they have to be alongside led zeppelin/pink floyd as one of the most important bands to have emerged from this small island.

they have always been pushing the boundaries with electronic music/their own musical identity.

always evolving.

just an awesome band (and songs of faith and devotion is in my top 10 fav albums).

they also haven’t seemed to get the recognition that they deserve imo.

I agree that their music is very good and they have been very influential.

However I think they’ve received pretty good recognition of it as well.

‘Violator” for me, every time.

There are two Depeche Mode bars in Tallinn, Estonia. Fact.

Depeche Mode fact: I had a review published in the NME… as the worst live band I have ever seen. (gig was back in the Just Can’t Get Enough Days) 🙂

i won’t have you spreading blasphemous rumours DezB 😉

I don’t they’re taken as seriously in the UK as elsewhere in the world, due their initial appearance in the nation’s cultural consciousness as what appeared to be very lightweight, very disposable synth pop, with an image to match.

They had a fresh new sound with Vince Clarke in the band,which unfortunately went with him when he left.Then they just went dark & luckily for them the yanks fell in love with them..

IMHO 8)

So it’s a No from me

They had a fresh new sound with Vince Clarke in the band,which unfortunately went with him when he left.Then they just went dark & luckily for them the yanks fell in love with them..
IMHO

Just what I was going to type. Although erasure has never really had the same kudos as a the Clarke era Depeche Mode.

DezB, I concur.
I went with 2 or 3 mates to see them at Sheffield City Hall in the early 80s. We only stayed for a couple of toons. Shocking.

I find they’re one of those groups from my younger days that I can always go back to, and they still sound awesome. The remix album takes me right back because I used to have nearly all the 12 inch singles with the same mixes on them.
On a different note I’ve been listening to Simple Minds “Sparkle In The Rain” almost continuously since I rebought it on cd. Are there any better one note intro’s than Waterfront? I think not.

This is a band that’s been going since 1979/1980 (if you include when they were known as ‘Composition of Sounds’). Their longevity is testament to their greatness.

Phenomenal and one of the most influential bands of the last 35 years. Perhaps THE most significant / seminal electronic band ever. They’ve influenced so many spheres and genres of music – House, Trance, Rave, Pop, Synth Pop, Goth, Dark Wave, Rock, Industrial and on and on.

I don’t go along with them not being up to much live (all a question of opinion and all that). I’ve seen them on numerous occasions and they’ve been hypnotic on each. Best gig was at Crystal Palace in 93 when they were supported by SoM.

I’m split between Music for the Masses and Violator as to when they reached their absolute pinnacle.

Unfortunately Alan Wilder left and they were never to reach their former heights. His departure showed what a huge power he was in Mode’s sound.

One of my most prized possessions is my post-school canvass rucksack that had the Violator rose expertly painted on by one of my best mates … I can’t get into my white jeans anymore though 😀

Shite since Vince Clarke left IMO

😛

deluded – Member
Phenomenal and one of the most influential bands of the last 35 years. Perhaps THE most significant / seminal electronic band ever.

Living up to your username there!

EDIT – like I’ve not heard that one before 😀

They were brilliant in the Mid to late eighties and the early nineties.
Having listened to the live album 101 endlessly I was expecting the Violator tour to be amazing…..oh how I was let down, their show at the NEC has to go down as the worst concert I have ever been to 🙁

‘Violator” for me, every time.

+1

Are there any better one note intro’s than Waterfront? I think not.

+2

FWIW, I used to know a lad called Dipesh Mohda

and another chinese lad who chose the name Elton – yeh, Elton Wong

😆

Just been listening to Glittering Prize by Simple minds . Quality single from them.
Saw DM a few times , never that great live . Black Celebration tour I think it was . The production was never great ,good studio band but live was hard work.

Useless k&d session is there finest moment for me, what’s dark wave?

Loved them in their early daysbut then I moved on……. Thanks for the reminder though. Spotify is so useful 🙂

Enjoy the silence fav tune of all time!

Personally i think Depeche Mode can do no wrong – but i would say that. Over 100 million albums sold according to a blog interview with Andy Fletcher i read over xmas and one of the greatest exponents of synth driven music we have ever had in this country, 30+ years at the top of the business must count for something and yeah…i have been to a few shows where the energy and sparkle has been lacking but you try and get up on stage night after night without losing a little bit of your soul.

I had the pleasure of accompanying a mate who knows Mark Bell from his LFO days to a session over a weekend when he working on recorded stems of “Exciter and it was the most awe inspiring/jaw dropping/epic/I’m not worthy experience i’ve ever had – to see someone have total mastery and intuitive control over the biggest SSL mixing desk in existence was a humbling experience.

Depeche Mode – one of the greatest UK bands ever.

Dm in the same breath as led zep and pink Floyd are you on drugs you must be mad they rank up there with Kate bush load of old waffle by music papers but in reality a load of old s##t

Oi fatsimon, I rank Kate, Zep and Floyd as above Depeche Mode. And I also like DM.

Subjective bullshit, my opinion is that Zep tower above nearly any other band.

Adding crap to crap this post.

Kate is one of those singers that I just don’t get everybody raves all I hear is cat a wailing much the same for dm only I hear morbid moaning sorry just don’t get either

Ranking DM with Kate Bush? Hmmmm…
Can’t think of two more opposing sounds and they are both wonderful in their own way (Kate Bush is just much much better though).

This sounds like a mumsnet post, but “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush is pretty moving stuff. Depeche Mode are ace though. Have we decided whether it’s Depeche Mode or Depeche’ay Mode yet (you know what I’m trying to say).

They were pretty good in Brum last week.

Krafwerk for me.
Depeche Mode did some good stuff too.
On a different note altogether, West African music is just sooo beautiful .
Any Amadou and Miriam fans in the house?

I think I saw them perform with the clash or primal scream at a festival. Not sure when or where but it was good.

Amadou and Miriam or Depeche Mode?

I’ve been converting folk onto Amadou & Mariam since i heard “Coulibaby” on Gilles Peterson’s old late night R1 show years ago – they’re bloody good live as well. Tinariwen are an old fav, I got quite a few CD’s for xmas i’m working through and new ones to watch for me are Tamikrest – Chatma along with Hassan Hakmoun – Unity.

North African music is just so infectious but it’s a crying shame what the **** islamists are doing to the Malian culture of storytelling through music, I got turned onto the music and culture in 2003 out at the festival in the desert nr essekane, timbuktu -all thanks to a mate dragging me out. Hopefully the situation will get sorted out at some point as i’d love to go back, i think the festival is going ahead this year but it’s decidedly lower key than previous years.

Damon Albarn (with his african express project) has done amazing work to further the cause and keep the issues the musicians and local population are living with high on the media agenda, he was on the Lamacq 6music show a couple of weeks ago talking bout it, i think the podcast may still be available on the joy of 6 iTunes podcast site.

Perhaps THE most significant / seminal electronic band ever

Love em or hate em, I think it’s very difficult to see past Kraftwerk as the big beasts of electronic music. They have influenced a bewildering variety of other artists in all sorts of genres. I do like DM, mostly the older stuff, but they are not really in that league.

One of my favourite songs of all time… Brilliant!
[video]http://youtu.be/m0AKJMGxwpE[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6J1fFpN3S0&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

I went to see them at the NEC last week, the last time was back in the mid 80’s!

They still got it live, wish I had half the energy Dave had on stage and Martin’s solo’s were sensational.

Good mixture of old and new tracks, crowd was mostly middle aged and were buzzing.

Here is a little snip from the night 😉

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2puPauCX8[/video]