BIOGRAPHY1981
On 31 January 1981 Photographic was released on the Some Bizarre Album.
It was released by Some Bizarre Records. This was founded in 1981 as an
independent label and owned by Stevo Pearce. The acts that appeared on the
Some Bizarre Album weren't signed to the label.
On the release day the first longer article about DM appeared in the magazine
Sounds. The journalist Betty Page describes DM as "very young, tender and
fresh-as-a-mountain-stream"[1] etc. Maybe she actually found them cute, but she
stamped the image of DM in England with that for the next ten years.
A couple of years later Dave remarked on that period, "You know what England's
like - the first thing you ever do, that's it. It's written on your gravestone."[2]
Later they not only regretted their early naivety, according to the media, but they
also regretted their appearance on the Some Bizarre Album, because from that
time onwards they had to ward off prejudice against being part of the Futurist scene
or being one of the New Romantics.
Dave: "I don't like that scene at all. All the bands involved with it are in one
bunch together and they'll never escape from it. We write pop music, electric pop,
so we couldn't get tagged by appearing on that album. Once people hear the single
[Dreaming of Me], they'll change their minds!"[3]
Well, they didn't. Not really. There are statements of this type until about
1985, when they were asked about the Futurist scene and New Romantics over
and over again. And it also took them a long time not to be seen as cute anymore.
(with friendly permission of © Juan Luis V.C.)
As well as in 1980, DM also played a lot of gigs in small clubs in 1981, but at that time they were still a long way from something you might call a tour. At the beginning of February, they started to move away from London a bit, and had gigs on 2 February in Leeds, and on 3 February in Sheffield. They simply travelled by train or car, the synthesizers tucked under their arms, strange to imagine when you know that they were to travel with a big crew and lots of equipment only a few years later. Maybe this is one of the reasons why their fans like them so much. They weren't a casted band, with tons of money behind them from the word go. They came "from the street", and learned the business from scratch.
On 20 February Dreaming of Me / Ice Machine was released
as DM's first own single. It had been recorded at Blackwing Studios.
Two mixes of the song were released, one which fades out, and one with a so-called
"cold end". The B-Side, Ice Machine, was similarly available in a fading
version, and one with a "cold end". Due to the poor chart placement,
Dreaming of Me did not originally appear on Speak & Spell.
In the U.S., it wasn't commercially released as a single, but it was on the original
pressing of the album, replacing I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead.
Nevertheless, it was a special moment for the band, of course,
when the single got on No. 57 of the charts and was played
on the radio for the first time. They all came to Mute's small office and sat
around the radio.
Fletch: "By comparison doing things like Top of the Pops later in the year
for New Life wasn't the great thing I expected it to be - no excitement
at all."
Dave: "Hovering around the Top 40 with Dreaming was a great feeling
- unrepeatable."[4]
On the 30th "birthday" of the song fans brought Dreaming of Me back into the
charts. The action failed in most countries except in Germany, where the track entered
the singles charts at No. 45.
At that time all of them were still doing day-jobs or job-training. Fletch worked
as a pension clerk for the Sun Life insurance company, Martin worked for the
National Westminster Bank, Dave was training to become a window-dresser, Vince
was out of work or doing casual jobs, like at a yoghurt factory. And although they
played a lot of gigs, and had other commitments, they didn't dare give up their jobs.
Martin and Fletch hesitated especially. This was understandable, considering the
high unemployment rate in England at the time. If the band were to fail, it would
have been very difficult to get back into a "straight" job.
With their increasing success, however, it became more and more difficult to keep
their day-jobs. But when New Life charted and Daniel Miller told them they should
give up their jobs, they were still unsure.
For Dave it seemed to be much easier: "I used to be a window dresser on
Oxford Street, John Lewis. We'd
started playing the clubs and someone tapped on the window: 'Are you in Depeche
Mode?' I left that afternoon."[5]
This is not completely correct actually. He might have given up this job but
from the college he was rather gone than he would have given it up himself.
Dave: "When the band first started, I was at college studying fashion.
I loved it - the lecturers, the people there - but my heart was in music. So
I was forever missing days and disappearing off to rehearse with the rest of
the band. This went on for ages, until I was hardly ever in college. So in
the end, there was only one thing the principal could do - expel me. I was
pretty upset at first as I enjoyed the course, but I know it wasn't totally right
for me. But I've been forgiven, thank goodness. When we got to the charts with
our first single, the principal sent me a note congratulating us on our success
- I was really pleased. I didn't think he'd ever speak to me again."[6]
According to rumours it was made clear that the college was the last stop before
borstal. So it wasn't "harmless" that he had to leave school. Therefore, he was
apparently only "forgiven" because of the visible success.
After Dreaming of Me a licence-contract with Sire for the U.S.-market
was sealed. Besides, there were made European deals for the next single
New Life / Shout which was released on 13 June.
There were two versions of New Life available. The 7" version would later
become the album version, as it would appear on the UK version
of Speak & Spell, and a slightly different 12" remix. This would later
appear on the U.S. version of Speak & Spell. The single itself wasn't
commercially released in the U.S.
The single became the band's breakthrough hit in the UK, peaking at number 11.
The B-side, Shout, was the first song to get a 12" extended remix,
called the "Rio Remix".
Right after the release of New Life the band began to record Speak & Spell.
The first song to be recorded was the third single Just Can't Get Enough.
It was recorded in the Blackwing Studios, as well as Dreaming of Me and
New Life.
Dave: "Just Can't Get Enough took an age to record because we still
had New Life on the boil and a lot of our time was taken up with interviews.
We just couldn't concentrate on recording and the first time we did
Just Can't Get Enough it was terrible. It was a relief when it came out."[7]
On 16 July DM had their debut at TOTP, (another source says it
was on 25 June), then they travelled "to
Europe" for the first time - to The Hague where they played a gig at Zuiderspark
on 25 July.
With Just Can't Get Enough an all-time classic
was released on 7 September, and DM travelled to the continent again.
On 25 September they had their first gig in Germany - in the "Markthalle"
in Hamburg, a country that would become important for them. Besides, they played in
Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
Just Can't Get Enough was the first single to be released in the U.S.
The single version was the same that appeared on the UK version of
Speak & Spell. The 12" single featured the "Schizo Mix", which appeared
on the U.S. version of Speak & Spell.
In addition, the single's B-side Any Second Now was the first
commercially available instrumental track of the band. A version including
vocals - sung by Martin - appeared on the album as Any Second Now (Voices).
The single reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Charts.
Besides, Just Can't Get Enough was the first song to get a music video,
directed by Clive Richardson.
Fletch: "The Just Can't Get Enough video was a funny one. Made in
London - it was a real cheapo as we had to pay for it. We are in this club (in the
video) and there's all these girl dancers and we're drinking cocktails, we chat
them up and Martin gets left without a bird - really funny."[8]
Success was mainly credit of Vince. Not at least because he had written the first
hit singles.
Fletch: "A lot of the reasons we made it was because of Vince. He was pushing
and pushing. You've got to give him credit - he was very ambitious.[9] It was his aim
to make money and drive a Rolls-Royce through the centre of Basildon. He used to
work in a yoghurt factory and earn £30 a week, of which he'd save £29.50. Without
Vince's drive Depeche Mode wouldn't have happened."[10]
At that time, the rest of the band still hadn't such ambitious endeavours.
Fletch: "We didn't want to stay in garages, and obviously the dream is to be
successful. But we never thought it would happen. It just has!"[11]
Dave: "We've managed to avoid making the mistakes that so many young bands
make. We had lots of offers from big record companies and it was very tempting 'cos
they offer you a big advance, but what's the point, you only have to pay it back!"[12]
Maybe they could have managed to avoid making mistakes like these. Instead, they made another one. Dealing with the media was very difficult for them in those early days. A lot of journalists wrote articles in which they introduced the band to the public. Unfortunately, most of them found the band "cute", and ridiculed them. Sometimes you got the feeling that the journalists didn't know what to ask them. It seems as if the boys were simply too nice, and somehow not interesting enough as people. On the one hand, this is not a nice situation. On the other hand, it shows that they could let their music speak for them, and that they had a strong live performance from the beginning. Otherwise, people wouldn't have bought their records or turned up at their gigs.
Because the band itself didn't seem interesting enough, many journalists picked on
Basildon as the main topic. There are many descriptions of the town, but Basildon
was and is such a boring place, that I don't know why they even tried to find out
how on earth a band could be founded in a town like that. A band can be founded in
any town on the planet, so there was no need to make such a fuss about it. Nevertheless,
journalists managed to force the band members into making statements like those
that follow:
Dave: "We're from Basildon, Essex. It's a new town. A lot of people think
it's just a country town but it's quite built up. Housing estates ... and there's
an industrial estate there ..."[13]
Fletch: "In fact it has a population of 180,000."
Martin: "Oh, Andy knows everything, even the population."
Fletch: "Believe me, it's got an electoral roll of 107,000 and that's not
including kids. That's the biggest in the country, and next time it has got to be
split up into Basildon East and West."[14]
Dave: "When Simon Bates introduces us on Top Of The Pops, he makes a
special point about us coming from Basildon - why?"
Martin: "Because nothing good ever comes out of here?"[15]
(a place in Basildon - with friendly permission of © Julieanne Savage)
When they were asked about the music they were mostly cliché questions to which
the band members felt forced to explain:
Dave: "Just because we use synthesizers, we get classed as a Futurist band.
Our music's not Futurist. Vince just writes pop songs."[16]
Vince: "I think the word pop is really good because it's light and happy. I
think it's a nice word. I like words. I like the sound of words, and the way words
fit together and rhyme - things like that. Or the way they sound coming from my
mouth. The sound of words rather than the meaning of words. For instance, when I
write a phrase or something, I think about how easy it is to sing, to fit in with
the melody. When I write songs I can't write like Simon and Garfunkel. I wish I
could in some ways, but I can't, so when I write lyrics I just use words as words.
I don't really write about anything. I think in the sort of stuff we're doing, it's
good to use certain words. I think words are very fashionable. I'll give you an
example, right? Words to use in a good electronic song - fade, switch, light -
anything like that. Room, door - words like that. It's quite nice. Fade
- that's an excellent word. It's a word for '81 - it's got to be! I think the word
pop, it's not just the words, right? It's the whole feel of the song. And it's
just light, y'know?"[17]
Or in a short form:
Dave: "It's just the pop sound of the '80s, that's what I would describe
Depeche Mode as."
Fletch: "A lot of people still don't realise that the whole of our set is pop.
Virtually all our songs are pop songs. I think people think it might not be like
that."
Martin: "They think we're jokes!"
Fletch: "Naah ... a lot of people have still got this thing - synthesiser,
he must be moody. You get a lot of Numanoids [fans of Gary Numan] coming to our
gigs."
Dave: "There was this bloke come to see us the other day and he said to me
after the show - I think it's really bad the way you have all your friends in the
audience talking to you and that, and then we're all over here and you don't react
to us. I said well what do you mean? He said: I think it's really bad that you have
like all your friends in the changing room. I said well what do you want me to
say c'mon all the audience into the changing room. He said - well have you got lots
of friends? I said well I've got a few. He said - well I haven't got any. Well pity
you mate! Isn't that a friend, a guy who was with him. He said - yeah he's a friend,
but not a friend like that. It was really weird! I couldn't be bothered talking to
him. He thought that we should be like Gary Numan and have the distant lonely
look and image. Because we play synthesisers and we're supposed to look strange at
people, and not smile. The bloke didn't like the way I smiled at people!"[18]
Unfortunately, most of the questions they were asked were simply ridiculous. Like the
one what they would do as soon as the innocence was gone ...
Vince: "Grow into something else I suppose. I dunno. We haven't contrived
any particular image for ourselves. If people draw any conclusion from the lyrics
it's up to them. We don't set out to portray any particular image of innocence,
we don't pretend or anything."[19]
... or which tooth paste they used ...
Dave: "Well, round me girlfriend's house, I use Colgate." [And at home none? :D]
Fletch: "Ultrabrite I use."
Dave: "There's one really horrible one."
Martin: "Crest."
Dave: "Bloody horrible, that."
Martin: "It ain't that bad."
Dave: "It is. S'horrible."
Fletch: "It's alright on toast ... a ham and crest sandwich."
Dave: "This is a joke ... ho, ho, ho."[20]
... and they found out that Martin liked to strip. (A topic, that would
become "interesting" in later years.)
Dave: "When we play Basildon again it'll be crazy. Martin's just going to
have a loincloth. Mart likes to show his top off ... you like your body, don't you
Mart ..."
Fletch: "He loves it ..."
Dave: "Yeah, that's how he ended up on Top Of The Pops, he took his shirt
off in the dressing room and said, 'shall I go on like this'."
Fletch: "He's even been known to kiss his own body."
Martin: "You're making this up ... At least I don't wear Y-fronts. Andy used
to wear Y-fronts until a week ago, but we converted him to a briefs man ..."
Fletch: "What!? ... I don't wear them - you do!"
Martin: "Yeah, he said 'what shall I do if I get a girl on this tour' ...
this bit's going to be embarrassing."[21]
In the course of time it became clear to them that they couldn't handle the media at all.
Dave (years later): "We made a lot of mistakes in terms of the way we put
ourselves across and put ourselves about. We were prepared to do anything.
Not necessarily to sell ourselves. We were just completely naive. We thought
it would be good to be in Smash Hits answering questions about our socks,
appearing on Saturday morning television, making prats of ourselves. We didn't
realize at the time that we were degrading ourselves. Then it reached a point
where we realized it wasn't helping us anymore. In fact, it was becoming very
negative."[22]
But there was already some self-criticism in 1981.
Fletch: "There's nothing really that people can say about us, is there?
All other bands go on about political things, we don't talk about our views."
Dave: "We don't have political views, I don't think."
Fletch: "There's always an extrovert member of a band with strong views."
Vince: "We don't stand for anything united, do we?"
Fletch: "We haven't got a person who's domineering."
Dave: "That's good!"
Fletch: "On the other hand, that's why our interviews are very empty, 'cause
usually the loudmouth of a band goes on about what the Labour party are doing or
something."[23]
They have always been proud of being a democracy. On the other hand, that's the reason
for all their internal problems. These didn't base on the democratic principle itself
but on the lack of communication between the equal partners.
Sometimes they tried to be more serious. Some of these quotations show the starting
conflict with Vince, however.
Vince: "We want to change our sound, get some new stuff together, get a
good live show. We don't want to get like Kraftwerk, we don't want to use tapes
anymore."[24]
The reel-to-reel tape machine was a standard feature in the early years. It was
visible on the stage because they didn't want to seem to pretend to be doing something
they weren't doing. While Vince obviously had other plans the rest of the band felt
quite comfortable with the tape machine.
Dave: "The tapes we've got now sound like real drums anyway. We don't need
a drummer anyway - it's just another person to pay![25]"
As we know today, it took a long time before they would actually use live drums on
stage and even more time before they would employ a full paid drummer for live shows.
Vince obviously didn't feel well in the band and the whole project from a certain point.
Probably it was a growing dissatisfaction, although a special event was blamed for it.
Dave: "There was a guy who interviewed us for the Daily Star, Ricky Sky,
and he was desperately looking for a headline, an angle, and he was saying to us -
haven't you done anything really exciting, what's been happening? We said well
nothing really, although when we played at Ronnie Scott's once all the lights went
out! He was excited by this, then he started to talk about looks and he said 'do
you think it's an advantage to be good looking and in a band?' Vince said 'Yeah,
obviously, it's an advantage in life to be good looking'. Rick Sky made it out that
Vince had said 'ugly bands never make it, if you're good looking then you're number
one'. Since then Vince has never ventured out of his flat! He is so upset. It
really hit him hard. He hasn't been out for six weeks and he had a real bad
depression."[26]
From this point onwards, Vince hardly took part in any group interviews. In a biography,
it was alleged that Vince consumed a lot of speed at that time. There's also another
source mentioning this, but it has never been confirmed officially. Maybe this was a
reason for Vince's depressions. Another rumour is that he didn't like Martin and Dave
letting their girlfriends take part in everything. He preferred not to mix business
with private, but I doubt that these two things were the main reasons for Vince's
strange behaviour.
Vince finished work at Speak & Spell (a title the band wasn't able to explain
- Dave: "Don't know why, it just sounds nice"[27], while another source says that
the album title alludes to an electronic toy that was popular at that time) - and was
ready to go on tour with the band in order not to spoil the just sealed contracts.
But before the tour-start, Vince told the other members that he was going to leave
the band. "Breaking the news was terrible. They were expecting it in some ways.
I'd been going through a gloomy phase, but I had to go round to their houses and
tell them. I knew they knew, but it was still horrible."[28]
Martin: "I was the one person Vince didn't tell. He went round and knocked on
Andy's door, knocked on Dave's door. He said he would continue with the tour he'd
committed to with us, but basically after that he'd be leaving. But he never had
that conversation with me. Andy phoned me."
Dave: "I definitely felt betrayed. But in retrospect I see why he left.
What Vince saw was that being in a band, you kind of have to listen to each other.
You all have ideas, but Vince didn't want that."[29]
None of the other three thought about giving up the band. Martin could replace
Vince as a songwriter, and at that time - after they had given up their jobs -
there was no return.
Martin (years later): "I think we should have been slightly more worried
than we were. When your chief songwriter leaves the band, you should worry a bit.
I suppose that's one of the good things about being young. If we had panicked,
we probably wouldn't be here today."[30]
On 5 October Speak & Spell was released, and DM started
their first real tour. It took place in Great Britain, started on
31 October in Newcastle, comprised 14 gigs and ended on 16 November
in London.
They did the tour with a mini-bus together with with the two musicians of the
support band, Blancmange, the tour manager and the fiancées of Dave and Martin -
Jo[anne] and Anne. The girls worked on the promotional side of the tour, dealing
with requests from fans and selling t-shirts.
The atmosphere between the remaining band members and Vince was quite cold.
Martin: "He'd tended to sit up the front of the van, saying nothing."[31]
Dave: "He only spoke when he was spoken to."
Fletch: "It put us out on a limb really, but luckily we thought he was
going to leave a few months before he did so we'd been planning, sort of thing.
He'd been getting more distant from the group."[32]
During the tour they tried not to let their internal problem show to the surface,
but sentences like this:
Dave: "Vince has written a lot of material in the past, but we're all
starting to write now."
or this one:
Martin: "Vince's lyrics are odd really, they don't mean anything. This is
a question Vince should answer ... but he won't."[33]
showed where the band was heading to.
Sources are not sure about the correct date of Vince's official leaving. Some say
that the last gig with him was the one on 16 November; others count the
TVS TV Show in Chichester on 3 December as the last common concert. Some say
that 20 November was the day when Vince's leaving was announced officially,
another says it was in the beginning of December and yet another still says
it was on 12 December. However, his leaving the band was one of the catalytic
forces that marked the band's change of direction.
Vince: "I never expected the band to be this successful. I didn't feel happy.
Or contented. Or fulfilled. And that's why I left. All the things that come with
success had suddenly become more important than the music. We used to get letters
from fans saying: 'I really like your songs'; then we got letters saying: 'Where do
you buy your trousers from?' There was never enough time
to do anything. Not with all the interviews and photo sessions.[34] Everything
happened for us very, very quickly. We had these massive egos by that time and
you know sitting inside the van was intolerable for all of us. We were all
intolerable to each other. We were all pretty young, it just went to our heads."[35]
But I almost can't imagine that this was true. Most sources say the band members
were pretty naive and shy at this time. "Massive egos" and "intolerable" therefore
sounds strange. So it's difficult to understand why Vince really left. It seems that
the other three band members didn't understand it either.
In 1982 Dave commented it with: "He didn't like what was happening to
Depeche Mode, didn't like being famous, didn't like touring. Now he's had a couple
of hit singles with Yazoo, they've got an album out and they go on tour in September -
it's a bit hypocritical really."[36]
And in 1990 simply with: "That's what he said, but I think that's a lot
of bulls***, to be quite honest."[37]
Well, I can't help but agree. In the fan survey that was done for depechemodebiographie.de,
20% of the participants also say that everything he said seems to be illogical.
Vince's main argument that he didn't like being a star and couldn't handle the fuss
seems absurd, because he founded a new band right after leaving DM. There must also
have been interviews - Yazoo had a number-one-hit! - photo-shootings, letters from
fans, touring ... - all these things that had been going on before, and hadn't made
him happy.
Speculation from fans like "he felt that they weren't at the same level", or "he wanted
to have control over the music, and the others weren't the right partners for his plans",
probably hit the spot much better. Maybe he felt that "the band was moving into another
direction (although they were too shy to tell him directly)." He once said that
"Martin is a genius but he doesn't know it." Maybe he was anxious that Martin was
the better songwriter, and would replace him silently in the course of time.
Many years later Dave told a story about it that might explain a lot of things,
and also confirm the speculation from fans. "We were sat in our publisher's office,
and he [the publisher] pointed to Vince and said, 'This one will be driving around in
a Roller and you three will be following on your tandem. Yeah, with three seats!' A
little light went on in Vince's head, that he could do it all himself, without
compromising. All he needed was a singer and someone to perform on-stage with him."[38]
It's interesting that only 32% of the fans see his role as "crucial because there
would be no DM without him" while 21% are "very glad that he's gone because otherwise
DM would never have become what they are today."
So maybe it was a good thing that they refused when Vince offered to write songs for
DM later on. (Something that is also strange: Why did he still want to write songs
for them, but didn't want to be in the band anymore?)
Martin: "He came along to rehearsal with two new songs, and he was
teaching us how they went." (One of them was Only You, the later number-one-hit
of Yazoo.) "When he went to the toilet we just looked at each other and said,
'We can't sing these, they're terrible!'"[39]
(with friendly permission of © Anja - compositionofsound)
In December DM were looking for a stage-musician to replace Vince at gigs.
Alan: "After various other bands like The Hitmen, I was in my customary
state - broke, bored and leafing through the classifieds in the Melody Maker,
I saw an ad which said 'Known Band seek synth player. Must be under 21'."[40]
He didn't like the music of DM at all, as he said later, and it was clear to him
that it could be only DM because he had heard about Vince's leaving. Nevertheless,
he went to the rehearsal and lied about his age (he was 22 at this time) -
"because I needed the money".[41]
Fletch: "We put an advert in Melody Maker. Daniel met the people first,
then we had an audition at Blackwing. It was down to about five people, heaven
knows the ones Daniel booted out. The funny thing is, Alan lied about his age.
He was over 21 but he was easily the best. There were some real Depeche Mode
fans there but Alan is a really great classically trained musician and we went
'what you have to do, you play this little one ... de de de ... but the hardest thing,
you have to sing this as well'. We were going 'what, that's amazing, in two seconds
he's done that!'. It was really funny."[42]
Daniel Miller wasn't that enthusiastic about Alan at first.
Alan: "I think Daniel felt I was overqualified with my classical
background ... that I could play, y'know, complicated pieces on the piano,
and Depeche Mode was born on the punk move really."[43]
Instead, Miller had a liking for another guy, but the band preferred Alan. There
were some discussions and a second rehearsal although time was tight. There were
already plans for a tour.
Alan: "I went to two auditions before landing the job.[44] It was quite a
shock, because at the time they were using three of the smallest synths you
could find. At my audition, Martin had a little Yamaha CS5, Fletch was on a
Moog Source, and I was given a Moog Prodigy. We all played one-note riffs,"
(laughs), "and I have to admit I felt a little bit naked without more keyboards
around me.[45] I thought they were a bit wimpy - understandable at the time.
On the other hand they were charming and friendly and the music was simple.
I could appreciate that.[46] Therefore I decided to stay with them a couple of
months."[47]
It's well-known that these months turned into years and probably DM wrote a couple
of songs Alan liked within this time. ;)
In addition, See You was recorded in December 1981 - just with the
remaining three band members, without Alan, but with Daniel Miller as producer.
Up to this point the band's story is not that spectacular. You find this in almost every band biography: Some lads get together, make music, start a band, are lucky enough to get a record contract, one of the founding members leaves, and someone else joins. Having once worked for a music magazine for a while, I've read the same story a hundred times. And of course later in the story there are also many analogies with other bands - but you seldom find a truly independent band becoming that successful, and there are also some other unique points in the history of DM that will feature in this biography.
References:
[1] This Year's Model(l), Sounds, 31 January 1981. Words: Betty Page
[2] Just Can't Get Enough, Uncut, May 2001. Words: Stephen Dalton
[3] This Year's Model(l), Sounds, 31 January 1981. Words: Betty Page
[4] A Year in the Life of Depeche Mode, The Face, January 1982. Words: Paul Tickell
[5] The Ten Commandments: Dave Gahan, Q, November 2005. Words: Dave Gahan / Johnny Davis
[6] We're in the Mode!, Oh Boy!, 24 October 1981. Words: Uncredited
[7] Modish Musings, Sounds, 7 November 1981. Words: Uncredited
[8] Bop Eye, Issue 3, Undated, 1982. Words: Jane-Nina Buchanan
[9] Hanging in the Balance, NME, 26 March 1983. Words: Matt Snow
[10] Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mojo, November 2005. Words: Danny Eccleston
[11] Modish Musings, Sounds, 7 November 1981. Words: Uncredited
[12] Basildon Band!, My Guy, 5 September 1981. Words: Uncredited
[13] Play for Tomorrow, New Sounds, New Styles, August 1981. Words: Pete Silverton
[14] Three Modes in a Boat, NME, 22 August 1981. Words: Paul Morley
[15] Going U.P.!, Smash Hits, 9-22 July 1981. Words: Steve Taylor
[16] Smash Hits, 30 April 1981, Words: Ian Cranna
[17] Depeche Mode: Hurried Fashion, The Face, June 1981. Words: Ian Cranna
[18] Three Modes in a Boat, NME, 22 August 1981. Words: Paul Morley
[19] Basildon a La Mode, NME, 21 March 1981. Words: Chris Bohn
[20] Play for Tomorrow, New Sounds, New Styles, August 1981. Words: Pete Silverton
[21] Learning the Highway Mode, Melody Maker, 14 November 1981. Words: Paul Colbert
[22] Depeche Mode Hip it up and Start Again, Melody Maker, 10 March 1990. Words: Jon Wilde
[23] Depeche Guevara, Sounds, 27 June 1981. Words: Betty Page
[24] Depeche Guevara, Sounds, 27 June 1981. Words: Betty Page
[25] This Year's Model(l), Sounds, 31 January 1981. Words: Betty Page
[26] Three Modes in a Boat, NME, 22 August 1981. Words: Paul Morley
[27] Fresh Depeche, Record Mirror, 24 October 1981. Words: Mike Nicholls
[28] Depeche Mode, Bobcat Books, London 1986. Words: Dave Thomas
[29] Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mojo, November 2005. Words: Danny Eccleston
[30] Violator, Alligator, NME, 7 July 1990. Words: Jeff Giles
[31] A Clean Break, Smash Hits, 21 January - 3 February 1982. Words: Mark Ellen
[32] "Some people think you're cute, but other people think you're slightly vile ...", Look In, 22 May 1982, Words: Phil Parsons
[33] Learning the Highway Mode, Melody Maker, 14 November 1981. Words: Paul Colbert
[34] A Clean Break, Smash Hits, 21 January - 3 February 1982. Words: Mark Ellen
[35] The Story Of Depeche Mode, BBC Radio London Live94.9, 7 May 2001, Producer: Tony Wood
[36] The Bright Side of the Moon, Sounds, 4 September 1982. Words: Karen Swayne
[37] Violator, Alligator, NME, 7 July 1990. Words: Jeff Giles
[38] Interview with Dave Gahan, Mojo, 22 March 2013. Words: Martin Aston.
[39] Just Can't Get Enough, Uncut, May 2001. Words: Stephen Dalton
[40] Alan Wilder: The Band Boy, No. 1, 25 May 1985
[41] recoil.co.uk
[42] The Story Of Depeche Mode, BBC Radio London Live94.9, 7 May 2001, Producer: Tony Wood
[43] Videointerview (DLCTrading) 2010
[44] Alan Wilder: The Band Boy, No. 1, 25 May 1985
[45] Unsound Recordings, Sound On Sound, January 1998. Words: Bill Bruce
[46] Alan Wilder: The Band Boy, No. 1, 25 May 1985
[47] recoil.co.uk
