45 Years of Depeche Mode

Next week marks the 45th anniversary of when Depeche Mode released their Speak and Spell album. I don't know if I'd ever claim them to be my favorite band, but lately I've found them to be amongst my top listened artists every month. In order to prepare for writing this article, I did a deep dive and listened to all of their albums. Needless to say, it took me awhile! Of course I've heard all of their more popular tunes countless times. At the age of like 16 I picked up a copy of Exciter in a used CD bin. But it would be years before I dug much further than that. I'm so glad I did! They have a lot of hidden gems that don't get any airtime. 

     One thing worth mentioning is that they must hold the record for "most covered" band ever, at least within the dark scene. I can think of at least half a dozen times off the top of my head, and that's just the popular ones. I've been hearing some drivel on the internet saying that that's all they're good for. Like sure, I'll admit some of the covers are perhaps a little more exciting than the originals. But that doesn't mean they're bad! If they didn't have a good foundation, the covers wouldn't be good! I also have a weird connection to this band, in a way. Every band (with one exception - Dusty, it's your turn) I've ever had a period of being really into has done a cover of Depeche Mode. So it was really just a matter of time before I ended up doing this deep dive. 

      In the process of writing this, I learned that they put out an album in 2023, Memento Mori. Somehow that completely slid under my radar. That album has become one of my favorites. It explores themes of mortality and aging, and with how long they've been around, they've certainly seen some shit and lost people who were close to them. Andy not being on the album and subsequently passing away gave a lot of these songs even more meaning.

      Since it came out last year, I've heard a lot of criticism about their recorded live performance M:Live in Mexico. Did y'all expect it to sound exactly like the studio versions of all these songs, especially the ones that were written before a lot of us were even born? The fact that they're still out there and putting on technically proficient and solidly good performances is a miracle in itself. I can't imagine how emotionally difficult it must have been for them to play some of the songs without Andy, and you can hear Dave's voice get a little hoarse a few times, and I would definitely chalk some of it up to that since it'd only been about a year since he passed at the time of recording. He's also in his 60s, cut him some slack. 

     After listening to their entire discography, I feel like I should talk about which albums that mean the most to me. Despite being heavily underrated, Exciter will always hold a special spot for me. I remember in high school grabbing a used copy of Exciter for a few bucks. I liked the cover art and had vaguely heard of the band. I remember enjoying it a lot, especially Freelove. I had no real understanding of what they were singing about, but regardless, I liked it. 

      My favorite is probably Music for the Masses. That album brings me so much joy, I listen to it at least a couple times a week. It's not just great from a technical standpoint, but I have a lot of emotional connections to it. If you saw my article last fall about going to see my best friend, you know that Never Let Me Down is "our song" and makes me think of the time I've spent with him. Sacred is a song I first encountered when I heard Moonspell's cover in high school, and immediately fell in love with. Strangelove is another personal favorite for so many reasons. Also, from beginning to end, it's just a really solid album that seamlessly goes from happy and cheerful to dark and mysterious to kind of depressing and back again. It's an emotional rollercoaster of a ride I wish I could experience for the first time again.

      Since this article is coming out around the anniversary of their first album, I have to say a bit about my thoughts on Speak and Spell. Like most—if not all—bands, their debut is far from their best work. They were just finding their sound, and that's to be expected. It definitely still holds up though. I was honestly surprised to realize that Just Can't Get Enough came off of this album, as it's one of their most iconic tracks, and it wouldn't have sounded out of place if it had been on nearly any of their other albums, Music for the Masses especially. Part of my surprise was also how polished (not throwing shade, but some of the other tracks don't stand up) and indicative of where they were headed this song is. Until I did my DM deep dive, it was the only song I had heard off this album. I enjoyed a few others, particularly What's Your Name. As a queer person myself, I gotta say in the most loving way possible, it's one of the gayest songs I've ever heard, and I'm totally here for it. 

      I could go on and make comments about every album; they really don't have any bad ones, and each one has tracks that speak to me. But goodness knows we don't have time for that, and I doubt you have the patience to read me blabbering on for that long.

     Unfortunately, the sad reality of it is, we don't know what's going to happen day to day. Will Depeche Mode make it to fifty years? I certainly hope so; this band has had such a huge influence on countless other bands as well as added so much enjoyment to the lives of countless fans. I've had several conversations with people about Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion. These albums in particular seem to have inspired and influenced many of today's artists in our scene.

     Do you have a favorite Depeche Mode album? Have they influenced you? We wanna hear about it! Let us know!