some Great Rewards1984)

From the album of the same name, the song that consecrated Depeche Mode in the United States. People are People speaks of prejudice and racism with characteristic sound elements, such as metallic noises obtained from culinary instruments (such as pots and pans), subsequently transformed into loops.

stripped (Black Celebration1986)

First extract from the fifth studio album, stripped it is a piece full of analog synthesizers and industrial trademark sounds that give the piece a sense of claustrophobia. Last of a trilogy of video clips by Peter Care (the others were Shake the disease and It’s Called a Heart) the video was shot in a car junkyard outside the Hansa Studios in Berlin.

Never let me down again (Music for the masses1987)

Drum echoes (inspired by Led Zeppelin) driven by Gore’s swirling guitar riffs. It is the second extract from the sixth album. Never let me down again it is one of the band’s more ambiguous songs; its enigmatic lyrics have been linked to the euphoria of drug use.

Personal Jesus (Violator1989)

First extracted from the seventh album, it represents the definitive turning point in the career of the pioneers of British synth pop. Featured in several lists as “one of the greatest songs ever written”, Personal Jesus has been covered by practically everyone: we remember Johnny Cash, Mindless Self Indulgence, Sammy Hagar, Hillary Duff and, unmissable, the version of Marilyn Manson. The sacrilegious text plays on ambiguity and on the theme of faith; Gore wrote this after reading Priscilla Presley’s autobiography, elvis and me. The piece, with a strong blues rock identity, is arranged electronically. Martin Gore composed it on a six-string in his hotel room and then transposed it to keyboards. Driven by a refrain – «Reach out, touch faith» – addictive, Personal Jesus it pulverized more than 1 million copies in the US, but not before MTV censored a “scandalous” scene from Anton Corbijn’s cowboy-themed video: that of Gore’s shadow breathing heavily.

Enjoy the Silence (Violator1989)

From the masterpiece Violator, the band’s most iconic piece. Written by Martin Gore, Enjoy the Silence was born as a minimal ballad in C minor; the demo version, still available in a limited edition, is simply played on the organ and sung by Gore himself. Alan Wilder saw a potential hit in the piece and suggested that they beat it. The other members didn’t like the idea, but after some time they were convinced. Enjoy the Silence earned the band the Brit Award for Best British Single. The video, directed by Anton Corbijn, is one of Depeche’s most emblematic: Dave, dressed as a king and holding a deck chair (clearly inspired by The little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), crosses different locations (on the snowy Alps in Switzerland, in Great Britain at Balmoral, in Portugal).

It’s No Good (Ultra1997)

Second excerpt from ninth studio album: the first released since Alan Wilder’s departure, returning Depeche to trio status for the first time since 1982. Ultra it is also the first album after the (almost) overdose of the frontman, Dave Gahan. It’s No Good it is a swirling and dark song that brings the band back to the more goth sound of the origins.

Freelove (Exciter2001)

Third single from the tenth album. On May 28, 1996, Dave Gahan overdosed on speedball (a cocaine-heroin mix) at a Los Angeles hotel. Even though his heart stopped for 2-3 minutes, he resisted and cleaned himself up. In rehab, he met his mother-to-be, his daughter. Gore wrote this ballad inspired by the frontman’s love for little Stella Rose, born in 1999.

Heaven (Delta Machine2013)

Launch single from the thirteenth album, an emotional and solemn ballad. The video clip, directed by Timothy Saccenti, was filmed in a former Catholic church in New Orleans. Because whenever Depeche Made can make ambiguous references to Christianity, they do.

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