Machine, Little Dragon, Foals and Mumford & Sons.
It’s 22 years since the departure of Alan Wilder, but
Depeche Mode have always sought a fourth member
to record with. Besides founder Vince Clarke, they
have worked with Mark Bell and Tim Simenon along
the way; so is making an album solely as a three-piece
an impossibility? “James did so much on the record,
sound-wise. He’s very talented,” says Gore, swerving the
question expertly. “We defi nitely do need that ‘referee’
for want of a better word.”
Ford did more than simply produce Spirit; according
to Dave he practically became a group therapist.
Gore remains more coy: “As a band, we need to give
authority to somebody to oversee us because we can all
have differing opinions and it’s very hard to come to a
joint decision. So sometimes it’s easier to give someone
like James the deciding card. Once that happened,
everything fell into place.” Dave agrees: “He was able
to guide us and take our demos to another level.”
Devoted followers of Depeche Mode have long
hypothesised over band dynamics, sensing or, more
likely, imagining tensions at various points in their
career. Gahan believes collaboration helps them exist.
“Sometimes our albums have refl ected internal confl ict,”
he says. “Something that’s more personal and then
sometimes our music refl ects what is going on around
us. I believe music does bring people together... it brings
Martin and me together. Sometimes in very mysterious
ways, I don’t know why.”FIGHTING SPIRIT
Spirit is arguably their most fl uid work in many years.
There are great moments on every Depeche Mode
album, but this one feels like a complete piece of work
and the world’s media seem in agreement. Gahan
smiles: “We’ve always remained sort of a cult thing,
although that’s changed a bit with this new record.”
Reluctant to analyse his work too much, Gore concedes
they may have inadvertently captured the zeitgeist:DEPECHE MODE20
INSIGHT
ULTRA (1997)
Insight is the fi nal track from Depeche
Mode’s 1997 ’comeback’ LP Ultra. The
album had the monumental task of following
the hugely successful Songs Of Faith And
Devotion record and was the fi rst without
Alan Wilder. Ultra is a mixed bag (albeit with
excellent singles) and Insight is an ambient
delight to close on.19
SOMETHING TO DO
SOME GREAT REWARD (1984)
Something To Do is the opening track of
Depeche Mode’s fourth album and was
produced by Mute’s Daniel Miller. The track
builds on (now established) darker DM
themes. Check out the remastered edition
(if you haven’t already) as the 5.1 surround
sound remix is a real joy – Martin Gore’s
backing vocals will literally envelope you.18
MEMPHISTO
ENJOY THE SILENCE
BONG 18 (1990)
Memphisto is the B-side to the original
Enjoy The Silence single and a brooding,
prog-infl uenced instrumental to boot. It’s an
electronic masterpiece that wouldn’t sound
out of place on a John Carpenter movie
soundtrack. An astonishing piece of work −
DM have never sounded bigger.17
HOME (THE
NOODLES & THE
DAMAGE DONE REMIX)
HOME CD BONG 27 (1997)
Home is a fan favourite when played live but
this version has added chutzpah. This remix
primarily consists of a rollicking Tricky-esque
drum beat, distorted Martin Gore vocals and
fuzzy guitars. It really shouldn’t work, but
it does...DeeP
cUtS
“I suppose the fi rst decision that I made when I came
to songwriting was to go down the social commentary
slope stroke political route which I felt was a dangerous
route to go down. But there was so much going on in the
world, to just put blinkers on it felt a little bit criminal.”
Call it luck, or bad luck depending on your political
allegiance, but Spirit’s songs feel incredibly pertinent
today. Agreeing, Gore says: “It feels so relevant now,
maybe that was fortunate, but when I was writing the
songs in 2015 I felt the world was in a bad place then,
in a bit of mess. That’s how I started off, I couldn’t have
predicted then that Trump would become President,
but the whole electoral process goes on for ages in
the US and there were warning signs. Watching the
whole debacle from the early days to the end is very27Back in black:
Straddling synth-
pop and rock,
Depeche Mode will
delight their loyal
fans when they tour
the UK and Ireland
in NovemberCP30.Depeche_Mode.print.indd 27 09/06/2017 11:01