The History Of Depeche Mode
The story of Depeche Mode has been told many, many times, so rather than just go through their history yet again, I think we"ll dig deep for some things about the band that you may not know, some of the stuff from the last two decades That's been overlooked or ignored. And who knows? Maybe you"ll find that you"re long-standing Depeche Mode question will be answered.
For example, when talking about Depeche Mode, what is "Bong?" There are two answers. "Bong" is the name of the official Depeche Mode fan club. And up until early 2002, they published a fanzine under that name. "Bong", The Zine, no longer exists because of the Internet. Why subscribe to a magazine that comes out once every couple of months when you can now get all your Depeche Mode news instantly with a few clicks of a mouse?
"Bong" is also a special reference code used by the band"s label. Depeche Mode is the biggest act on Mute records, the ground breaking English electronic label. And like Trent Reznor"s "Halo" numbers for all Nine Inch Nails releases, Depeche Mode has "Bong" numbers for virtually all their English singles. "I Feel You" from 1993 was "Bong 21". "Dream On" from 2001 was "Bong 30" But what was "Bong 1?"
"Easy," you
say, "Dreaming of Me," the first-ever Depeche Mode single on Mute from 1981. Incorrect.
The "Bong" numbers didn't start right away. "Bong 1" was
this English single from 1982 and their second album, a broken frame. It's
called "Leave in Silence". The official headquarters of this
organization is in
Speaking of LA, is it true that Depeche
Mode once caused a riot? Yes it is, and it was very scary. On March 20, 1990, Depeche Mode was scheduled to appear for an autograph
session at a record store called "The Wherehouse"
on
Depeche Mode arrived exactly on time, but the moment the crowd saw them through the window, everyone surged forward, pushing and screaming. There was so much pressure on the long row of plate glass windows at the front at the store that it looked like everything was going to cave in. Organizers did their best to keep everything under control, but by 10:00, it was obvious that the situation had become dangerous. There were anywhere from 20 to 25 thousand people in the parking lot. That's when the decision was made to shut everything down. When the crowd realized that the autograph session was cancelled, they went nuts. Bricks and rocks and bottles started flying. Two large neon signs were destroyed. Bits of trim
and plaster were literally kicked off the building.
full riot gear. People scattered everywhere,
leaving debris and damaged cars in their wake.
When the dust finally settled, seven people had
been sent to hospital, and the record store was
left with a bill for $25,000 for the clean up. It
became known as the "Depeche Mode Wherehouse
riot".
"Personal Jesus," is a song from the Violator
album. By the way, you may see "Violator" spelled
two different ways. It's supposed to end "or" but
a printing error some covers printed with the word
spelled "er". That version is a pretty cool
collector's item, but It's not the most
sought-after thing out there.
There are a lot of Depeche Mode rarities out there. Singles, remixes,
Japanese box sets, all of which have appeared in
stores at least once. A lot of them trade for
decent dollars amongst collectors, but none of
them qualify as the greatest rarity of them all.
For that, you need to go back to 1989 for a
four-LP box set that Mute records manufactured for
itself. This box set is so rare that it wasn't
even given a catalogue number. It's so rare that
even the more comprehensive discographies don't
list it. It's four test pressings of the 101 live
albums. Four 12" pieces of vinyl that came in
paper sleeves in a plain box and was never
released. To many hardcore fans, this is Depeche
Mode's holy grail. Estimated value on the street?
Close to $2500.
The song "Everything Counts" was from Depeche
Mode's double live album called 101. It was given
that title because it was the 101st show on that
tour. If, however, you live in
is called total live. That's because it was
promoted using TV commercials and Mute figure that
it was best if they spelled out the fact that this
was, in fact, a live album. Same recording,
different title.
Here are a few miscellaneous facts about Depeche
Mode of which even long-time fans may not be
aware.
The group is led by Martin L. Gore. What does the
"L" stand for? Lee.
If you run across the name "Gascogne," That's the
name of the restaurant Andy Fletcher owns in the
north end of
And although Depeche Mode has sold millions of
records for Mute, it wasn't until their sixth
album that they actually signed a contract with
the label. Up until that point, all deals were
sealed with a handshake. These days, Depeche Mode
(with the army of lawyers required by all bands),
sign deals one album at a time. The big concern is
what would become of them if Mute boss Daniel
Miller died. Daniel is known to have appeared on
at least one Depeche Mode album, and it was Black
Celebration from 1986. Listen for him to do his
best Winston Churchill impression.
Andy Fletcher is the guy who handles most of
business duties for the band. In other words, he
looks after the money. However, things have not
always gone smoothly. In 1998, he went to court
against an accounting firm after Lloyds of London,
the famous insurance people, had a bad year. Andy
had become what's known as a "name" at Lloyds,
someone to share the profits that come with the
insurance biz. Unfortunately, becoming a "name" at
Lloyds also has its risks and Andy lost a ton of
money during that bad year. He sued the
accountants he held responsible for millions. And
he won. Andy's business dealing's is also the
official reason why he did not accompany the band
on their 1994 world tour. That's what everyone
would have us believe. He suffered a nervous
breakdown and had to be checked into the hospital
for a month, missing the entire second leg of the
tour. He was very, very sick. At first, he through
it might be a brain tumour. But as it turned out,
it was just a very, very severe case of
depression.
This is a good time to segue into the infamous
problems endured by singer Dave Gahan. One day,
someone will write the definitive tell-all book
about Depeche Mode. And when they do, it will put
all those legendary stories about Led Zeppelin and
The Who and Van Halen all to shame. Those familiar
with how Depeche Mode has conducted itself on the
road will tell you that these were some of the
most debauched tours in the history of music. They
are so incredible that some people will have to
die before these stories can be told. The closest
I can get to any of these tales without getting
sued are the events of the songs of faith and
devotion tour and its immediate aftermath.
Dave Gahan started using heroin in about 1991.
Within two years was a full-blown addict. Living
in
always available especially after his second wife
introduced him to the people that hung around with
Jane's Addiction. He and Teresa were rock 'n' roll
soul mates, living out the fantasy and not
thinking of the consequences. One of their
favourite wedding presents was a big lump of black
tar heroin. It got so bad that he would spend days
in his hotel room, banging heroin into his veins.
There was even an occasion in
Dave couldn't do the encore because between the
last song and the time he was supposed to go
onstage, he OD'd and the paramedics had to be
called.
There's a story that Dave demanded that Primal
Scream get the opening slot on the tour because he
knew they liked to party like he did. But the
story goes that Primal Scream was so shocked by
what they saw, they gave up drugs entirely. The
tour employed a hundred people, including a full
time psychiatrist, and a guy whose job it was to
buy drugs. After the tour, Dave stayed in L.A, and
he continued to do lots of drugs. He grew paranoid
and carried a gun; even just to check the mailbox.
He'd do things like watch the weather channel for
24 hours straight. He painted the walls and the
floor. He started talking to his collection of
stuffed animals; and it got real weird when they
started talking back.
There were a couple of trips to rehab, including a
secret
visit to a fancy clinic in the
desert. But when he checked out on August 17,
1995, he returned to his house to find that it had
been completely looted. That's when he loaded up
on smack and checked into the Sunset Marquis; and
while looking in the bathroom mirror, slashing his
wrist seemed like a good idea. When he woke up in
the psychiatric ward at the nearby Cedar-Sinai
hospital, all he could think about was getting
high again. And who cares if a suicide attempt was
a felony in
himself in his bathroom; but that didn't work,
either.Meanwhile, Martin Gore had sent Dave a tape
of demos for the next Depeche Mode album. He flew
to
basically too strung out to get much done. The
story is that the song "Sister of Night" was
recorded while Dave was high on heroin.
Dave Gahan will never forget May 27, 1996. After
flying back to
sessions, he went to a party and checked in at the
Sunset Marquis again. But after injecting a
mixture of heroin and cocaine, he suffered a
massive overdose. At 1:15 am on the 28th, someone
called 911. And when the paramedics arrived, they
thought they had lost Dave. He was clinically dead
for two minutes. Full cardiac arrest. When he was
released from hospital; and released from jail on
drug charges, he went right back to the smack. But
this time, there was no buzz. Nothing. And That's
when Dave checked himself into the Exodus Recovery
Centre in
place that tried to straighten out Kurt Cobain the
week before he died.
In Dave's case, though, it seemed to have worked.
He still attends narcotics anonymous meetings. He
has his urine tested a couple of times a week.
He's exercising, doing yoga; and he's talking with
his son Jack again. For a while, Joanne wouldn't
even let Jack see Dave because he was always so
strung out. But his problems weren't over. His
second wife, Teresa, sued him for divorce, and she
demanded a big settlement. But at least he's
alive; which is more than he can say for some of
his drug addicted friends.
Depeche Mode. It's been a long, strange and
sometimes dangerous journey. But in a world where
the average length of a career is one album,
they're still together, still touring, still
making records and still keeping their fans happy
after more than 25 years. How many bands can make
that claim these days?