Depeche Mode was formed in 1980 by young musicians from the English working class. Initially inspired by their contemporaries Human League and Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, the group mixed their melancholy synths with gothic, pop and new wave influences. The website Pitchfork explains that at their best, Depeche Mode “constantly pushes sound to its limits to expand the vocabulary and possibilities of electronics in the song format”.
The band consists of Dave Gahan (vocals, composition), Martin Gore (composition, guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Andy Fletcher (keyboards, bass). The trio has existed in this form since 1995, the year of the departure of Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, bass), member of the group since 1982. As for Vince Clarke, founding member with Andy Fletcher, he left Depeche Mode in 1981 to experience success with Yazoo, then Erasure.
Since their first album “Speak & Spell” (1981), the group’s production in the 1980s, notably the albums “Black Celebration” and “Music for the Masses”, took them to the firmament of mainstream success, and this success never wavered in the 1990s, with the release of “Violator” (1990), “Songs of Faith and Devotion” (1993) et “Ultra” (1997).