The Seeker of Good Songs
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Dave Gahan can still remember the days - in the early Eighties - when Depeche Mode were dismissed as pop lightweights for using electronic instruments instead of guitars.
How times have changed. Today, the group he joined as an Essex teenager are rightly revered as trailblazers. Brandon Flowers of The Killers is the latest to sing their praises.
'Brandon is supposed to be this shy chap, but he came out of his shell when I chatted to him recently,' Dave says. 'He told me that Depeche Mode were the reason he started making music.
'For me, that was amazing. The Killers are a great band, and I can see how we might have inspired them, but I also admire the way they are following their own path.'
The Killers are not alone in saluting the pioneering synth-poppers who took their name from a French fashion magazine and initially broke through during the New Romantic boom.
Coldplay are huge fans, as are MGMT. The Basildon band - singer Dave plus keyboardists Martin Gore and Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher - are also a massive, if unlikely, influence on American dance music and heavy metal.
'It's great to have young acts looking up to us,' Fletch says. 'It makes the battles we fought for recognition in the Eighties seem worthwhile - there were times when nobody wanted to hear us.'
As most of their early peers faded to grey, Depeche Mode continued to flourish. Even the departure of original songwriter Vince Clarke (who left to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet) failed to hinder their progress, with Gore stepping up to pen hits such as Personal Jesus and Enjoy The Silence.
But their journey has hardly been smooth. Dave, 46, came close to killing himself through drug addiction in the Nineties, while Martin and Fletch, both 47, have fought their own demons.
Gore battled an alcohol problem for years, while Fletch missed the second half of the group's Devotional tour in 1994, citing 'mental instability' for his absence.
The band have also survived a series of internal squabbles, the most recent being a struggle over artistic control between Gahan and established songwriter Gore. But, as the trio gather in a London hotel to talk about their excellent new studio album Sounds Of The Universe, all is sweetness and light.
Although all three now live with their families in different cities - Gahan in New York, Gore in Los Angeles and Fletch in London - the collective greeting on offer could hardly be any warmer.
'We've had our ups and downs over the years,' admits Gahan, with droll understatement.
'But you'd expect that, given that we've been together for so long. Our music has kept us going - we've always had the songs. We're really more like brothers than friends. We get on brilliantly, but there are times when we fight and run off to our bedrooms.'
Gahan's desire to get more involved as a songwriter led to friction with Gore around the time of the band's previous album, 2005's Playing The Angel.
But these days, with two accomplished solo albums under his belt - and a greater creative say in Depeche Mode - he is much happier.
'On Playing The Angel, I came up with 15 songs, but only a few of them made the final cut,' says Dave. 'With Martin being the main writer, it all got a bit political. I was told to back off and bide my time, so I did.
'But things are very different now. My solo albums have given me more confidence. As a writer, I've moved out of the locker room and on to the playing field. Martin has always respected me as a performer. Now he respects me as a writer, too. He's even going around saying that it's hard to tell his songs and mine apart. That's a big compliment.'
Gore agrees that Sounds Of The Universe was hugely enjoyable to make. With Depeche Mode rediscovering their old verve and camaraderie, it is also the group's most upbeat collection in years. Some familiar topics are revisited - emotional turmoil, sexual politics and religion - but the mood is brighter and more soulful.
'I don't want to come over all New Age, but I think the new album is more spiritual,' says Martin. 'We had fun in the studio, and the songs are not as dark.
'I started buying these old, vintage synthesisers, and the sounds they produced conjured up images of the universe and space travel. That's how we came up with the album title.
'We got very excited whenever a new instrument arrived,' adds Fletch. 'Martin turned into a synthaholic!'
Despite their huge global success (their two big early Nineties albums, Violator and Songs Of Faith And Devotion, sold 15 million between them) Depeche Mode have retained their credibility - and an element of mystery.
Avoiding the celebrity circuit, says Gahan, has been key to their longevity. 'Bands can have too much exposure,' he says. 'I've been seeing it with Coldplay recently. If I were Chris Martin, I'd take a break and get out of people's faces for a while. It's important to remain a bit detached.'
Having now been clean and sober for 12 years, Gahan finally has some perspective on his mid-Nineties drugs meltdown. To many outsiders, Depeche Mode, with their roots in clean-cut electronic pop, were unlikely hellraisers.
But their problems ran deep, and Dave admits he is fortunate to be alive after a near-fatal heroin overdose in LA in 1996.
'At the height of our partying, everyone in the band was on something,' he says. 'We became known as a band who could party into the early hours, but still get the job done on stage.
'But I reached a point, performing in front of 10,000 people every night, where I'd stepped into a persona and couldn't find the key to get myself out. So I stayed there. In life, that doesn't work. And I wasn't just harming myself. What I was doing affected everyone around me - my family, my friends and the band.'
Since coming out of rehab in 1997, the singer has been a keen supporter of a charitable foundation for former drug addicts in New York. The experience, he says, has helped him in his own recovery.
'It keeps things fresh for me,' he adds. 'It shows me where I could have ended up, and serves as a reminder that drugs take you nowhere.'
With Sounds Of The Universe out this month, Depeche Mode are turning their attention to a world tour that begins in Israel next month and continues until the end of the year, when they will play six arena shows in the UK and Ireland.
A separate one-off UK concert at London's O2 Arena has already sold out.
With their internal problems behind them, the band's biggest challenge is their live show and the task of whittling more than 200 songs down to the 20 that will feature in their two-hour performance. It is one they are relishing.
'Picking a set-list for the tour is always a nightmare,' says Fletch. 'We're a democracy, so it's like the Eurovision Song Contest. We have to cast votes for our favourite tracks.
'We'll do some old stuff and some staples,' adds Dave. 'And we'll have fun doing songs like Just Can't Get Enough. We can't ignore that. It would be like the Stones not doing (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.'
The single Wrong is out on Monday on Mute. The album Sounds Of The Universe follows on April 20. Depeche Mode play the O2 Arena, London, on May 30 and begin a UK tour at the SECC, Glasgow, on December 12. For ticket details, visit livenation.co.uk.
from:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...me-synthesiser-sissies-Depeche-Mode-song.html
Dave Gahan can still remember the days - in the early Eighties - when Depeche Mode were dismissed as pop lightweights for using electronic instruments instead of guitars.
How times have changed. Today, the group he joined as an Essex teenager are rightly revered as trailblazers. Brandon Flowers of The Killers is the latest to sing their praises.
'Brandon is supposed to be this shy chap, but he came out of his shell when I chatted to him recently,' Dave says. 'He told me that Depeche Mode were the reason he started making music.
'For me, that was amazing. The Killers are a great band, and I can see how we might have inspired them, but I also admire the way they are following their own path.'
The Killers are not alone in saluting the pioneering synth-poppers who took their name from a French fashion magazine and initially broke through during the New Romantic boom.
Coldplay are huge fans, as are MGMT. The Basildon band - singer Dave plus keyboardists Martin Gore and Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher - are also a massive, if unlikely, influence on American dance music and heavy metal.
'It's great to have young acts looking up to us,' Fletch says. 'It makes the battles we fought for recognition in the Eighties seem worthwhile - there were times when nobody wanted to hear us.'
As most of their early peers faded to grey, Depeche Mode continued to flourish. Even the departure of original songwriter Vince Clarke (who left to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet) failed to hinder their progress, with Gore stepping up to pen hits such as Personal Jesus and Enjoy The Silence.
But their journey has hardly been smooth. Dave, 46, came close to killing himself through drug addiction in the Nineties, while Martin and Fletch, both 47, have fought their own demons.
Gore battled an alcohol problem for years, while Fletch missed the second half of the group's Devotional tour in 1994, citing 'mental instability' for his absence.
The band have also survived a series of internal squabbles, the most recent being a struggle over artistic control between Gahan and established songwriter Gore. But, as the trio gather in a London hotel to talk about their excellent new studio album Sounds Of The Universe, all is sweetness and light.
Although all three now live with their families in different cities - Gahan in New York, Gore in Los Angeles and Fletch in London - the collective greeting on offer could hardly be any warmer.
'We've had our ups and downs over the years,' admits Gahan, with droll understatement.
'But you'd expect that, given that we've been together for so long. Our music has kept us going - we've always had the songs. We're really more like brothers than friends. We get on brilliantly, but there are times when we fight and run off to our bedrooms.'
Gahan's desire to get more involved as a songwriter led to friction with Gore around the time of the band's previous album, 2005's Playing The Angel.
But these days, with two accomplished solo albums under his belt - and a greater creative say in Depeche Mode - he is much happier.
'On Playing The Angel, I came up with 15 songs, but only a few of them made the final cut,' says Dave. 'With Martin being the main writer, it all got a bit political. I was told to back off and bide my time, so I did.
'But things are very different now. My solo albums have given me more confidence. As a writer, I've moved out of the locker room and on to the playing field. Martin has always respected me as a performer. Now he respects me as a writer, too. He's even going around saying that it's hard to tell his songs and mine apart. That's a big compliment.'
Gore agrees that Sounds Of The Universe was hugely enjoyable to make. With Depeche Mode rediscovering their old verve and camaraderie, it is also the group's most upbeat collection in years. Some familiar topics are revisited - emotional turmoil, sexual politics and religion - but the mood is brighter and more soulful.
'I don't want to come over all New Age, but I think the new album is more spiritual,' says Martin. 'We had fun in the studio, and the songs are not as dark.
'I started buying these old, vintage synthesisers, and the sounds they produced conjured up images of the universe and space travel. That's how we came up with the album title.
'We got very excited whenever a new instrument arrived,' adds Fletch. 'Martin turned into a synthaholic!'
Despite their huge global success (their two big early Nineties albums, Violator and Songs Of Faith And Devotion, sold 15 million between them) Depeche Mode have retained their credibility - and an element of mystery.
Avoiding the celebrity circuit, says Gahan, has been key to their longevity. 'Bands can have too much exposure,' he says. 'I've been seeing it with Coldplay recently. If I were Chris Martin, I'd take a break and get out of people's faces for a while. It's important to remain a bit detached.'
Having now been clean and sober for 12 years, Gahan finally has some perspective on his mid-Nineties drugs meltdown. To many outsiders, Depeche Mode, with their roots in clean-cut electronic pop, were unlikely hellraisers.
But their problems ran deep, and Dave admits he is fortunate to be alive after a near-fatal heroin overdose in LA in 1996.
'At the height of our partying, everyone in the band was on something,' he says. 'We became known as a band who could party into the early hours, but still get the job done on stage.
'But I reached a point, performing in front of 10,000 people every night, where I'd stepped into a persona and couldn't find the key to get myself out. So I stayed there. In life, that doesn't work. And I wasn't just harming myself. What I was doing affected everyone around me - my family, my friends and the band.'
Since coming out of rehab in 1997, the singer has been a keen supporter of a charitable foundation for former drug addicts in New York. The experience, he says, has helped him in his own recovery.
'It keeps things fresh for me,' he adds. 'It shows me where I could have ended up, and serves as a reminder that drugs take you nowhere.'
With Sounds Of The Universe out this month, Depeche Mode are turning their attention to a world tour that begins in Israel next month and continues until the end of the year, when they will play six arena shows in the UK and Ireland.
A separate one-off UK concert at London's O2 Arena has already sold out.
With their internal problems behind them, the band's biggest challenge is their live show and the task of whittling more than 200 songs down to the 20 that will feature in their two-hour performance. It is one they are relishing.
'Picking a set-list for the tour is always a nightmare,' says Fletch. 'We're a democracy, so it's like the Eurovision Song Contest. We have to cast votes for our favourite tracks.
'We'll do some old stuff and some staples,' adds Dave. 'And we'll have fun doing songs like Just Can't Get Enough. We can't ignore that. It would be like the Stones not doing (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.'
The single Wrong is out on Monday on Mute. The album Sounds Of The Universe follows on April 20. Depeche Mode play the O2 Arena, London, on May 30 and begin a UK tour at the SECC, Glasgow, on December 12. For ticket details, visit livenation.co.uk.
from:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...me-synthesiser-sissies-Depeche-Mode-song.html
